Alcohol stove info needed

Hi Darwin,
It would be helpful if you could tell us a little more about how you plan to use it. For example, are you just boiling a couple of cups of water or actually cooking with it? What kind of pot are you using? A wide one or a narrow one?

Another Bloomington backpacker!

Be sure to check out the reviews here:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/category_display?cid=18&cat=Stoves%20-%20Alcohol

People seem to like their Packafeathers.

The Caldera cone is another great option.

Chris

Hi Darwin,

I own a Packafeather XL, but I haven't used mine in the field because its flame seems to develop this rhythmic pulsing and popping that eventually makes it blow itself out. Doesn't happen with airflow holes at full-on or full-off, but it does happen at any setting in between. Other XL users say the phenomenon doesn't happen with their stoves, but it does happen with mine. The manufacturer told me the fuel cup might be too high, so I trimmed it down, but the problem remained.

I was disappointed because the XL is an innovative design and a nice, light stove package. Like I said, other XL users haven't experienced this odd behavior, so you're probably safe to get it, but mine's never left the house.

I got my alcohol stove 101 lessons from http://zenstoves.net. It also provides lots of ideas/links to instructions to make your own stove. I also followed up on the reference to Andrew Skurka's stove on another thread (andrewskurka.com) and his is ridiculously simple but effective and fool proof. I tried in on a Jetboil pot (I know it's heavy.) and boiled the 2cups needed to rehydrate food in 3-4min. I'm not sure if the Jetboil bottom made a difference. It took 10min to make the thing. Hope this can help a little.

Darwin,

Jason has a point- kind of cooking and pot size make a lot of difference in these stoves. The ones you've picked are good stoves so any of them will probably work.

If you only need to boil water for freezer bag meals and the like then the featherfire with it's simmer control is not really needed. The Etowah would be more appropriate for just boiling.

I don't know if you have looked at other stoves, but I would second the Caldera Cone system by TrailDesigns that Chris mentioned above. Very efficient, very stable, good in the wind, and very quick if boiling water is all you are after.

http://www.traildesigns.com/products01.html#caldera

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I would also check out the MiniBullDesigns stoves. Tinny makes some great stoves including ones for just boiling water and others for simmering and cooking.

http://minibulldesign.com/mbdstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=f32f3228b8a17ef3af84eab9d65acb5b

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I would also check out zenstoves.net as a great resource for infomation on all things stoves as Dennis noted.

http://zenstoves.net/

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And alcohol stoves are the one area that you, yes you, can actually make a decent working stove with stuff you probably already have in the kitchen. So jump in and try it.

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.html

(SuperCat and Penny stove URLs to give some examples, many more on zenstoves.net)

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Happy Trails,

-Mark

Hi Darwin…

I have several types of alcohol stoves including the FeatherFire and the XL. If you want flame control, then these are excellent. Of the two I usually use the XL, but mainly because my pot is so small it's difficult to get it to stand on the FeatherFire. Also, particularly for long hikes it would appear that the control band is a little more fooproof on the XL. Another, slightly heavier and more robust, choice for controllability is the Brasslite.

I also have a several of the MiniBull stoves and for simply boiling water they are excellent. Each has it's particular feature, including one double walled one for sitting on cold surfaces.

Here's my XL in action in Vermont last February in very cold conditions. Just remember to carry/keep the fuel in a warm location when it's this cold out.

I have had the etowah since 2001 and it has never failed me. It is a little heavier than most other alcohol stoves but very reliable and efficent and is great for 2 people. I think you can put 2 oz of fuel in it. I havent done any tests with it but I'll bet it goes for at least 30 minutes on 2 oz fuel.

Darwin-
When you say "multiple week," are you talking without resupply, or more of a thru-hike kind of thing? It might affect your stove choice…

Dear all,

Thank you for the input.
In terms of what I'm wanting an alcohol stove for is for cooking food and for boiling water.
I haven't decided yet what pot I'm going to get, but I'm considering:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FBSZF6/ref=nosim/coffeeresearch61576-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ASJUDO?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=shopzilla_rev_31-20&linkCode=asn

I'm hoping to get a pot that my stove can fit into, but that's not necessary.
I'm planning to use the stove for roughly 7 day stretches between resupplies.
If any of this additional info from me helps with your giving me more advice on the stoves I mentioned, please let me know.
Thank you:)

Darwin
daroos@indiana.edu