Most efficient/lightest current pocket canister stoves

I have a Brunton-Optimus Crux, which I like very much for cooking in a vestibule. However, I also bought a Snowpeak Litemax for carrying with a SP 700 or MSR Titan kettle for tea on the trail. It is the lightest stove I know of and is beautifully made, but, not "cheap".

The lite max rocks! I have used it to cook in my betalight with a brunton stove stand. I do not think BPL has done a CO test yet, however the wide flame pattern results in no quenching and its CO output is likely low.

Another vote for the Lite Max, at 1.9 oz, a canister stove doesn't get any lighter than that. This was my primary stove before I switched to Alcohol, although I still use the Lite Max every once in a while.

Read some nice reviews of the Lite Max. What type of windscreen do you use with it (noting all cautions about using a windscreen with a canister stove)?

Also, how is the Lite Max for fuel efficiency? Read a review on REI that says it burns very hot, but tends to be less fuel efficient than the Pocket Rocket.

Had to buy another canister anyway for car camping, and thought I might as well buy a light one that I can also use for backpacking/hiking.

I have the Snowpeak Gigapower Ti (manual ignition).
2.5 oz.

One thing to keep in mind- I believe that on BPL's carbon monoxide tests the snowpeak scored better than any other canister stove- one of the reasons I chose it.
I've been happy with it so far.

I use an MSR windscreen. I have two of them, one customized, for different stoves. It is easily foldable and very durable.

My canister stoves are:
*MSR Wind Pro (car camping)
*Vargo Jet-Ti (Light but very sturdy)
*Bidding now on eBay for a Brunton Flex/Optimus Crux (Best functions for the space and weight)

Eric

UPDATE:

I just got the Brunton Flex. It has 4 pot supports instead of 3 like the Crux. Also there is no wobble from the spring loaded sleeve setup as has been reported with the Crux. Closer tolerances, likely. Also the 4 wide, serrated folding pot supports are nice.

This stove weighs only 0.7 oz. more than my light Vargo Jet-Ti but has better pot stability and much more even heating on the pot bottom due to its wide diameter flame ring. The bigger flame ring can give a LOT more heat if needed.

With its folding burner head it packs as small as my Vargo Jet-Ti.

Craig, you mean the Snowpeak Gigapower Ti scored very well, right, not the Lite Max?

Also, when cooking in the vestibule, don't you ventilate so much that there's very little danger of CO poisoning?

The Vargo Jet TI has the lowest CO2 emissions of any under 4 oz canister stove (actually under 3 oz).

I think the real question might be, “efficient under what conditions.”

The problem with the Pocket Rocket, Crux, etc. is that they don’t perform well in wind. You can go through a lot of fuel on a windy day.

A Jetboil PCS is more efficient in its heat transfer and works better than most in wind, but it’s a heavier stove.

The stove that’s really efficient in the wind is the MSR Reactor, but I don’t think anyone has ever called the Reactor light.

In terms of lightest weight, I think it would be important to consider how many people for how many days and under what condtions.

If you’ve got a larger group or a longer trip, you actually might save weight by carrying a heavier but more efficent stove. The more efficent stove might save you from having to carry a second canister, resulting in weight savings.

From the charts I’ve seen online, there’s kind of a “sweet spot” where the trip and number of people is such that you burn most of the canister you bring but you can get by on a single canister. If the trip is long enough that you have to carry a second canister, then your weight savings tend to evaporate.

If you’re going on a trip and you know it’s going to be windy, again a heavier but more efficient stove might save you weight simply because you don’t have to carry add’l fuel.

There are ways to make a canister stove more efficient, namely a wind screen. Now, unless you’ve got a remote canister stove, then pretty much every manufacturer says (essentially) “if you use a windscreen, you’re going to cause an explosion.” It’s true that an over heated canister will explode, but canisters aren’t quite that touchy. If you pay close attention and you use a heat shield between the canister and the flame, you can use a wind screen. You just have to frequently touch the canister. If it’s to hot to touch, then you need to take action quickly to prevent the canister from heating further.

There’s information about heat (radiation) shields on this site. There’s quite a lot of information at http://www.bushwalking.org.au on heat shields and wind screens as well as a wealth of tips, tricks, and general stove efficiency information. Note: bushwalking.org.au is a bit prejudiced in favor of canister stoves

Re: Windscreen and efficiency

BPL's testing with canister stoves uses a kitescreens. So it is possible.

BPL did a great series on stove efficiency and and initial carry weight. It analyzed the initial carry weight of stoves given a certain amount of water boiled per day.

Part I: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/comparative_fuel_efficiency_and_weight_of_stoves_pt1.html

Part II: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/comparative_fuel_efficiency_and_weight_of_stoves_pt2.html

As for the jetboil, it is an efficient system, but its initial carry weight is high. This is the tradeoff.

I'd like to make a heat shield shaped like a donut that would go around and just under the burner and above the canister.

Wouldn't using a windscreen that covers only 1/2 – 3/4 side space and leaves the last 1/2-1/4 open to vent some heat be sufficient to prevent too much heat buildup?

Nice if manufacturers would make the lighter pocket stoves with a built-in heat shield AND adjustable wind screen.

Can anyone suggest good material for the heat shield? Should be some heat-resistant material available from any hardware or home center that can be cut to shape.

As for wind and efficiency, that's a good argument for using Caldera Cones with alcohol and esbit tabs.

It should be possible with a little fidgeting to use a Ti Caldera Cone safely with a remote canister stove like my Coleman Xtreme, but the Xtreme is heavier than pocket stoves, and that's probably true of all remote stoves.

Right now I only use the Xtreme for winter and car camping.

You can make a heat shield out of the bottom of an aluminum pie tin like the kind you get in the frozen pie section.

There’s some specific information here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00041.html

and some general information here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/canister_stove_faq.html

I use the coleman F1 Ultralight (~2.65 oz), which was the only one in BPL's tests that still boiled water in direct wind other than the jetboil. I then pair that with the heat reflector MYOG from the link above. Last season I cooked a total of 5 days worth of 2 persons worth of near boil-in-bag meals and counting on small snowpeak canister. The fuel container still has fuel left in it… Great stove, and even puts out more BTUs than my colman car camping stove…

I picked this particular stove, since it was a great balance of weight, to power, to efficiency. IMHO it's the only canister stove I'll need, for everything else there seems to be esbit. I got it for $25 off of ebay, showroom model with no box.

Here's my heat shield/wind screen for my Snow Peak Giga Stove. I used a Snow Peak Ti Bowl, weight before cutting is 1.6 ounces. It's a tough piece of gear and doesn't crush in your pack. It works well with pots up to 4.75 inches in diameter. Works best with bail handled, or no handled pots.

Windscreens on canister stoves are really, really, really dangerous – hmmkay.

At least that's what the canister manufacturers print on their canisters. I believed them – until I tried using a windscreen for myself. I was surprised at how little heat is transferred downward to the canister.

I mainly use the the stove to boil water and then switch it off. There is little appreciable heating of the canister and I use a full wrap-around titanium windscreen that reaches from the base of the canister to almost the top of the pot.

As Roger C has stated a number of times, you can easily monitor your canister's heat by a simple touch test: if it's getting warm to the touch, switch it off. In my experience, I have never had to switch the stove off and you can simmer for a surprising amount of time.

I guess the canister manufacturers are just covering themselves legally by advising their customers to be extra cautious. And I suppose if you were to use a full screen and leave the stove roaring away for half an hour then you would probably be in for a pyrotechnical experience.

Hi Jim

> There’s quite a lot of information at http://www.bushwalking.org.au on heat shields and wind screens as well as a wealth of tips, tricks, and general stove efficiency information.

Better make that http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/ to get straight to the web site.

> bushwalking.org.au is a bit prejudiced in favor of canister stoves
Who, me, prejudiced? :-)
A bit maybe – but I’ve used them all.

Cheers
Roger Caffin
FAQ author

Hi Andrew

> And I suppose if you were to use a full screen and leave the stove roaring away for half
> an hour then you would probably be in for a pyrotechnical experience.

See our article on just that topic, of exploding gas canisters.

Cheers

Denis I picked up a Snow Peak bowl exactly for this. What did you use to make the cuts?

Now I just have to decide on the best combo of light, efficient, low CO stove.

Roger, any votes?

I used a Dremel Tool with a cut off wheel. I also drilled additional air intake holes, which do not show in the photo. The good news is that I already had a Snow Peak "wind screen", to use as a template to scribe the cuts on the Ti bowl.

I've been using it for two years now and it's great.

Where did you drill the additional intake holes, how many are there, and what diameter are they?

Here is an "after" photo I just took. The additional intake holes are 3/8" diameter. The stove works much better than before I drilled the holes.

You'll save a lot more weight by making it out of a pie tin and either Ti or aluminum foil for the wind screen portion. One uncut pie tin weighs .5 oz, nearly half of it will be cut away for a base for a standard .9L pot, then add .3 oz for a Ti or aluminum windscreen… .8 oz… about half the weight, and a lot cheaper than cutting up a Ti bowl, plus you get the satisfaction of making it yourself. If you cut it to the right dimensions you can set the base on the bottom of the pot and roll the windscreen inside the pot and nothing will get "crushed" beyond being useable.

Jared, how stable is that? With the pie tin and the wind screen not attached to the pie tin, in a good wind I imagine it might be difficult to keep everything steady.

I have no use for the Ti bowl otherwise – picked it up on a big sale last year – only reason I wouldn't sacrifice it is if I saved a lot of weight.