Stove for winter backpacking

IMO, winter is not the best time to be waiting around on an alcohol burner. It depends on where you will be. If I am in deep snow country, I will need to melt a lot of snow for drinking water. As a result, I carry either a very lightweight white gas stove or else my Pocket Rocket and plenty of fuel. I would not consider my own alcohol burners except possibly the very biggest ones of the bunch, and then only if it is for one night out.

–B.G.–

Bob, how much fuel should i take for my pocket rocket for a 3 day trip in kings canyon np over thanksgiving weekend?
Probably will only be cooking dinners, maybe a few hot drinks.

Josh:

How high and how cold are you thinking of going? If you're getting into some seriously cold weather, the Pocket Rocket could become problematic, particularly if the weather turned out to be a bit colder than expected. You wouldn't have much margin for error with a Pocket Rocket if wx is expected to get below maybe mid teens, and even then you'd probably have to use "tricks" like putting the canister into a pan of water and the like.

An inverted canister stove (e.g. MSR Windpro) will take you down quite a bit lower. A white gas stove will go lower still, although you might not need quite the range of a white gas stove unless you're going below 0F.

HJ

Hmmm. Well, you don't know exactly what kind of weather you are headed into, so you really need to plan for the worst. I don't know where you will be exactly, so I don't know whether you will find open water. If you have to melt snow for drinking water, that will immediately double your fuel demand (if not more).

If you hit decent weather and had good luck, you can do it all on one single 4-oz can. However, you need to plan on bad luck, so I would take two of those at a minimum. If you like to really savor that extra cup of coffee or soup, then maybe even go whole-hog and take three of those. If you have to melt snow, then you will use all of those plus you'll be looking for more. Whatever you do, have at least two canisters, no matter what size they are. They will leak once in a while, and if that is your only one, you are in big trouble.

–B.G.–

Mostly I will be in the olympics and cascades and washington state, not really sure how cold it gets in the mountains here. In a few weeks i am going in kings canyon np up to 9000ft, not really sure how cold it might get there either.

Bob, I think it is called Jennys lake or something.

IMO i would only take my alcohol stove only for 3 season use and not for winter backpacking. The pocket rocket has worked for me in winter time though so i would suggest that.

Three weeks ago we had a long dayhiking event planned just a bit north of Kings Canyon, and that would involve car camping the night before the hike. At the last minute before the hike was cancelled due to weather, we were all scrambling around and pulling out the butane stoves and substituting in the white gas stoves. We were pulling out the thin polypro shirts and adding in down parkas, then pulling out the light boots and adding in the heavy stuff.

That weekend, the highway passes through the Sierras were closed and the snow hit. Then it melted off over the course of the next week, and the highway passes were reopened. This is an awkward season for weather prediction.

–B.G.–

Josh:

I’d strongly recommend you find out what temperatures you’re going to be faced with before you head out on any trip. Check the NWS site and enter the name of a nearby town. You can then click on the map to get a fairly specific point forecast of place where you intend to go. You can also check internet forums or call the ranger station for the area that you’re going.

You’ll need to know the temps in order to know what sleeping gear and clothing you’ll need as well as what stove to bring. I don’t know that there are any hard and fast numbers, but your stove choice might go something like this:
Expected Temperature — Stove Type
Above 32F — Alcohol
Above 20F — Canister
Above 10F — Inverted Canister
Below 10F — White Gas

Those numbers are sort of just off the top of my head, but they’re in the ball park, and they’d be safe enough to use. Make sure you have a bit of a margin for error too. Temps sometimes will unexpectedly plunge.

Maybe do some more research, but if you used the above numbers, you’d probably do OK.

HJ

I used my Giga in the single digits without problems. Just spent some time warming up the canister first.

Jim's ballpark numbers aren't bad. If you are using a Pocket Rocket, and then if the temperature dips a bit, store your canister overnight inside your sleeping bag to keep it warm. Once it gets going for breakfast, it may chill itself down again, but if there is enough waste heat bouncing down from the cook pot, that will keep it going fine. All you need is about two square feet of aluminim foil for a windscreen.

–B.G.–

1. sleep with it or hike with the canister in yr jacket

2. use a windscreen … there are articles on BPL on how to do so at yr own risk … the reflected heat will warm the canister

3. do you use handwarmers? … they can help warm up the canister in the morning or at stops … just take it out of yr glove and use it … use common sense of course … if its too hot to touch, dont put it on the canister!!!

4. when you set it down, put it on a pad or something insulating, or some stand

5. use canisters with a isobutane,/propane mix …. none with the n-butane … see roger's last article on it …