what size pot for melting snow (for 2)

1.5 to 2 L

Generally enough to fill 1-2 nalgenes in one go

I use the large JetBoil pot (1.3 L??). It's got the "Flux Ring" heat exchanger which makes it a tiny bit faster to boil when used with my MSR windscreen and Backpacker's Pantry fiberglass pot cover oven.

BTW, having a stove that can simmer low enough to bake – like my MSR Dragonfly – makes for great treats like biscuits and cake (yes, CAKE).

My wife and i have been using a BPL 1.1 pot for this for the last 3 winters.
Its too narrow when on my primus spider, and not big enough when i use the bushbuddy for melting snow.

I plan to buy an 1.5l or 2l pot for melting snow for us 2, and i am searching for the lightest option :)

here's what I've looked at thus far,

SP 1400 – 7.4 oz- has a frying pad lid which I don't need, w/o the lid probably ~ 6 oz, but you'd need another lid

MSR Titan 2 liter- evidently discontinued but still available- 8 oz including lifting tongs/lid

MSR Exo 2 pot- 2.4 liter, 9.2 oz- this one fits their polypro deep dish "plates" which might be handy

I stick w/2L pots for melting snow. Sure, I've done it in smaller pots, & they worked fine, but it's more convenient & IME more efficient to use the larger pot. I like to have more hot "seed water" in the pot to retain more heat/melt snow more quickly. The one I've been using is the older MSR you mentioned. The new one would be good, too.

Narrower/taller pots won't be as efficient, or as easy to toss packed snow into.

For budget-minded, Open Country has a plain ol' aluminum 2L pot that's ~7oz (?IIRC) and $15.

http://www.rei.com/product/401067

Unless you mean a different model.

What is someting surprising is having a look at pot dimensions / theorical volume according to the maker.

calculating this with water up to 1cm from max height gives :

brand / theorical volume / calculated volume / weight.

BPL1,1l : 1,1l for 86g , 3 oz
MSR 1,3l : 2l for 188g , 6,6oz
evernew 1,3l : 1,2l for 120g , 4.2oz
Snow peak 2l : 2l for 194g, 6.8oz
MSR 2,4l : 3,4l for 262g, 9,2 oz

MSR 1.3L pot dimensions gives 2l volume where is the error ??

so far snowpeak 2l cook and save without the plastic cover seems the best option.

Jeremy, looks the same, but either their specs are wrong or it's a slightly different model. I have two; they both weigh 7.5 oz, just checked a third & it also weighs 7.5 oz. The bail alone accounts for ~1oz, so theoretically you could get ~6.5oz. Not saying it's the end-all answer, but a decent option on the cheap.

Don't forget the $13 anti-gravity gear 2qt pot. Mine is 4 oz without the included lid. Although I have the Anodized (no longer made) version.

http://www.antigravitygear.com/antigravitygear-2-qt-aluminum-non-stick-cook-pot.html

Out of stock currently, but may be an easy find on Gear Swap.

When Dave and I are melting snow we use a 3L pot to make the process faster. We have found that we need at least 10 L if we melt one time a day. A bigger pot is much more efficient than a small one.

I do use a heat exchanger too.

I use the AGG 2 quart pot for 2-person snow camping – works great for me.

Raymond- tell more a little about the heat exchanger- I see MSR (maybe others?) has one that fits a 2 liter pot- it's 6 oz- is that a worthwhile/justified 6 oz? they also said it can be slid down a bit to be used as a windscreen w/ a Windpro (stove I will be using)

thanks

Mike

I have a couple of Primus pots with the built-in heat exchanger, and they seem to work great. You can hold your hands against the sides of the pot and not feel any heat coming up. Downside is they're heavy.

For any short trip of like a week or less, they don't save enough weight of fuel to make up for their weight

See the comparison of stoves from several months ago – includes non heat exchanger stoves and heat exchanger stoves

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/canister_stove_efficiency_p3.html

Joe- yeah 6 oz is almost the weight of a pot- it would have to work really well (which maybe it does???) to make it worthwhile, ie enough added efficiency you need less fuel (which winter camping and melting snow takes a fair amount)

if it actually doubled as a windscreen that would be another justification- it seems if you lower it (for a windscreen) then your losing the ability to put heat into the sides of the pots

note that a lot of climbers will use heat exchangers for routes where melting snow is needed

steve house used it on his first ascent of the rupal face on nanga parbat … this is on the route where they needed to climb alpine style and carry everything up with him … he's the guy that takes parts out of his crampons to save weight

you can see his equipment here …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkmYiwbZWg

jerry- thanks- that's kind of what I figured

eric- that's a neat heat exchanger- looks like a guy could fashion one out of ti foil (maybe) and probably get it in the 2 oz-ish range- hmmmmm….

mike …

you can prob ask steve house here … http://www.stevehouse.net/Site/Home.html

eric- thanks, shot him an email- also bumped an old thread that had some discussion on a diy ti heat exchanger, but no one actually posted one they had made

If you do a windscreen, it helps a lot if there's even just a little wind

see http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/myog_aluminum_windscreen.html

and in the comments people had a lot of other good ideas for windscreens

nice :work )

I've made a few from some ti foil I have, I've also modified them so I can also use it to burn wood (w/ the addition of two ti stakes)- nice little backup and it's actually worked pretty well

Post up what Steve house says. I would be really interested in how he made it. It looks light and effective.

I use a MSR Titan 2L pot (off the market now). Having a wide base when melting snow is a real benefit to efficiency.

A secret weapon to melting efficiency is the Backpackers Pantry Outback Oven Pot Parka. This is a flameproof reflective cover than goes over the entire pot and traps the heat, leading to much faster snow melting. It's brilliant. Downsides: be careful when you remove the parka because the pot lid will be REALLY hot. Also, the first few boils with the parka leads to some off-gassing- definitely an outside item. But after that, it seems to burn in and has no odor. Great item.

There is an extra little detail that can help out for ease of snow melting. You probably want to get into your shelter and have the snow melting pot and stove somewhere around the shelter entrance. However, if you need to melt snow for several people, that is going to require a lot of snow. Dry snow is maybe 10% water, and wet or icy snow is more like 50-90% water. It might take many pots full of snow to get the whole job done so that you have water for breakfast in the morning. It is a drag if you have to get out of your warm shelter, go shovel up some snow, then put the pot back on the stove, and you have to do that over and over, especially in bad weather. Plus, you have to be careful where you gather the snow if people have been making yellow snow around the shelter.

What works nicely is to have a clean plastic trash bag, and you go fill it once with clean snow. Then place it at the shelter entrance just a foot from the stove, and it can also serve as an insulated door. From one position, you should be able to scoop snow from the bag to the melt pot until all of your water containers are topped off.

We did this on a high expedition. All of the other tent teams had people chasing around for half of the night to collect more snow. Our team collected snow, then went into the tent and stayed in all night.

–B.G.–