What, no stoves?

I got a good deal on an MSR WindPro last month, modded it by rotating the valve, and now use it as a winter setup! :)

Travis:

Did you mod it by adding a washer between the hose threads and the valve assembly? If so, can you tell me what size washer you used?

HJ sold me a MSR Rapidfire last Spring, I've only used it in the field once. Between that and a Coleman Xtreme I got from him after Christmas, I'm in good shape for shoulder season trips. Problem is, I have so many stoves, it's more a problem to decide which stoves to take on any given trip than anything else. Just picked up three old MSR XGK's last weekend that had been used on Everest. They work great.

Duane

"Just picked up three old MSR XGK's last weekend that had been used on Everest. "

How can you tell?

–B.G.–

Mark,
No, I simply unscrewed the hose from the valve assembly. I think they had a thread sealant on there, but was able to carefully loosen it with two properly sized pliers. I then rotated the brass piece within the hose about 180* and screwed the hose back into the assembly. I think the wire mesh hose is simply crimped onto that little brass piece, so carefully rotating it with pliers seems to work fine. Check out this thread, especially the last page.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=56226&startat=40

I have to take the donor, mtnsteve from up north here word on it. An experienced mt climber, SAR and CARDA trainer, former SAR member, battered and brusied with hip joint replacement in his future. He has a number of wives, his home wife, his climbing wife and so forth. He got these from a guy who was in the Himalaya's doing movies and such. I'll post the quote in a minute.

mtnsteve–"I really don't know much about the stoves. They were given to my by the guy
who opened the old Elf store in Redding. He was a movie producer and had
done several Himalayan peaks. He gave me the stoves and told me they were
from an Everest climb."
Duane

You can see pics of the stoves on Classic Camp Stoves. I also posted a short trip report and pics in the Action area there of the N. CA group I was with last weekend in Lassen VNP.

I'm considering buying yet another stove. I've had over the years two Whisperlites, Wood burning Zip stove, Snow Peak Canister stove, and two different alcohol stoves. I'm now teetering on the verge of buying a Jetboil because I have the nerosis that somehow it will save me 6oz. of carry weight on my average trip.

Many of the people I bp with here in CA have some version of a JB now. Scary fast to boil a cup of water for cocoa or coffee. I'm holding off for a MSR Reactor sometime.

Duane

If I can pry myself out of bed early tomorrow I'm going to do a freezing-temp, 8,000' elevation comparo of Jetboil Sol, Jetboil PCS, and maybe Svea 123.

Or maybe I'll sleep in and skip it.

EDIT: Sleeping in after all. Going to reschedule soon.

Or maybe I’ll sleep in and skip it.

That’s the spirit, Jim!

Hope you go and hope you take the Svea 123. They’re such nice stoves. Two thumbs up.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

The Svea 123 is so nostalgia heavy!

Sadly, it's also just heavy! ;)

I took my oldest 123 snow camping back in Dec., very neat, also only hiked in less than an hour thru 4" of snow, then got a few more inches overnight. I only discovered the Svea 123 a couple years ago and have a bunch of different gas, isobutane/propane, alky and kerosene, one and two burner stoves now. Bear tracks close to camp and then fresh ones a few hundred yards away the next morning.

Duane

Many of the people I bp with here in CA have some version of a JB now. Scary fast to boil a cup of water for cocoa or coffee. I’m holding off for a MSR Reactor sometime.

If you think the JB is fast, wait until you see a Reactor. Fastest stove I’ve ever seen. Heavy beast though. Maybe all right for a team of two or three.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

How about this?

http://biolitestove.com/CampStove.html

The Biolite web page shows absolutely no electric specifications at all. No voltage, no amperage, no nothing. All it says is that it charges USB devices.

–B.G.–

Since USB is standard, the output is probably 5V @ 500-900mA, which is what most phones would require at a minimum.

It has been my experience that when a product, any product, omits the major specifications from the web page, it is for a reason. Either they aren't proud of the numbers, or else they really don't know.

–B.G.–

"It has been my experience that when a product, any product, omits the major specifications from the web page, it is for a reason. Either they aren't proud of the numbers, or else they really don't know."

Amen!!

A while back I researched this in detail and could find nothing at all anywhere on the Web. To be honest the company won some awards with their first stove for 3rd world countries because they reduced smoke pollution, made zero money, and then the media hype allowed them to get venture capitalists to invest millions of dollars in the company.

Call me skeptical.

Tomorrow i get to go be in the woods for a few days, and hot coals will be my fuel and pot stand, with advanced breath regulator and heavy duty sandstone wind screen. Lower weight than my jetboil, no simmer function but gives marshmellows a nice golden brown touch.

Just excited to get out, school is killin me! :D

Campfires, the original stove and still in use. :)

Duane

Definitely still in 'pre-order' state with minimal info. I agree with you, could be vaporware. BUT if it turns out true, and light enough, it might be an interesting alternative to batteries on the field.

Yes, but the thing weighs over two pounds and you have to search for fuel, wood is often not a proper fuel in many places, better to carry a couple extra batteries, or even better, take a simple Photon II that can last a very long time, and leave all the extra electronic gear at home, even more weight savings.

I can tell your right now that this would be perfect for canoe campers. They have less focus on weight.

But I agree, for the typical UL purposes, it's pointless.

> But I agree, for the typical UL purposes, it's pointless.

It is surprisingly heavy. I wonder how much of that weight is in the copper wire, and how much is in the burner portion. I suspect that most of the weight is in the generator – not that that changes the fact that it's too heavy to be a good backpacking option.

It looks like it might be a good option for car camping or as an emergency stove for power outages and that sort of thing, though.