New stove and cookset for a new guy

Are you set on canister stoves or would you consider alcohol stoves for trips where weather and trip style dictate?

Canister stoves simply for their versatility, and because I hear alcohol takes forever to boil and aren't practical in the winter…unless you guys can talk me out of that. I'm not afraid to learn.

That being said, I don't need the fastest boil time.

The MSR Rocket is a wonderful stove.

If I were you, I'd go for titanium in your pot. Aluminum tends to be a bit weaker and there's a dubious link to Alzheimer's. Titanium is great, though. Stoic makes a titanium pot for under $30 that'll boil enough water for Ramen.

There are a lot of great canister stoves and they're getting lighter all the time. And yes, they're better in winter than alcohol stoves. Not many people will try to talk you out of a canister stove for winter!

Remote canister, and specifically inverted remote canister stoves are arguably the best for winter, and some stoves, such as the MSR Pocket Rocket produce much more carbon monoxide than others which becomes more of a concern if you're cooking in an enclosed vestibule.

I don't mean to derail the main point of your thread, but if you were interested in an alcohol stove for 3-season use, there are very good options.

Alcohol stoves can boil up to 16 ounces of water in about 8-15 minutes, depending on ambient temp, water temp, the stove itself, the pot, and the fuel used.

Alcohol stoves are best suited for boiling water only. Some have "simmer" options, but I don't bother with that.

My stove and mug which doubles as my pot weigh a combined total of 3 ounces.

Once you know how your alcohol stove uses fuel, you can carry the exact amount of fuel. For example, I know I need 1 ounce of fuel a day for my style of cooking. If I go on a week long trip, I'll take about 8 ounces– a little extra for stove priming and a possible spill.

Lots of material here on virtually any type of stove available.

Some other info may be helpful.

You mentioned winter and group meals. Will you be doing warmer weather and solo trips? What kind of meals do you prefer–actual "cooking" or simple freeze dried foods? Are you looking for a single do-it-all stove?

That's good to know, but I still think my first purchase should be a stove that will work in the winter. Once I have that, I might tinker with some alcohol stoves.

But I do appreciate the info.

Here's what I am planning on using it for – mainly solo hikes but possibly a few 2-3 man hikes where I might cook for the group. Most of my meals will be dehydrated, unless I do some car camping or shorter trips where I can afford a little more weight. I would love a setup that works well in the southeaster US – 20* to 80* or more.

As for the Micro Rocket – I figure most canister stoves will be more or less equal (unless you like splitting hairs), but this one keeps getting good reviews online. I've been reading the adventures in stoving blog, which also speaks highly of it. But what might keep me from getting it is this – something like a Kovea Spider would work better in the winter since you can invert the fuel canister and add a wind screen. I'm not hiking at high altitude, nor am I hiking in deep snow (southeast US mainly). So would a Kovea Spider be overkill? The price is actually a little cheaper than a MR, and I don't mind waiting for it to ship from Korea.

Good stuff to know. Even though I jumped on this thread right away, there are MUCH more knowledgable people here when it comes to stoves.

That being said, considering the temp range is not super cold, the micro rocket may suit you well. I've heard there are things you can do to mitigate the effect cold temps have on upright canister stoves such as placing the canister on a small piece of foam to insulate it from the cold ground. However, I don't know how much that helps in reality…

Something like the Spider which allows for the inverted option can be better for winter, but I'm not sure if that is needed given your temp range.

Regardless of what stove you end up with, a proper windscreen in crucial!

This price is enticing – especially if I can get a 20% off coupon soon.
http://www.backcountry.com/snow-peak-starter-kit

Any reason why it wouldn't be on par with a MSR Micro Rocket + Ti pot? It's most likely cheaper.

Snow Peak is kind of sneaky. There's usually less expensive, lighter stoves and pots. In my experience.

Sneaky good? Or sneaky bad? Or stealthy sneaky – nobody knows about them and they are awesome? haha

"Canister stoves simply for their versatility, and because I hear alcohol takes forever to boil and aren't practical in the winter…unless you guys can talk me out of that. I'm not afraid to learn."

If your leaning towards a canister stove that is fine, just keep in mind that you can build a MYOG alcohol stove, pot stand, and windscreen for only a few dollars, so the entry price to experiment and learn about alcohol stoves isn't really prohibitive, and you never know, you might end up loving it.

"The MSR Rocket is a wonderful stove. "

Unclear. Do you mean the Pocket Rocket or the Micro Rocket?

–B.G.–

He probably mean the Micro Rocket.

I'll probably mess around with making some alcohol stoves in the near future, but I'd really like to land on a canister setup prior to that.

I'm pretty new to the stove thing but admit I have sort of caught the (used) stove bug so I've accumulated a few even before our maiden full backpacking voyage (my son and I have only done drive up camping thus far…). I'm also in the southeast.

I think for most of our temps and most uses an upright canister stove is the easiest and most foolproof option. I've used or own a Snow Peak Gigapower, Coleman F1 Ultralight and Primus Express. On some level I agree that, vestibule cooking aside, the differences are relatively minor. I like the flame and supports on the Gigapower, and the F1 is quite light and probably the hottest. I am currently enamored with the Gigapower but part of that is they are sort of the Honda Accord of stoves – reliable, ubiquitious, lots of parts, etc… but not the flashiest.

I have a remote canister setup originally bought for more stability (for my scout son when he qualifies for a stove use) and the potential for inverted use in cooler weather. However I dont have a stand for the canister and the valve (it's a Primus ETA Packlite) isn't really ideal for inverted use if you need to adjust it much.

I recently picked up a white gas true winter option but admit that the fiddle factor and mess is making me rethink that one.

So if I were to do it over I would probably get an upright canister first for 90% of the SE conditions I'm likely to encounter, and seek out a remote canister setup used or for a good deal on closeout or the like for the handful of times I either want the greater stability due to a group setting, or inverted canister use in cooler temps.

Pots – I originally got the Coleman Max hard anodized set and used it a handful of times with good results… Then I got the 1.3L Primus ETA powerpot that came with the Packlite and got a smaller 1L Primus ETA powerpot with frypan lid to use with the canister stoves and have been quite happy with both… But still keep my eye out for a used titanium kettle (still kicking myself for not picking up one of the Stoic ones when they were $19.99)…

You may add to the collection for different uses, but for most uses I'd stick with a 750ml to 1L aluminum or titanium if you want to spend the money basic pot to start with.

Just a warning for inverting the canister on remote stoves. They MUST have a preheat tube! Not all remote stoves do.

Also, when using a stove in inverted mode, the flame seems a bit touchy to control, so make small, careful adjustments to the flame.

Fireballs? We don't need no stinking fireballs!

Do some research. There are innumerable threads on here about the best stoves. I know the search function can be tricky, but this subject has already been discussed at length.

For starters, you might look here.

As for pots, the Evernew Titanium pots are lighter and better made than just about any brand. They also use the thinnest titanium, thus better heat conduction. Antigravity Gear, Trail Designs, and many others sell them for a reasonable price.

My 1.3L Evernew Ti pot is light enough to carry solo but big enough for two or more.

Kovea spider works well with inverted canister in winter. The others cannot.
MSR Micro Rocket – bendy pot supports.

Pots – both brands OK.

Cheers

Clayton – Yeah I got lost in all the reviews…which is why I posted here. There's a lot to sift through.

I'm strongly leaning toward a Snowpeak Starter Kit or the Optimus Crux Lite with Terra Solo Cookset. Any reason I should consider one over the other?

And is there an easy way to get a 20% off coupon from Backcountry.com?

I have the Giga Power, Micro Rocket and a very used Coleman Exponent F1 I was given, all canister stoves, having sold my great PR last Summer. I've only used the GP and MR once each as I collect stoves and try to rotate them on bp or snow camp trips. Both of them did very well heating soup up on a short hike in the snow for lunch. The MR is pretty loud I thought and I'm a MSR guy. The F1 has the most btu's, I used it a couple times maybe. Get your coffee stuff ready before putting the water on the stove, it is fast, about 40% or more btu's than other like canister stoves. They come up on the bay of evil at under $30 new. If you dip the canister in water, it will help vaporize the fuel when out in low temps (single digits F) and help get water heated up, then you can dip it again so all the propane doesn't burn off first.
Duane

For simplicity, convenience, and general use I would recommend this combination. You may have to use something like a sleeping pad in windy conditions as a wind screen. Not good for winter. But it is a rock solid combo for a "new guy." It is not my typical set-up but I go this route sometimes.

del

> the Spider seems to put out half the power of the Gigapower
Where did you get those figures from?

Cheers

del