Coleman Xtreme Stove REVIEW

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Jim

Since I am on the other side of the globe, others get a chance to pile in with help before I am even awake … :-)

I will try to add a few helpful comments.

Yes, I agree that the 22 oz white gas tank is similar to the Powermax 300 g tank in size and similar in weight. But note that in 'filling' either one with fuel you have to leave some air space. This space does not have to be large for the Powermax, but with the 22 oz white gas tank you do need to only fill to about 2/3 capacity. That fouls things up a bit.

In addition to the fuel capacity and weight of the tanks one also needs to consider fuel/stove efficiency. White gas as a duel is not as efficient as propane/butane, for a host of reasons include the hassles of priming. My experience – others may differ, is that I need about 50% more white gas in practice.

Purely as an aside and probably not relevant: the Powermax canisters are pressure tested during manufacture to handle the rather high pressures involved. I don't think the white gas tanks would necessarily be able to handle that pressure. They might, but they might not.

I did a comparison of the Xtreme and the Simmerlite in one of the printed BPL magazines many years ago. Right now I am not sure whether it was republished on the web. Ah, yes it was:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/msr_simmerlite_vs_coleman_xtreme.html

Cheers

[James Marco]

Sure, all dead info to me, I am not using it, once I had stuff figured out.
The shear simplicity of the SVEA leading to high reliability, and, the high fuel efficiency was enough to make me keep it for long distance hikes/canoe trips.

Simmer on a Simmerlite??? Ha ha….yes, ONLY marketing could do that to a product.

Heat screens: Actually, I use an inverted cone-like thing made of aluminum foil…
It works as well as any, I guess. A 2' piece of heavy duty AL foil works pretty well. I drape it over the pot as a lid tapering it down over the burner as a heat screen. Sort of like a caldera cone, but hung off the pot, rather than supporting the pot. One of these days I really aught to patent the bloody thing. But, I really don't plan to. Feel free to use these. This includes the various cottage people.
A tapered lid is made to fit most any camping pot. Then taper it down over the burner. A couple holes can be punched in the top for heat exhaust. Another piece of AL foil can be used as a wind break. A couple pebbles can be used to hold it down in anything less than a full storm wind. It will boost the SVEA from about.27oz to about .18 ounce, soo, it is well worth the effort on a longish trip. It has to be really beat up before it stops working. I call it Marco's Cone instead of the long winded Eye-talion name I got hung with. It is as upside down as me, anyway.

[Jerry Adams]

When you say SVEA, do you mean the classic, archaeic SVEA 123?

Does anyone still use that?

I gave up on that after not getting it to work while camping on snow. I'm sure with proper technique one could get that to work, but… And, I don't like the priming process that envolves singeing one's eyebrows.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Roger,

Thank you for that link. To summarize your findings, there's a rough weight parity between the two stoves, but the white gas/petrol fueled Simmerlite uses more fuel. The increased fuel usage is due at least in part to the necessity of priming the stove.

I may still put together a little test of my own. I use alcohol to prime my white gas stoves. I can control the amount dispensed more easily, there's significantly less soot, and no "fireball." The alcohol and bottle would have to be included in the weight calculation. The alcohol and bottle's weight would be partially offset by the fuel savings realized by not priming with white gas/petrol.

I'm doing some write ups as I mentioned on my blog, yes I am a gear nerd, and I'm currently writing about lightweight options for winter stoves.

If anyone gets a bad case of insomnia, here you go: http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com

HJ

[James Marco]

Actually, I dropped the old one and got a new one back in 72 or 73, I think.

Singing eyebrows??? Wow. The only time that ever happened was when I poured fuel on it to light it.

[Jerry Adams]

"Singing eyebrows??? Wow. The only time that ever happened was when I poured fuel on it to light it."

Yeah, that's what happened to me a couple times.

You prime it with white gas. Light it. It flames up and heats up the vaporizer. The flame dies down. Then you turn the stove on and you're good to go.

The problem is when you heat something up. Let it cool some. Then re-prime it. But it's already fairly hot so the white gas vaporizes. Light it. Bang!!! Singed eyebrows.

You have to let it cool sufficiently before re-primeing.

When humans are envolved (or at least me) they sometimes screw it up and don't wait long enough for it to cool before re-primeing.

Canister stove or alcohol stove – doesn't have this problem.

[Dondo .]

Great looking blog, Jim. I was just trying to decide which stove to pack for an upcoming trip, and your post reminded me of all the things I love about the Xtreme. Looking forward to reading more about stoving.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Thanks, Dondo. They're good stoves. So freakin' easy to use.

HJ

[John Nausieda]

Nice tip on that Powermax bevel fix. Haven't yet had that problem with mine but that and the o ring seal thing are potential future problems. Believe it or not , I'd look into an Optimus 99 with the aluminum case instead of the steel.Unfortunately seems to be attracting a cult. I've used one for over twenty years and it's a stone reliable stove. I like the little pumps you could get for them-they pressurized the fuel so you could dribble it into the cup for an easy start with no pouring. Also solved the relight problem. Just loosen the cap and start from no pressure again with a pump or so and easy restart -no fireballs or whatever. I think people seriously underestimate the convenience of white gas in that you can carry extra fuel and not have to calculate remaining fuel. And in a pinch you can light a wood fire. Liked your site. Pyromania for sure. Those who light their eyebrows up have offended the Stove God. It is his first warning, but not his last.

[Ken Thompson]

+1 on the 99. I have one. Always works. No fireballs.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Hi, John,

Yeah, that fix for Powermax using stoves is a pretty good one. Simple and works well. Obvious in retrospect, but it took me a while to think of it.

Yes, the old Optimus 99's and their close cousins the Svea 123, Primus 71, Optimus 80, and Optimus 8R all have their cult followings, don't they. If you really want to see some outrageous prices, look for an Optimus 199. The 199 is a triple fuel stove ("white" gasoline, kerosene, and alcohol) IIRC. They go for crazy amounts of money.

Of that family of stoves, I'm partial to the Svea 123. I won't claim that it's light weight but it's really simple, and I suppose I have some sentimental attachment to it. :)

HJ

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