Cold weather cooking – stove choices

[Phillip Asby]

I have an assortment of upright canister stoves (Snow Peak Litemax being my favorite) and recently picked up an alcohol stove to try out (still waiting to use it on an actual trip…). But I do a fair amount of cold weather camping and have experienced the challenges of butane/propane uprights. Which leaves remote canisters capable of inverted operation or a white gas setup.

I have a primus paclite which can operate in inverted fashion but is a bit bulky and the position of the adjustment knob directly on top makes inverted operation difficult at best as it sticks straight into the ground.

And I've used a Brunton Bantam white gas stove that is finicky at best – and pretty heavy and prone to flare ups…

So I've thought about either getting a better smaller lighter white gas setup, or a different remote canister (Kovea Spider if they ever become available again).

What do most people use for cold weather cooking? Have most gone to some form of remote canister and if so which one? Or are many still breaking out white gas when conditions dictate and what models?

[Stephen M]

I use either a Primus Omnifuel or a Optimus Vega for winter use in inverted mode.

[David Chenault]

The Primus Express Spider has kept me happy for the last few years. It's not especially heavy and it always works, which is all I ask.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Spiders supposedly coming in mid-march here:

http://www.thegearhouse.com/Ultralight-Backpacking/Kovea-Spider-Remote-Canister-Stove-KB-1109.html

probably good to get in line now, he seems to seel out pretty quick every time he gets a batch

[JP]

–

[USA Duane Hall]

I love my old MSR and Optimus stoves. If you could afford it, get a MSR Dragonfly, they simmer unattended for a long time. Some of the old kerosene stoves work very well, but may not simmer well, especially for small pots. I collect stoves, so I could go on and on. White gas stoves are inexpensive to run, isobutane is convenient but fuel canisters are quite a bit more.
Duane

[Paul Magnanti]

I've had good luck with my MSR Whisperlite and a Simmerlite (a gift). White gas is a bit of "voodoo magic" in the sense that is it not as intuitive as a remote canister stove.

In some ways, a canister stove is superior. But, I really don't need yet another stove and my white gas stoves had worked well enough. Plus fuel is cheap.

[John Coyle]

I have a MSR Simmerlite and it works well in the cold and has been reliable. However the name Simmerlite is a misnomer because it has two speeds. Full blast and 80% full blast. Good for melting snow though. If you want simmering in a white gas stove go with the MSR Dragonfly.

[Barry P]

“What do most people use for cold weather cooking?”

Still a patient alcy stove user here. I use HEET like our dog mushers up north. Always light on first match at 0F. No flare ups. Nothing to maintain or get clogged or to connect or to disconnect. Nothing to strip. I don’t even keep my alcy warm. No special container or fighting with that last 10g left. Easy to refill.
I triple the amount that I use in summer.

An alcy winter loaner,
-Barry

[robert van putten]

MSR Whisperlight, especially when I have to melt snow.

Optimus 8R when on cycle tour and need to operate the stove on automotive gas.

3 season, a Trangia alcohol stove.

I have an old SVEA 123 I'm fixing up, and it may replace the 8R and Whisperlight.

[Dan Yeruski]

Once in a while when I feel nostalgic I'll use my DIY mini kerosene stove :-)

This is a photobucket video, click on it to view.

[Rick M]

del

[Jerry Adams]

Maybe people haven't had enough time to get out and use them and then make reviews. Hasn't it just been a few months?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

WHITE GAS (PETROL)->
1.MSR Dragonfly is my choice for decades.
2.The MSR Simmerlite is also good.

WOOD BURNING STOVES ->
1. Trail Designs (Caldera Cone) Sidewinder and Tri Ti with Inferno woodburning inserts are true "gassifier" stoves and burn very hot.
2. Bush Buddy makes a very hot gassifier stove as well but it's not as efficient as the cone stoves B/C they let a lot of heat escape. Good for multiple sized pots use.

[robert van putten]

Dan,
That is an interesting kerosene stove ya got there.
I'd be interested to learn more about it. Does it use a wick?

[Nick Gatel]

The MSR remote white gas stoves are tried and proven. My preferences are the DragonFly or WhisperLite. Not finicky… just need to read the manual several times and follow directions. Never, ever had a problem in the field.

Everyone seems to be enamored with the light Korean/Chinese remote canister stoves. But I keep reading about the field failures and taking out filters and replacing them with toilet paper, etc. Not a good feature when you are cold and need a stove right away.

I am very happy with my MSR WindPro II, which is basically a WhisperLite that can run on an inverted canister. Same MSR dependability. Not the absolute lightest for your spreadsheet though. And you could do double duty with an MSR WhisperLite Universal that runs on white gas or a canister (upright or inverted)- not to mention kerosene or unleaded gasoline.

[Dan Yeruski]

Hello Bawana,

Yes, the kerosene stove uses a wick. It needs to be primed also with a wick that is at the base of part that has all the holes in it. I use alcohol to prime it. I use a 3oz aluminum cat food can as the base. The flame height is controlled by the amount of air fed into the inner wick area. The flame is wind/breeze sensitive as you can see how the flame varies in color as it moved by the air. I spent many hours in it's design and enjoyed every min. of it. I light it up a couple time every year just to see it burn so nice and clean under calm conditions. DIY stove making is a very rewarding hobby. Thanks for your interest in it Bawana :-)

[robert van putten]

I figured it was a "wickie"!

I'm something of a stove enthusiast myself and wouldn't mind if you could post a few photos and details of the unit so I could maybe copy it. I've often wondered if I could make a lightweight kero stove myself, and figured it would have to have a wick rather than be pressurized.

[Robert Kelly]

In my Eastern woodlands, I find that a wood burning stove works well for me in winter. Plenty of fuel around; if I need to melt snow I have no worries about bringing enough fuel. If not using wood, but needing to melt snow, I'll go with white gas (MSR Simmerlite). If not using wood, but not needing to melt snow, I'll use alcohol or Esbit in a Caldera Cone.

[Andy F]

I use a Jurey-design Penny alcohol stove sometimes for boiling water for a quick breakfast, otherwise I use a campfire.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Though I mentioned the Spider earlier, what I actually use is an MSR Simmerlite – that being the lightest white gas stove I know of. If I were starting out now and didn't own that I'd probably get a spider. I'm waiting for at least the second iteration of the Caffin stove before wanting one of those.

A white gas stove is the long-term proven solution for DEEP cold, but for anything in the moderate cold range – like above zero F – it seems like an inverted canister would be simpler. As to weight it depends a lot on how long the trip is and how you cook. What I have figured out from tracking my use and some testing is that there is very little weight difference for trips of a week or so IF your cooking style is light it once in the morning and once at night. If you start the stove more often, you'll lose ground with white gas due to re-priming. This also assumes you use the smallest aluminum fuel bottle and carry the rest of your fuel in a plastic bottle. By doing that you get a lower container weight with white gas than with canisters, which offsets the slightly higher weight of the WG stove.

The other aspect of cooking style that mattes is simmering – forget it with a Simmerlite, it's on or off. For me that is fine, I just boil water. But a Spider or other remote canister unit will give you nice flame control if you like to actually cook.

[Bob Gross]

I was using my Simmerlite just last weekend in the bad weather of Southern California.

–B.G.–

[robert van putten]

As Paul mentioned with his MSR, my Whisperlight is on in blowtorch mode or it is off!
Little or no simmering going on there.

But these days my cooking style is evolving more simmering ( the result of alcohol stove usage! )and I'm wondering if maybe the Svea 123 would be a better cold weather stove for me. I understand it simmers quite well and is much more fuel efficient than the Whisperlight.

I do light my stove three or more times a day as I prefer a hot meal for lunch when traveling in cold weather, and I like a hot mug of tea with it.

The Svea is about the same weight as my MSR so if it is more efficient, it would be the way to go, especially for melting snow. It would require me to carry a separate fuel bottle and funnel to fill the Svea though. With the MSR, I simply take a metal fuel bottle large enough for the trip.

Never tried canister stoves of any kind though, can't abide the waste and expense ( what do you do with all the half empty tanks?).

[USA Duane Hall]

I wish my old MSR Rapidfire (pre-Windpro) had a fuel line like the Windpro or Windpro II, it's so dang stiff. I have a virgin Simmerlite I'll have to get out sometime, but having too much fun with all my other, older bp stoves. Back to the mid to late 30's (Optimus 8).
Duane

[Jerry Adams]

Once I tried to get Svea 123 to work on snow. Wouldn't work. Couldn't get it hot enough to pressurize.

I'm sure with proper technique it would have worked, but just a bit trickier than pump WG or canister

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