Recommend me a canister stove.

I've used Coleman Exponent F1 – started leaking occasionally, don't know if that was just me or user error

Pocket Rocket – that's worked fine for me

Soto Windmaster – very slightly my favorite – well made – it weighs a little less but that's because the pot support is smaller, once my pot tipped over, since I've been more careful – the piezo starter supposedly doesn't work over 10,000 feet

I don't think there's any difference in efficiency

You got to have a windscreen, which contradicts the user manual – just make sure the side of the canister doesn't get warm to touch, like greater than body temperature

I think Jetboil Sol Titanium weighs the same when you include weight of pot and windscreen, but is a little more efficient

There are several standard stove models that will go 3 to 6 ounces. They tend to have bigger burners that are better for large pots. There are also a few stoves that will go 1.6 to 2 ounces. They tend to have smaller burners and are OK for a smaller pot for one or two people. Some stoves have a taller burner, so the whole thing stands up taller on the canister, so it is less stable for a heavy pot. Some stoves have a very short stem between the canister and the burner, so they are more stable for pots, but you still don't want to put a heavy pot over a small canister.

Frankly, in the sub-2-ounce category, I don't see much difference in them.

Whatever you are getting, you better get it now and practice with it just a bit so you know how to estimate fuel usage.

–B.G.–

Youve used my current favorite the litemax — gigapower would be my second choice but the litemax is excellent lightweight and reliable an all around top performer.

del

Ive got a 1.7 oz gnat and a stainless 2cup cup that weighs 2.16 oz with lid I will have to bring on the JMT this summer for same reason, I cant see any reason to have a 3oz stove when lighter ones are available for solo use.

There may be some info in this article to help you make a choice. There are certainly newer and lighter stoves that have come out since it was written but there is still useful info to he had.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_canister_stoves_review_summary.html#.Ux0FrM6n-HY

Back when I was using a canister stove the info led me to chose the Coleman F1. I might have to get another one since I'm in the same boat regarding possible restrictions in CA this year. I use esbit now but it's in a grey area regarding the restrictions. Last year I was in Inyo permit office listening to an Inyo Ranger and a Sequoia NF Ranger try to figure out if esbit was a no no. They finally decided it was OK.

I think the Coleman brand makes some of us cringe but the F1 design certainly nailed it as a great stove choice.

I bought this FMS-300T the exact same reason. Weighs 45 grams and works fine. I would really like to use alcohol and am now considering going stove-less. What to do?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291035068026?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

if you want to go the cheap route this stove ive found works just fine for 12$

the build quality IME doesnt seem any worse than any other stove out there … another BPL member has used it for awhile too

it aint the lightest, but its around the same as a "normal" canister stove weighted a few years ago, which people used jsut fine

http://dx.com/p/ultra-mini-portable-outdoor-metal-gas-stove-with-a-case-2-ag3-52063

or just get a jetboil …

;)

Looks like a Kovea model. Probably good enough and I'm sure the piezo igniter can be removed for a half ounce savings.

Its a kovea copy … The other BPLer said its more stable with the lighter attached, he said he hasnt had any problems the last few years other than the piezo being finicky

Thats been my experience as well

Im not saying its the "best" stove out there but the weightis reasonable and the price is right

The real biatch is the 1 month shipping time

Of course you can just buy a top of the line fire maple or olicamp for 30-40$

These chinese stoves IMO will wreck havoc with the market

;)

Howdy,
This stove has a track record, plus 4 supports for extra stability. proven design and cheap. stephan.

It may not signify any change in quality but I noticed that the GigaPower is now made in Korea and is apparently not test burned before shipping. Previously only the GST120 was Korea made. The older GigaPower GS100 and GST100 were Japanese production and included a note explaining the slight discoloration was the result of qa final testing.

"The real biatch is the 1 month shipping time"

I ordered something like this last year from Deal Extreme, and they said that it would be 2-3 weeks for delivery. They took my payment and then I waited. After 3 weeks, I checked, and they had not shipped anything, so I inquired. They found out that they were out of stock and had been so for a good deal of time. The payment was reversed. Needless to say, they won't get anymore business from me.

–B.G.–

> Silly me bought THREE uprights, the SP GP and Litemax, and the Gnat. Only to finally realize these are all "WINSCREEN stupid", ie. an EFFECTIVE windscreen ends up being taller/heavier than the stove! If my experiments with esbit this season fail, I will probably go remote canister like the Kovea Spider.

This post was like a smack upside the head, for me. Of course I don't want a stove that's hard to windscreen. For some reason I was not thinking about this while shopping for uprights. I was about to go for a GP. Thanks for the post.

Take a look at the olicamp remote stove. It's really light, simmers well, and works well with a wind screen. No idea about durability though, just got it.

Stick with the LiteMax – it's a whole lot better than many of the other ones.
The Pocket Rocket and Coleman F1 are good examples of what not to buy.
The latest Kovea Ti and Fire Maple Ti stoves are also good, but why spend the money?

Cheers

While I agree on the litemax I have an F1 and while I like the litemax better the F1 has performed well for me (was my first stove…)

Curious what is wrong with the F1?

I know Roger (and others) take issue with the hokum that Soto's marketing dept. spews about how the valve makes the stove work better at cold temps and high elevations, but the stove is actually quite nice.

I had (have) used a Brunton Crux for many years and loved it, but found it's performance lacking in cold and higher elevations. Recently got the Windmaster and it rocks pretty hard. Compared to the Crux it's lighter, boils water in about 1/2 the time and uses a tad less fuel to do so. If you have a small pot (I use the BPL 500 titanium) the Windmaster does a good job of focusing the flame to the middle of the pot, with a minimum of flame licking up the sides. It also works really well with the Olicamp XTS.

A buddy has the Litemax so +1 on that recommendation as well…cant go wrong with either IMO.

re: going cheap. Don't do it. It's one thing to get a deal on a great piece of equipment. Quite another to buy a POS simply because it is cheap. Like my dad said, "you get what you pay for".

Yeah, it's too bad they claimed Soto works better at cold temps. Makes you doubt everything else.

But I think the regulator is useful. With regular stove, you turn it on and it burns nicely, then due to evaporative cooling it cools down and pressure reduces, then the flame goes way down.

Yeah, all you have to do is turn the needle valve back up, but it's slightly agravating to after a minute notice the flame is way down. Convenient to have the regulator valve do it automatically.

Probably not agravating enough to replace a needle valve stove, but if you're buying one, this is a useful feature.

Or use Roger's inverted stove which doesn't have this characteristic.

Phillip:
"While I agree on the litemax I have an F1 and while I like the litemax better the F1 has performed well for me (was my first stove…)

Curious what is wrong with the F1?"

Haha…meanwhile I was wondering what was wrong with the Pocket Rocket, though I use a LiteMax, too.

I use a Pocket Rocket and it works fine. I see it bashed here frequently but it boils in about 2 minutes. It does need to be somewhat protected from wind but I can usually just put it behind a rock or stack my gear nearby to block the wind. I've used mine for two seasons (this year will be my third) with no issues.

I think what would be skookum is if there was a pot out there with a built in windscreen- one that would drop a shroud over the flame without enclosing the canister itself. I guess sort of the same idea that Jetboil uses, but able to be used with any canister stove.

Owen – well we'll have to see what folks say…!

I have a recycled F1, had a PR, have a MicroRocket now. Have never checked efficiency on them. I only had to place some oil on the spindle of the F1 to get it to move, it must of had water boil over or left in the rain or just from heat, but it works fine after it was given to me. When I use it, I get my coffee water ready before I fire it up. It has around 16,400 btu's, more than other small canister stove which I believe most have between 9,000 and 10,000 btu's. That does not necessarily correlate to being efficient. When switching to Coleman brand canister fuel for the PR, the stove had to be screwed down pretty tight, maybe a gasket was getting stiff, but the stove worked fine for me for years on my week long vacations. I have not used the Microrocket much, I like to take my old stoves out instead. The SP GS-100 Giga Power stove is pretty nice, I like it, but once again, have only used it a little.
Duane