Not happy with my cook setups.

I've used everything from alcohol stoves to esbit to my flame throwing MSR Dragonfly and now strictly carry a Jetboil Ti. About the only thing I haven't messed with yet is the wood burning cone systems.

Besides the dependability, time savings, fuel efficiency, and (relative) light weight of the Jetboil, I don't like to worry about fire restrictions either.

The older I get, the faster I want my coffee ready to drink and/or supper to be ready to eat. The only reason I would take anything else these days would be if canister availability was an issue. I.E.: through hiking, etc.

Now that I have dialed in some lighter gear, I am happy to make some exceptions for the things that just plain make my trip easier and more enjoyable.

I got a china made propane stove off amazon for under $6 comes with pizo ignighter love the little thing 3.2 ozs without the
Plastic case it comes in. Oli aluminum cup thats my cook pot. Mcdonalds coffee cup
.1 oz fits inside oli cup with stove and bic lighter. Aluminum from pie pan for cup top
Reflectix cozy. Other than fuel canister thats the kit. Cooks extremely fast and very good on fuel if you
Adjust the flame to a reasonable setting. You can weld with this thing.

Well, I found a good deal on a Jetboil Sol aluminum on gear swap so I picked it up. Tried it out today for my morning coffee and for couscous and salmon freezerbag meal for lunch. I'm won over. It's just so simple, quick, and easy. Thanks for the advice.

"Remember, the only stove with 0% failure rate on the AT is the alcy stove"

If you get a leak in the alcohol bottle, it doesn't matter how reliable the alcohol stove is ;-).

Bomb proof ultralight stove simplicity can't be beaten by a caldera cone sidewinder esbit setup.

Imo… ;-)

"Bomb proof ultralight stove simplicity can't be beaten by a caldera cone sidewinder esbit setup. "

See. This is a perfect example of the reason for the fruitless and constant debate about the issue. Your definitions if "bombproof" and "simplicity" are not the same as mine or a lot of people. Therefore apples and oranges.

To me, for example, "simplicity" does not include carrying multiple chunks of stuff that smells horrible even in the original packaging with THAT inside a ziplock bag and that transfer the smell to everything near it, that leaves sticky, toxic residue on your pot, in close proximity with the bits that touch your food, that have to be snuffed out and then re-stored in their even smellier half-burnt form if you don't use all of it, and so on.

Apples and oranges.

@ Millonas

4 g esbit tablets are the answer.

No leftovers, no smell, no individual packaging.

The soot comes off if you slide the pot over the ground right after use.

But I agree, to each his own

@Cameron: When my family of 6 plus a friend or two of the kids does an overnight trip, nothing beats the Reactor.

I have used a Gigapower for solo trips of up to one week duration, but I'm going to give the Sol a try, as like several others have posted, I am now coming around to simplicity occasionally winning out over weight. We shall see how that goes. I suspect that for one week trips, the Sol is going to win out. And for 1-2 night trips where space and weight aren't that much of a concern, it may win out there too.

I've been in situations where the reactor was far and away the only stove in the group that would work or were worth the hassle of making work in poor conditions. The 1L pot served 6 very quickly. I've since bought a 2.5L for snow.

They can be had at rei garage sales and msr customer service is super.

It's not UL, just L.

Being both a Caldera Cone and and ESBIT fanboy I agree with Peter about the simplicity of that foolproof combination.

Yeah, I love the cool factor of the flame from an alky stove but I love even more the fuel efficiency of ESBIT on a week long trip. That lighter weight calls my name.

I'd add that the Brian Green modified Gram Cracker tablet holder will double your tablet burn time to 15 minutes by holding the liquid residue for combustion. That means a lot less fuel to carry.

Take a small microfiber dish rag for wiping off the pot bottom and sides. That way you can wash it out and re-use it many times.

Marko, I find that I can easily smell the Esbit fuel cubes, even if they are still sealed in their packaging. But, that lasts for only the first day. After that, I don't smell them anymore except if I put my nose right to them. That is one of those perception things.

Also, on the first day, I find the sticky toxic residue on my cook pot to be objectionable. However, if I just ignore it, I don't notice it anymore after the first day.

I find the Coghlans fuel to be the same or slightly worse as Esbit. The Bleuet fuel is the same (only it is pink).

–B.G.–

I feel the need to make the statement again, so there is no doubt :-)

Use 4 gram esbit tablets, they don't stink
Use 4 gram esbit tablets, they don't stink
Use 4 gram esbit tablets, they don't stink

;-)

Peter smell is one of those big genetic variables so unfortunately this is equivalent, no mater how many times you say it, of saying "brand X shoes fit perfectly".

"Peter smell is one of those big genetic variables so unfortunately this is equivalent, no mater how many times you say it, of saying "brand X shoes fit perfectly"."

Hi Millonas

Okay…you are a very hard man to convince :-) haha…let me say it this way then…

For me, 14 gram esbit STINK HARD! of old rotten fish, compared, 4 gram esbit has very very very little smell, if any at all…

I think i'm entitled to make that statement having used both tablet sizes.

And no, it's the equivalent of saying shoe A is wider than shoe B.

Now i remember why i took a 5 month posting break, i hate these schoolyard discussions that happens so easily online… peace!