Arctic stoves
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I can confirm that Iditarod dog mushers use HEET (conveniently sized containers) in a butt-simple set-up of a baking pan with a handful of fiberglass insulation. The step up from that, like in this photo, would be chaffing dishes like a caterer uses.
Here’s a write-up of my version of a Moulder Strip (and BRS-3000T) use at -21F which definitely wasn’t the lowest temperature it would work at. There’s a lot to be said for Bob’s original, simple strip of copper from the flame down to the bottom seam of the canister:
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/moulder-strip-put-to-the-test-butane-canister-use-at-21f-29c/And then there’s just plain old propane:
Sure, that’s a pound of steel per pound of propane, but 100-gram butane canisters are also 1:1 fuel:steel and 230-gram canisters are 1:0.63. With pure propane you’re good to close to -40F (and lower if you use any of the tricks for butane). I use it on a snow-camping trips. It’s cheap (super cheap if you refill at home), readily available and you can use a propane stove on it or use an adaptor and run any butane stove on it directly. They make those plastic bases for the propane cansiters to make them more stable and you kind of have to have one of those unless you imbed it in a snow bank or have a rig to hang from a tent pole or branch (for all those trees in the Arctic!).
And can I just comment on how SWEET! it is to have an option like this in your quiver:
How are you going to drive to the Arctic Ocean? There’s security at the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and you can’t actually drive yourself all the way there – you get stopped 9 miles to the south. You can pay to take a tour and dip your toe into the Arctic Ocean (in summer), but they count noses onto and off of the bus.
Inuvik is another option. When I was last there, you had to drive from Inuvik (which is a lovely northern village/town) north on the frozen MacKenzie Rivier to get to the Arctic Ocean, but since the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway was completed in 2017, there is an year-round public highway to the Arctic Ocean.(But, of course, that’s in Spring, not in January when there’s no daylight). If you haven’t done a lot of winter driving in the Arctic, I have thoughts about that as well.
I don’t know what aggregate they used on the ITH, but going from the Top of the World Highway to Inuvik, IME, involved some really sharp rocks. I had two flats during those few hundred miles (and thankfully had one replaced in Fort McPherson). It’s not so bad with a bit of snow on it.
Seriously consider studded snow tires for your rig and have (and know how to use) tire chains along – I’d never do a trip like that without enough to chain up all four tires and have resorted to that to bash through a closed highway over the pass in a 2WD Corolla when the biggest, baddest jacked-up trucks were stopped.Alcohol Stove lights easily at -24 degrees
Perry, I can send you one to test in your super cool chamber.
In this video you’ll see Sean Emery use his Fancee Feest alcohol stove to heat his morning cup of coffee.
Temperature was -32 degrees.
Perry, I’ll send you one of the Fancee Feest also. They are now made with an integrated titanium pot support.
This is what the alcohol stove looked like. The carbon felt was 1/4″ over the top edge of the stove body. The reserviour pump system was replaced with a simple connection to a HEET bottle. You could refill the stove while it was burning by tipping the bottle and giving it a little squeeze. I think that Peter used this for 3-4 years.
And speaking of batteries – obviously you only bring lithium batteries but with the potential of -30F and -40F (that’s also -40, Canadian); you may have to keep them warm like dog mushers had to do with their alkaline batteries 20 years ago. So a headlamp with the battery pack behind your head, under your hood, is better than one with the batteries hanging out in the weather. Just be glad you don’t have to dog mush or go caving using one of these under your coveralls:
I’ll make a plea for some serious lighting along with you. Plodding along, 5 to 20 lumens is plenty, but sometimes you need 5 seconds of really bright light to get your bearings and then it’s worth having some powerful light tucked inside your coat.
Maybe you want more than this, but bang for the buck, I’ll often toss this in the pack (with four AA lithium cells in it):
For such a reasonable price, and 190 lumens, it has a surprisingly bright central beam. I use it to look for moose 200-300 feet away on winter nights when the dogs are barking.
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