Show me your cook kits!

[Diane Pinkers]

I am reluctantly transitioning from alcohol stove to cannister, due to fire danger making alcohol stoves less useful with some land management outfits.  I am wondering how people carry their fuel, and their stove.  Do you use the plastic case the stove comes in?  Do you put it all in your cookpot, and no worry about residues?  I’ve seen some plastic printed gadgets on Etsy and Garage Grown Gear for protecting the cook pot, but then you are adding fuss and stuff to the kit.  Please show me how you carry it!

[Adrian Griffin]

I’ve been using a Pocket Rocket 2 (although transitioning to a Hornet II as soon as I can design a windshield for it). The red plastic case that came with the PR2 is heavy. So, I put the PR2 with a mini-Bic lighter in zPacks stove bag (2.4 grams) that goes inside my kettle (an Evernew Mug Pot 900) The bag is mainly to stop rattling and scratches. All of this, along with my other kitchenware, goes in a ditty along with my fuel canister. I’ve never been concerned about leakage or residue. Isobutane-propane mix is a gas, so unlike liquid fuels, it’ll just disappear if there’s a leak.

[Brad W]

No need for gadgets. Put the 4oz fuel can upside down with it’s plastic cap installed. Stove on top of that, bic mini, lid, inside the Toaks 550ml or 750ml mug.

[Jason G]

Which agencies are banning alc stoves? Here in CA they are permitted in national parks and national forests..  even during the highest restriction times.

I’ve been using the Coghlans solid fuel tablets for many years and love them. Cheap too. $2.85 for 24 at my local store! I wonder if those would be under the same classification as an alcohol stove?

[Bob Shuff]

I’ve heard second or third hand about alcohol stoves being banned during fire restrictions but never found it first hand. I have seen fire/charcoal bans and even a stove (of any kind) ban, but never the hyped alcohol ban. I would comply and err on the side of safety during high risk times, but right now this should be low risk for a while in SoCal or Sierra.

I have an Evernew 760 mug and carbon fiber lid, with a Flat Cat Gear Snow Leopard system that I will sometimes swap out with a Windmaster and the tri flex option. I usually don’t carry the fuel in the pot, but I’m sure the smaller can would fit. I’ll stow a spoon, lighter, cloth and maybe a dropper with soap and then put the canister in an outside pocket.  HYOH.  The same would fit in a Toaks 550.

[Dan]

Typically the bans are not phrased to specifically mention alcohol stoves, but to ban stoves that can’t be “turned off.”

When I use a canister stove, I put it in a small bag (or wrap it in a piece of camp towel) and store it in the cook-pot with the canister, and the rest of my kit, which is pretty minimal. I’m happy with a lighter, plastic spoon, and a yogurt container.

[jscott]

Actually I like that Pocket Rocket plastic container. ***It’s robust and hardly weighs ‘a lot’…half an ounce? It keeps grit and grime out of the burner etc. Worth the weight, for me. I put this in my cook pot along with a pair of socks to take up space and stop any rattling. But I have an old school Titanium pot, not a cup. The socks would have to go somewhere, so this is efficient and works well.

***I’m referencing the traditional Pocket rocket, not the 2. That container may weigh more, I don’t know.

[John S.]

“Nine out of 10 fires are caused by humans.”

Alcohol stoves are the most dangerous. With some fire restrictions, only gas stoves with an on/off switch can be used. Of course that rules out alcohol stoves.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/fire

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/fire/?cid=fseprd667413

But in some NPS locations, it is different.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/fire-restrictions.htm

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Alcohol stoves are the most dangerous.

I would venture to say that wood fire are more dangerous.  My 2 cents.

[Adrian Griffin]

When the forests dry out in mid-to-late summer, many national forests issue orders prohibiting fires outside developed campgrounds and picnic areas. But usually there’s an exemption for stoves with a shutoff valve.

For example, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit’s order No 19-23-03 goes on to say …

However, persons with a valid Wilderness Permit or a California Campfire Permit may use a portable campfire pit, lantern, or stove that uses gas, kerosene, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel, with a shut-off valve (gas stoves), in any area at least five feet from any flammable materials.

The whole order’s at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1131196.pdf.

Alcohol stoves generally don’t have any sort of shutoff valve so it seems they’re not allowed when the restrictions start.

 

[Thom]

[JCH]

Per the OP’s request…

• Toaks 130mm 0.9L pot with lid
• Soto Windmaster w/ TriFlex
• Optimus long folding spoon
• Small scrap of blue PackTowel

Fast and efficient…very good in the wind even without a screen.  Could probably save a couple of grams by replacing the Toaks bag…but why bother?  It’s a great bag.  I like the bigger pot for the options it provides, and the wide shape heats water more efficiently that a narrow pot.  8oz full boil in ~1 min at ~30% throttle.

7.4 oz total without fuel canister.

Have also been refueling the 110g canisters from the larger 227g and 450g canisters with great success using this adapter.

 

 

[Roger Caffin]

Is that orange bag padded? Could be protective.

Cheers

[Rob Lee]

What is an example of a jellied petroleum stove as mentioned in the fire exemption?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Jelled Petrilium = Sterno / Chaffing fuel: I am pretty sure.

[JCH]

Is that orange bag padded? Could be protective.

Yes, the bag is “padded” in that it appears to be 2 layers of a very open weave mesh that has some thickness.  It is the bag that the Toaks pot comes with.  I like it.

[Dan]

OK, photos as requested. This is my fire-ban set up. 5.5 oz without the canister. Sometimes I’ll bring a MYOG Ti wind-screen that adds about 0.3 oz. I like that the whole thing is compact, and I generally use a smaller bag for it, but it’s in use at the moment.

[Glen L]

We have used a Snow Peak Gigapower for 20 years now and like the four arm supports and the shorter height both making it very stable. It is very efficient with the windscreen setup shown.

Everything in the first photo is also in the second with the stove wrapped in a half paper towel on the bottom of the Toaks 650 ul nug with the knife, canister nested in another half paper towel  upright on top of the stove and mini Bic over everything just under the lid. The upper windscreen is wrapped around the mug and held in place with the homemade cozie. The lower windscreen nests under the mug. This barely takes any more space than the mug itself. Girlfriend brings her own mug and gets first preference.

[John K]

Got a couple different setups I regularly use. 1) Custom modded Toaks 550 / cone setup (alcohol) and 2) an Inferno cup on a flatcat gear Cheetah / Firemaple adapter with moulder strip:

[Thom]

The silicone lid in my kit nice for cold soaking.
thom

[AK Granola]

I use the MSR windburner, and it’s not light – 15 ounces- but it’s so easy and convenient. That weight includes pot, cozy, stove, and a cup, plus a lid that fits either cup or pot. I use the cup for my coffee/tea/soup, and put freeze dried meals or ramen or whatever in the pot. I eat out of the pot. The stove is super duper fast, faster than anything I’ve tried before and faster than any of my friends’ stoves. It works great in windy or cold conditions. A 4 ounce fuel canister fits inside, along with a cleaning rag or scrubbie, and a lighter.

[Mart]

A Soto Windmaster w/3-Flex atop a Camping Moon Remote Stove Adaptor Z23-OD.  244 grams/8.6 oz. Swap out the 3-Flex for the 4-Flex to use a big 2-liter pot for a group. It would be very stable. For solo use, leave the Remote Stove Adapter at home and add the Firemaple Petrel Heat Exchanger Pot per Jon Fong from Flat Cat Gear.

Thanks for this idea, Jon. I’ve already ordered my Petrel.

[Link .]

. Considering Your History: A Cautionary Tale .

[Jerry Adams]

watching video – alcohol stove can appear out, but actually not be, resulting in burning yourself

I wonder if an alcohol has ever started a wildfire similarly.  I can see an argument for prohibiting them if fire risk is high

I might add, smoking cigarettes has caused many wildfires.  Maybe they were smoking marijuana or something else… : )

I remember back in the bad old days people used to throw lit cigarettes out their car window driving down the road.  I remember doing that once and it blew back into the window onto the back seat.  Or dumping cigarette trays on the side of the road.

[Diane Pinkers]

https://www.denverpost.com/2012/05/18/camper-ticketed-for-starting-hewlett-fire-with-alcohol-fueled-stove-last-evacuees-returning-home/

[Author]

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