Show me your cook kits!

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

She tried to add alcohol to a hot stove / stove that was burning?  You only add fuel if the stove is cool, she could have easily placed her hand over the stove to verify this (or picked it up).  This is simply an arrogant backpacker who skipped some basic safety steps.  This is not an example of the dangers of an alcohol stove but the dangers of being ignorant and stupid.  My 2 cents.

[AK Granola]

I’m not one to call others stupid, since we all make mistakes. Beginners tend to make more mistakes. It’s a natural thing. The arrogance comes in thinking  you will never make one.

There are lots of things that can go wrong with stoves, or in handling of them. Some learn the hard way, some are taught proper handling. Some read instructions! (not many)  One thing I see a lot is people sitting at a picnic table and boiling water at about head height on a tippy canister stove. Freaks me out totally. Or sitting legs spread with their tippy stove in front of them. But I’m an anxious mom and can envision bad things happening more than most people. Getting burned in the backcountry is not a happy thing.

[AK Granola]

My main takeaway from that story on the Hewlett fire – if you start one, don’t report that you did!

[Diane Pinkers]

One of my main reasons for sticking with alcohol, is the whole pot sliding off the canister stove thing, splashing hot water everywhere. I use a Kojin stove with a Trail Designs cone, and feel pretty safe with it.  I’ve been seduced by the multifunction ability of the Bot 750 for both cooking and cold soaking, as I often cold soak lunch and boil water for dinner. I also am freaked out by the lighting of the canister stove, it seems like I can get away from the alcohol stove more easily, but I’m adapting. I do like the canister stove more for the shoulder seasons.

[Link .]

I posted the video because this conversation made me think of this old video from team bad wizard on the PCT, I wasn’t making a blanket statement that alcohol stoves are dangerous, in fact I have used alcohol stoves way more than I have used canister stoves. The woman who put the alcohol on the lit stove even says it was a stupid mistake and had a lot of experience with them without any problems(she is a triple crowner and many thousands of miles of hiking and alcohol stove use) she was embarrassed and I thought it was great that she talks about it so other people can learn from her mistake because she knew better(she was busy talking with friends at the time and made a stupid mistake) it could have been way worse.

[jscott]

“This is not an example of the dangers of an alcohol stove but the dangers of being ignorant and stupid.”

well, don’t stop there! why not “ignorant and stupid and uninformed”? pile on those adjectives that essentially say the same thing. Bring out the synonym finder!

Ever been tired after a long day of hiking? ever been distracted while performing a task? No? then you’re not human. Mistakes happen.

Knowing this, I try to adopt a familiar ritual when it comes to things like cooking in the backcountry. First I do one thing (unpack the kit, food. re-secure the bear canister, etc.), then the next thing, in a prescribed manner in a safe environment. I try to act out of habit, that doesn’t require a lot of planning etc. I don’t like attempting to cook up delicious meals that require several simmering stoves going at once while friends are all sitting about talking. Simple and easy for me: boil water, add to bag, bag in pot, lid on that, done. Habit.

I’ll eat well once I get back home.

[Mart]

Methanol and Ethanol? A dangerous combination in the backcountry.

[Jerry Adams]

Diane – okay, I’m convinced, it makes sense to ban alcohol stoves if fire risk is high : )

I wonder if white gas stoves or canister stoves have ever caused wildfires?

Pouring white gas into fuel bottle could result in wildfire.  I know of cases where people have been badly burned doing this.  I’ve singed my eyebrows but otherwise no harm.  White gas only slowly evaporates so can be a fire risk.

butane and propane quickly evaporate so are more likely to dissipate

esbit tablets are a bit difficult to light, not very flammable, maybe safer

 

[Thom]

Is any type stove more dangerous than  tobacco, pot smokers ??

thom

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

S.W.I.  (Stoving while intoxicated).

[Mart]

I’m convinced, it makes sense to ban alcohol stoves if fire risk is high : )

Oh, no. Don’t ban the stove. Better to ban the hiker. It’s not the stove that kills… 😉

[Dan]

I prefer using an alcohol stove, and I think they can be used safely in most conditions. But I will admit that they do require more careful attention to detail. They’re not as “idiot-proof” as a canister stove.  :-)

[jscott]

“They’re not as “idiot-proof” as a canister stove.  :-)”

I know myself, as Plato advised. Hence I use a canister stove.

[Jerry Adams]

I watched the rest of that video

Many of them had experienced unintended burning with alcohol stoves

I’m becoming more skeptical of alcohol stoves

When alcohol burns, it’s almost invisible.  That is a major problem.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

IMO, some people tend to be cavalier about alcohol as a fuel. One of the problems is that alcohol stoves can be pretty cheap and easy to manufacture so there are a lot out there. If people treated denatured alcohol the same way they would treat gasoline, the problems would diminish by orders of magnitude. My 2 cents.

P.S. you can easily solve the invisibility by adding some salt to the alcohol

[Matthew / BPL]

Jon, what’s your take on the safety of Esbit stoves?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

So, all fuels have safety issues: toxicity, material handling, byproducts. From the MSDS “ Esbit’s Safety Data Sheet states combustion can create formaldehyde, ammonia, nitrogen oxide, hydrogen cyanide and ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal disturbances, and kidney damage”. BTW, it can also cause skin irritation.

Now what isn’t mentioned is concentration (dosage, exposure time and so forth). As with all fuel, it is best to use your stove in well-ventilated areas and with people preferably upwind of the stove. IMO, I would say the byproducts are the least favorable compared to alcohol or isobutane. I think that it is fine for a backpacking trip but wouldn’t want to use it for everyday cooking. My 2 cents.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Here’s an unusual kit. Litesmith 20oz cold soak jar. The plastic is safe for hot water.

Inside is a 450ml titanium cup. It’s almost 2 cups. There is a lid for heating and a Snow Peak sipping lid for sipping hot drinks. The cup is inside a thin craft foam cozy I made.

The cup can hold my stove and lighter. My spoon and fuel is kept in my food bag.

I heat the water, pour into oats in the plastic jar. Put plastic jar under my shirt to warm me up. Heat up some more water for coffee. When coffee is done, eat oats and drink coffee.

In the evening, boil water, dump into either your fancy store bought meal in a bag or into the cold soak jar to warm up and rehydrate dinner, then sip a glass of wine in the cup or heat up a miso soup in the cup.

Not super convenient but it packs up nicely and is good for trips where you’re going to sit around in the morning waiting for other people.

[Matthew / BPL]

Thanks, Jon

[John S.]

Jerry, I still see drivers throwing lit cigarettes out their driver window in the South. It is irritating to say the least.

[Jerry Adams]

I found the best solution to be to just quit totally, solves all sorts of problems : )

[nunatak]

In November I did a long trip where I wanted to have numerous hot beverages per day, plus dinners. I probably heated 5-600 ml half a dozen times per day, so 90 boils. Yes, I know… but the days were hard hiking and the evenings cold and long. Something to do while also having excellent side benefits, like hydration, etc.

Most boils happened with the water around freezing and air temps in the twenties. The altitude was around 5k’. With 9-10g of isobutane per pot, I was looking at 900g plus a safety net, ie four 8 oz canisters and one 4 oz. On my scale that came out to 3.8lbs

Instead I brought one 8 oz canister for the Windmaster and a Qiwiz wood stove, making my entire cook kit with fuel, 2 stoves, pot and accessories around 1.4 lbs

Having the combo stoves allowed quick coffee on the Soto in the mornings to get going with the limited daylight, and then leisurely enjoying the wood stove ambiance at night while cooking and brewing. Altogether a winner!

The area we went to positively does not have risks of wildfires, and the environment provides bone dry dead twigs in abundance.

As the trip wore on and fatigue and constant exposure took its toll we started even brewing at lunch with Soto. Having unlimited fuel I never once grabbed and shook the isobutane full of worry about the remaining content

 

 

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

As boring as it may be, this is the cook set that I bring on all of my trips.  Keep in mind that I always backpack with my wife, so this is a kit for two people. Additionally, I don’t do freeze dried / freezer bag cooking, I cook in the pot. I bake on the trail and usually make bread at least once during the trip. The remote stove (invertible) allows me to use a fully enclosed windscreen, use it below freezing and the stove is extremely stable.  Everything nest in the pot with room to spare.
Evernew 1.3 liter pot
Bobcat Kovea Windscreen & heat shield
Kovea Spider

[Jerry Adams]

nunatak – what tent is that?

what’s with the curved piece of fabric on each edge at the bottom?

[nunatak]

Twelve year old MYOG 9×9 mid based, I believe, on some of your posts on here

It has bug netting around the perimeter

[Author]

Posts