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Upright Canister Stoves – A Survey of the State of the Art


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Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) Upright Canister Stoves – A Survey of the State of the Art

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  • #3459787
    Hikin’ Jim
    BPL Member

    @hikin_jim

    Locale: Orange County, CA, USA

    I’ve compiled something of a survey of the current “state of the art” of upright canister stoves and put it into tabular form (see below).  No, the table is not exhaustive, but the major brands are all represented, and I think it’s fairly thorough.  Note that I only covered upright canister stoves.  Integrated canister stoves (e.g. a Jetboil Flash) and remote canister stoves (e.g. a Kovea Spider) were not included in order to keep the length manageable.

    I’ve written <u>an article to accompany the chart</u> which is posted on Massdrop.  The article has a special section that discusses the four ultralight upright canister stoves that are widely available (ultralight here meaning sub 2 ounce):

    1. The BRS-3000T
    2. The FMS-300T
    3. The FMS-116T
    4. The Snow Peak Lite Max (also mentioned is the Kovea Supalite, the Lite Max’s slightly heavier fraternal twin)

    There is also <u>an html version of the table</u> on my blog if that’s easier to read.

    I hope it is of interest,

    HJ

     

    x

    #3459799
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    nice report, very complete, thanks

    #3459819
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    Thanks, Jim!

    #3459940
    Hikin’ Jim
    BPL Member

    @hikin_jim

    Locale: Orange County, CA, USA

    Thanks, guys.  I hope it’s useful.  :)  I myself like being able to scan down something in tabular form.

    HJ

    #3493879
    john hansford
    BPL Member

    @johnh1

    Thanks for all the comparisons in the table, Jim. I hiked the Colorado Trail this July/August, and was all set to take my 650 ml Sidewinder and alcohol stove. Just before starting a fire ban was issued for the first 105 mls (there was an actual fire between Breck and Copper Mtn). This ban included al stoves, so I packed my Jetboil Sol Ti instead.
    However, while on the trail I got to think why not take a tiny canister stove as well as the al just for the ban sections. The 0.9 oz weight of the 3000T would be perfect here: use al where allowed and carry the 0.9 oz stove, without canister, for a minimal weight penalty. When necessary you can buy a canister too.
    This would be the most efficient way, as my resupplies varied from 7 days to 3 days, where al wins out.

    #3493891
    Bob Moulder
    BPL Member

    @bobmny10562

    Locale: Westchester County, NY

    Personally, I’d pick one or the other, with the canister being the obvious choice where fire bans are going to be encountered.

    Even if you start out using the alcohol setup and acquire a canister later, you’ll still have to carry the partial canister anyway or find some way to dispose of it. I suppose you could give it to someone who is also using a canister system, but some people might be leery of heading out on the trail with a canister with an unknown amount of fuel in it.

    #3493897
    john hansford
    BPL Member

    @johnh1

    I would safely dispose of the part used canister at the next resupply point, or leave it in a hiker box, and buy alcohol there instead. In the CT example above I would have been able to use alcohol for 380 miles, with just a 0.9 oz penalty, or even bin the 3000T since it is so cheap.

    #3493981
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    Most of my hikes are in more obscure places without hiker boxes, but I’ve pondered if, say, a AT thru-hiker would benefit from carrying a transfer valve.


    Then you could top off or combine canister contents from partially-used ones.  There are lots of caveats and practice needed to do that safely (a whole thread or article’s worth), but it would be one way to save weight, create custom fills, and split the far cheaper fuel in a 450-gram canister among multiple 220- and 110-gram canisters if you were in a group or bumped into other hikers before hitting the trail again.

    #3493982
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    And, like BobM, I’d pick one or the other.  And it would the canister stove if it’s required anywhere along the route.  “Beware the man with one gun” (because he shoots that one really well).

    OTEPOH: if most of the route allows for the alcohol stove, you could plan a few days of no-cook menus to get through the no-fire zones.

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