MYOG: Aluminum Windscreen for Canister Stoves

Functionality and practicality are the benefits of this windscreen that stores neatly within your cookpot.

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I have used this windscreen for a couple of years, for maybe 100 nights of backpacking, and I am very happy with it. It weighs very little (0.625 ounce), conveniently packs inside my cooking pot, and is easy to use. These pluses are offset by a bit of a compromise in wind protection - this isn't the screen you would use in very windy conditions, like in a mountaineering environment.

I have a 0.9-liter Evernew Titanium pot, but this design can be customized to any pot - all you might need to change is the length of the windscreen. The diameter of the pot is 5.25 inches, making the circumference 16.5 inches. Add 1.0 inch on both ends for the bend (2.0 inches total), 1.0 inch for the overlap, and another 0.5 inch just in case, and you get 20.0 inches.

The windscreen is made of aluminum flashing, leftover from some home project. It's about 0.01 inch thick, and I needed a piece that was 20 x 2.25 inches. You could hopefully find a piece that didn't require that you buy a huge roll for big dollars. You could use thicker aluminum if you like, but then it starts weighing too much. My windscreen 0.625 ounce, which fits into my backpacking weight budget. You could use thinner aluminum, more like foil, but it doesn't hold its shape as well and wouldn't support the pot when you set pot/windscreen directly on the ground.

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Introduction
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This topic has 35 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 5 months ago by DAN-Y.

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)

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Apr 6, 2010 at 1:11 pm #1257388

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

MYOG: Aluminum Windscreen for Canister Stoves

Apr 9, 2010 at 2:54 am #1596054

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

One of those silicone rubber bands to hold it on?

Cheers

Apr 9, 2010 at 6:49 am #1596091

Gary Dunckel
BPL Member

@zia-grill-guy
Locale: Boulder

How about simply overlapping the ends of the ti screen, punching/drilling matching small holes through each end, one near the top and one near the bottom. Then run a stiff rod through the holes(like a short piece of a coat hanger; I use 6AL-4V titanium wire, .062" diameter). That holds things together perfectly. The nice thing about this approach is that you can have different sets of holes, allowing you to increase or decrease the screen diameter for use with different pots.

Apr 9, 2010 at 7:59 am #1596104

Henk Smees
BPL Member

@theflyingdutchman
Locale: Spanish Mountains

> Then run a stiff rod through the holes
Doesn’t that leave a little bend in the screen?

I took this approach when I made my Alu screen; the same could be done with Ti, I suppose.

Apr 9, 2010 at 8:32 am #1596119

lewis riddlesworth
Member

@lewisriddlesworth

mines just coiled tight so it grips the pot without any need for a clip (",) it weighs 28g and 40g with 2 Ti pegs to make the 'wood burner'

Apr 9, 2010 at 3:17 pm #1596217

Chris Quinn
BPL Member

@cquinn
Locale: North Queensland

For Joseph and others concerned about scratching non stick surfaces – a fellow walker stores his (heavier, non ventilated) version around the outside of his pot.

Apr 10, 2010 at 5:30 am #1596390

Frank Deland
Member

@rambler
Locale: On the AT in VA

Nice jobs: Here is another solution and alternative to the aluminum foil which doesn't last long. Be sure to allow enough ventilation. The flame can be stifled which is why my alternative has a shield only on the windward side.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/138113519qFGLOd?start=12

Mar 15, 2014 at 2:16 am #2082937

Jacques de Plume
BPL Member

@lfone

Old topic, but here's my version. More pictures and a pdf for making your own can be found here:

http://hikingadvisor.be/forum/topic/titanium-windscherm-voor-gasbranders/

Mar 15, 2014 at 6:58 am #2082947

Jerry Adams
BPL Member

@retiredjerry
Locale: Oregon and Washington

There is no gap between canister and windscreen, and between pot and windscreen.

Does the flame burn good? Does the canister overheat?

Big opening in front so maybe it doesn't matter. Probably better wind protection.

Mar 15, 2014 at 7:07 am #2082948

Jacques de Plume
BPL Member

@lfone

The flame burns well. In the picture the screen is close against the pot but when using it there will be a small gap most of the time.

When I started using this windscreen a couple of years ago I used a small heat reflecting disc on top of the canister (piece of foam with aluminium coating). I only used that disc a couple of times and it really isn't necessary.

I've now probably cooked more than a hundred meals without the disc and the canister hasn't overheated. But you can always add a small heat reflector just to be sure.

Mar 15, 2014 at 10:47 am #2082982

Billy Ray
Spectator

@rosyfinch
Locale: the mountains

Here are some pics of a wind screen that I made. Tripod legs. Weighs 1.2 oz, though some of the overlap could be cut off for smaller pots and maybe holes in the legs to get it down to or maybe under 1oz. I left the overlap of circumference long for the larger pot. Not having it attached to the pot allows for ease of picking up the smaller pot and using it as a mug so I don't have to carry a cup for my morning tea. I can get about 10 days out of 4 oz of fuel.

Not sure if these pics made it as the upload process is strange….

Billy

Jun 2, 2019 at 10:52 pm #3595954

DAN-Y
BPL Member

@zelph2

Here is the one I made using titanium:
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