Hot Stoves (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008)

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New from Snow Peak is their GigaPower LiteMax Stove, which is claimed to be the lightest commercially available canister stove in the world with a weight of 1.9 ounces (55 grams). (One should note that savvy BackpackingLight.com readers have been driving product liability lawyers into a frenzy by fabricating their own and/or modifying commercial designs to make lighter stoves for some time.)

The LiteMax is an evolution of the older and heavier GigaPower Micro Max stove that weighs 3.3 ounces (94 grams) in the titanium version and boasts an integrated piezo igniter. Snow Peak has been working for more than a year with Kovea, the LiteMax manufacturer, to reduce the weight. Last summer we reported on the version we dubbed the Micro Giga that eliminated the igniter and substituted some lighter materials to bring the weight down to 2.15 ounces (60 grams). Snow Peak never brought that particular version to market, but instead concentrated on further refining the design to reduce the weight.

The LiteMax eliminates virtually all brass and stainless steel parts from prior versions, and makes extensive use of titanium for the burner and pot support and uses aluminum for the valve and mixing tube. The use of aluminum in the lower portions of the stove presented some engineering challenges, as its high thermal conductivity heated the valve seat excessively.

The solution was to incorporate an insulating gasket at the bottom of the burner to keep the aluminum parts cooler. Holes have even been drilled in the pot supports to further reduce weight. This last iteration of refinements has yielded a stove weighing only 1.9 ounces (55 grams) (which I have personally verified on our official scale), yet that still able to produce a claimed maximum output power of 11,200 BTU per hour. MSRP US$55.00. Available since spring 2008.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

The World's Lightest Commercially Available Canister Stove
Brunton Joins the Remote Canister Stove Club
Primus Expands the Eta Line of Integrated Stoves
Jetboil Answers Back with the Helios
Trail Designs/AntiGravityGear Caldera Keg Cooking System
Farewell to an Old Friend

# WORDS: 1660
# PHOTOS: 8

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Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)

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Posts
Aug 11, 2008 at 6:34 pm #1230596

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

Hot Stoves (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008)

Aug 11, 2008 at 7:09 pm #1446723

Sam Haraldson
BPL Member

@sharalds
Locale: Gallatin Range

Mike and Will. Much respect for giving the MYOG'ers credit for their ultralight modified canister stoves. All in all a concise article of the new and the hot. Thanks.

Aug 11, 2008 at 7:22 pm #1446725

James Augustine
BPL Member

@chirodr
Locale: Southern California

Originally, I tried out the Lite Max on an MSR canister (partially used) and it did not work on first attempt. On the trail, using a 110 snow peak canister, the stove worked for about a minute, then sputtered out. It did this several times and I had to "crank" the stove down onto the canister to get it to work. I'm returning it, possibly exchanging it depending upon an email from Snow Peak, presenting them with the whole issue.

Any thoughts or similar experiences??

Aug 11, 2008 at 10:44 pm #1446741

chris Mcfarland
Member

@pecos
Locale: baba yaga's porch

i found the lite max to be reliable and easy to use. i have used it for about 17 trail days and numerous home trials. it does seem to need a little more torque to engage the lyndal valve, i was a little worried about it at first, but it loosened up a bit and doesn't show any signs of damage. i have had good luck with the snow peak and msr canisters (110g and 220g.)
best of luck :)

Aug 12, 2008 at 12:15 am #1446746

Randy Brissey
BPL Member

@rbrissey
Locale: Redondo Beach, CA

With all of the drive to lighten the weight of stoves has any of the manufacturers looked into making canisters specifically for bottom fuel draw. Weight-wise I always think of the weight of the empty vs that of the fuel itself so that how much mass am I carrying once the fuel runs out.

Why not a spherical canister made of aluminum designed only for inverted fuel stoves?

Randy

Aug 12, 2008 at 5:41 am #1446759

Doug Johnson
BPL Member

@djohnson
Locale: Pacific Northwest

Hi Randy,

Exactly! And that's precisely what the Coleman Powermax stoves had- special canisters made of aluminum and specifically designed for that purpose. That's why we're so sad to see them go.

Doug

Aug 12, 2008 at 10:58 am #1446774

David Schill
Member

@dschill
Locale: Northeast

Doug,

PowerMax is gone, Wow. I personally do not use them, but I have many friends that do.

I like the idea of Brunton Vesta Stove, but has anyone inverted it yet? How does it compare to the modified canister stove stand by Brunton featured in previous BPL articles?

Dave

Aug 12, 2008 at 12:41 pm #1446788

Rick Dreher
BPL Member

@halfturbo
Locale: Northernish California

Yup, it's a darn shame about the Max lineup, although no surprise. Reminds me of another Max–Betamax–which was a superior system that lacked industry-wide adoption as a standard so eventually faded into obscurity. Although I don't know whether Coleman ever tried licensing its use to other companies or not.

So, what kind of magic heatproof plastic are they using for that Jetboil windscreen?

Aug 13, 2008 at 6:28 am #1446900

David Schill
Member

@dschill
Locale: Northeast

At 29oz. does it matter? When is JetBoil going to lighten the weight. I love the concept, but it is too heavy. My old white gas stove is lighter, with less breakable parts. It is messy and for the past few years I have been trying to modify my canister stoves for better winter use, but I would rather use the lighter white gas stove then go with this new JetBoil system…

Aug 13, 2008 at 1:04 pm #1446966

Mitchell Keil
Member

@mitchellkeil
Locale: Deep in the OC

As a long time devotee of the Caldera Religion I am once again looking to add to my collection. But does anyone have the measurements for the protective container into which you place the whole kit? How many ounces for the "mug" portion and how many ounces for the "bowl"? Any idea how long it takes to boil the usual 16oz of water and how much alcohol is used to do so? I undertand that the TD added ridge in the Forster's Can is right at 16oz and that all of that is inside the cone. What a great concept!

Aug 13, 2008 at 2:01 pm #1446971

Eric Fredricksen
BPL Member

@efredricksen
Locale: Silicon Valley

I've got a Caldera keg (I think I ordered it the first day it was available), and I was wondering what the individual weights were too. My kitchen scale is accurate (hopefully) to the 1/8 oz, but here's what I measured (ounces):

6 7/8 Total weight, with everything

1/2 Stove
1 Windscreen/support
3/4 Fuel bottle + measuring cup
1/8 Instructions
1 Pot, with lip guard
1/4 Pot lid
1/4 Pot cozy
1 3/4 Carry case bottom
7/8 Carry case top

BTW, Trail Designs flattens the bottom of the pot. Does anybody know why, other than to make it seem more potlike? Does that make it heat more efficiently? I guess it improves capacity slightly…

Aug 13, 2008 at 2:01 pm #1446972

Eric Fredricksen
BPL Member

@efredricksen
Locale: Silicon Valley

(Sorry – double post. Was getting an error page when saving.)

Aug 17, 2008 at 10:22 am #1447415

Mitchell Keil
Member

@mitchellkeil
Locale: Deep in the OC

I guess I was not clear. I am interested in the amount of liquid that the protective container parts each hold. Since TD says that the top can be used as a cup and the bottom as a bowl, exactly how much does each hold.
But thanks for the weights on each component. That's tremendously helpful as well. Right now when I weigh in the whole of my Calera kit including 8oz of fuel and cozies that I made and the protective container I use as well as various items like matches, pot lifter, etc., I am at about 18oz for the lot.

Aug 17, 2008 at 1:58 pm #1447441

Lynn Tramper
Member

@retropump
Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

IF I remember, I will measure the volumes of the Caldera Caddy's components and post tomorrow. The combined total will certainly be more than the 750ml of the Fosters can since the threads of the caddy overlap quite a bit but still nestle the can.

Aug 17, 2008 at 5:39 pm #1447471

Greg Mihalik
Spectator

@greg23
Locale: Colorado

Mitchell,
My Caddy is for the Braslite 550. It is 7" tall x 3.7" dia, with the "mug" screwed down.

The "bowl" will hold about 23 oz to the bottom of the threads and 33 oz to the top of the top thread – I'm able to hold and move it without spilling.

The mug will hold 16 oz – again, carefully holding and moving without spilling.

I find the bowl depth OK, as I am able to reach the bottom with my standard lexan tablespoon.

Hope this helps.

Aug 18, 2008 at 1:16 pm #1447563

Mitchell Keil
Member

@mitchellkeil
Locale: Deep in the OC

Very cool! Thanks for the info. SO, we have a bowl which can really hold a meal and a cup that can really hold a drink. Thats what I wanted to know. Looks as if I am going to be buying the Caldera kit. Thanks again.

Sep 10, 2008 at 2:15 pm #1450775

Mitchell Keil
Member

@mitchellkeil
Locale: Deep in the OC

I have already tried it out with both alky and esbit tabs. The alcohol version boils 16oz of water at room temp in about 6 minutes for about .75oz of fuel. The esbit tab approach uses their little "cracker" design titanium holder and boils 16oz of water in about 8 minutes. The cracker has one problem. The esbit tab tends to slide off the top of the cracker because of the liqification of the tab as it burns. When one uses the cracker's two side shields which are designed to extend the burn time of the tab at reduced temperture, this is not so much of a problem.

I measured the weight of the entire kit at 6.625oz (including a book of matches). And when you add the included filled 4oz fuel bottle, the total weight is 11.25oz.
A bit heavier than I thought it would be, but still a very impressive kit to which you only need to add a spoon and you are done!

The smaller top half of the case which holds the whole kit will hold 16 oz of liquid up to the thread line and 20oz to the top edge. The larger bottom half will hold more than 28oz of liquid to within an inch of the top of the container.
The Foster can itself has a extruded bulge at exactly 16oz to allow the can to rest inside the cone up to that mark.

Overall, a very cleverly designed product!
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