Tiny stoves

[Arclight]

I think any camping stove is useless without a windscreen. The big old Coleman style with the fold-out sides work fine, but all of the cool new designs that fold up will take forever to boil something in even a moderate wind.

My old "Scorpion" backpack stove has a nice windscreen/reflector, as does the Jetboil series. I'm thinking about changing to a Jetboil for car camping, as we get a lot of unpredictable wind out in the desert.

Anyone else have a suggestion?


Arclight

Are you cooking or just boiling water? A pepsi can stove is fine for boiling and you can get fuel just about anywhere. I used to use a sterno stand for a pot holder/windscreen.

Cheap fun and American made. I assume or whatever your country of origin...

 

[Salue]

If wind is a concern, maybe take a look at the MSR Reactor; they are pricier than the Jetboil but from reading reviews and some Youtube videos, it appears that wind is less of a factor as opposed to the Jetboil in the wind. They have a few different size pots now for the Reactor. I have the Reactor 1.7L pot and am amazed at how quick it boils. I've seen the Jetboil in action but don't own one.

Salue

 

[AeroNautiCal]

With the MSR, high levels of carbon monoxide was a factor.

BackPackingLight.com (BPL.com) ran very extensive tests which confirmed this.

 

[Dennx]

For backpacking I take a Classic Ti-Tri Cone system. Very light and uses denatured alcohol, esbit or wood.
http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-ti-tri

 

[Salue]

With the MSR, high levels of carbon monoxide was a factor.

BackPackingLight.com (BPL.com) ran very extensive tests which confirmed this.

Do you have a direct link to their tests? Just curious how much more carbon monoxide as opposed to others; I guess it would make sense with their catalytic type stove but they are all supposed to be used in non enclosed spaces right?

 

[Christophe Noel]

If wind is a concern, maybe take a look at the MSR Reactor; they are pricier than the Jetboil but from reading reviews and some Youtube videos, it appears that wind is less of a factor as opposed to the Jetboil in the wind. They have a few different size pots now for the Reactor. I have the Reactor 1.7L pot and am amazed at how quick it boils. I've seen the Jetboil in action but don't own one.

Salue

The Reactor is the fastest to a boil (half liter) at an average of 90 seconds. The Jeboil hovers around 2:30 for the same volume of water. MSR claims the Reactor will boil at 90 seconds in a 12mph wind. The Jetboil in that same wind will never achieve boil.

Stay tuned for a head to head review of these two stoves on the ExPo home page. I used them side by side and alternating on various trips over the last 6 months (That was as soon as I could get a pre-release 1L Reactor) and there is a hands down winner.

 

[Salue]

Did I miss the review or is still in the making?

The Reactor is the fastest to a boil (half liter) at an average of 90 seconds. The Jeboil hovers around 2:30 for the same volume of water. MSR claims the Reactor will boil at 90 seconds in a 12mph wind. The Jetboil in that same wind will never achieve boil.

Stay tuned for a head to head review of these two stoves on the ExPo home page. I used them side by side and alternating on various trips over the last 6 months (That was as soon as I could get a pre-release 1L Reactor) and there is a hands down winner.

 

[cruisertoy]

I've used my jetboils in Alaska on our 100 mile river float trips in driving rain, much stronger than 12mph winds with no issue at all. That's at close to sea level. Boils just fine every time. I live at 5k feet and play up to 10k feet. I've noticed boil times extend a little up near 10k feet with the jetboils, especially if its cold. If your worried about sipping fuel, the reactor seems to use less per boil from everything I've read. I own 3 Jetboils and a Primus(almost identical to jetboil but with a crappy pot attachment). They have treated me well with no failures whatsoever in the 9 years I've been using them.
That said, I really like my Kelly kettle and the $15 swiss ranger stoves I've bought from cheaper than dirt. I can boil 2 cups of water with a hand full of mulch in a little over 4 minutes. Can't beat that.

The Reactor is the fastest to a boil (half liter) at an average of 90 seconds. The Jeboil hovers around 2:30 for the same volume of water. MSR claims the Reactor will boil at 90 seconds in a 12mph wind. The Jetboil in that same wind will never achieve boil.

Stay tuned for a head to head review of these two stoves on the ExPo home page. I used them side by side and alternating on various trips over the last 6 months (That was as soon as I could get a pre-release 1L Reactor) and there is a hands down winner.

 

[VATACO]

I've been using a Jetboil for years since the gen1 version and love them. Currently have a Ti Sol model that I make coffee and tea with while the food is cooking on the snowpeak Baja burner. Also take it sometimes on quick out and back road trips for hot drinks and food if I'm planning on camping at a park rather than a hotel or B&B.

 

[barlowrs]

Love my Snowpeak LiteMax Ti...weights nothing but throws a LOT of heat!. Works well all the way up to 13000-14000ft, though it does take a bit longer to boil water up there, but that is to be expected. Has works great in strong winds as well.

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Do you have a direct link to their tests? Just curious how much more carbon monoxide as opposed to others; I guess it would make sense with their catalytic type stove but they are all supposed to be used in non enclosed spaces right?

I read it on Back Packing Light.com, here are some very interesting quotes,

# The best performing upright stove (Snow Peak GST100) produced something like 5 ppm at a simmer, compared with 300 ppm for the Reactor.
# The best performing upright stove (Snow Peak GST100) produced something like 21 ppm at full bore, compared with 80 - 100 ppm for the Reactor.
# Two other heat exchanger stoves tested (Primus EtaPower EF and Jetboil GCS) produced something like 3 - 5 ppm at a simmer, compared with 300 ppm for the Reactor.
# The best performing heat exchanger stove (Primus EtaPower EF) produced something like 13 ppm at full bore, compared with 80 - 100 ppm for the Reactor.

One cannot help feeling that MSR - or at least the company's lawyers - are really, really worried about this stove. I have never before seen such a density of prominent alarmist warnings on a single stove. We know stoves have to be handled with some care, but the warnings’ effect simply convinces me that MSR is really worried about this stove in particular. So where does that leave me, the customer?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/co_series_supplement_1_msr_reactor?m=00318Nv9HCe285EEM_V5TvXL7jw

 

[ssssnake529]

I would never use the MSR reactor in a confined space.

The good news is that it is extremely wind resistant, so I don't ever need to.

It's my favorite stove for winter/snow-melting duties.