Compact stove advice

My son and I just returned from and elk hunting in southern Colorado. He used a jet boil that worked great but needed a lighter to start it at 10 to 11000 ft.
Mine was an amicus cookset combo for $50 at REI. Small footprint but still works great.

Truck camping I use one of Coleman's single burner stoves that uses the fat bottle as it's base. That makes it top heavy, so I built a short base for it using the easily available fittings for those disposable propane bottles and a short hose to connect the bottle. Because I'm usually cooking on a tail-gate I put the magnet from a friend's dead sub-woofer in the base.

My wife got me a Jetboil when they first came out. I used it once and went back to the Coleman. I consider a lighter to be an essential item and have them scattered all over every vehicle. Someone in the back-packer world makes a really nice piezo lighter. I have one in one of the vehicles, but the rest are just Bics or similar.

Bucklowery said:

Just one to two people max

Thanks

Buck

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Lots of great options above. One of the wonderful things about our days, lots of great options

I know he's not everyone's favorite guy but he does use a lot of gear and there is some merit in this video. I gave the MSR Pocket Rocket and the titanium cup a try this fall and my only complaint is they don't lock together like the Jet Boils and the MSR Reactor. Otherwise, it's a great lightweight set up; I'm always in wet or snowy environments so I always have at least 2 lighters on me so that's never been an issue.

I have at least a dozen different styles & types. Micro size to the two-burner liquid fuel Coleman.
Each has a specific use for which it is best.
Forced to have only one, I would go with a liquid fuel, detachable canister, single burner type.

I wanted to save weight and space. I went with the BSR 3000T and found a cup that the stove and a fuel can fit inside.

MSR Pocket Rocket - not sure which version though - and whatever Aluminum cup that came with it. I'm not cooking with it, only boiling, so it works fine.

Thanks guys I appreciate all the input


Buck

Hard to go wrong, honestly. Jetboil or MSR Reactor for me, just like the simplicity, the Jetboil has seen the most action. I only boil water when backpacking, so it works great. Sturdy, everything fits inside, works as a bowl or a cup, my long handle Ti spoon fits in the neoprene sleeve, piezo lighter. Could I shave a few grams with something else? I don't really care. It would be less than the weight of one round of ammo if I did and I don't want a stove that will fail. Pocket rockets work great too, used one extensively in the past before the heat exchanger type systems came into play.

I have used the Jetboil on quite a few backpacking trips and float trips and have never had an issue. We took on for four guys on a six day float trip in Alaska a few years back and it worked flawlessly. I don't have any experience with any other kind because I never needed to. Good Luck with your choice.

Foe COLD weather canister fuel you must have a stove that permits the canister to be INVERTED. This puts the liquid butane at the fuel hose connection.
So yes, you need a stove with a REMOTE CANISTER hookup and not a stove that sits on top of the canister.
The best of this type are made by MSR and Fire Maple (the Blade 2, not the plain Blade)
Also you need a heavy duty aluminum windscreen from MSR to shield the stove burner.
The stove MUST have a vaporizing loop beside the burner to turn the liquid fuel into burnable vapor.
*** In cold weather there will not be enough pressure to send butane vapor to the burner from an upright canister, thus the need to INVERT the canister to use its liquid fuel.

My best recommendation is to get a WHISPERLITE UNIVERSAL stove that has the ability to use white gas, butane or diesel fuel. I prefer white gas in winter. It works at ANY temperature, even at -40 F.!!

Danehunter said:

Foe COLD weather canister fuel you must have a stove that permits the canister to be INVERTED. This puts the liquid butane at the fuel hose connection.
So yes, you need a stove with a REMOTE CANISTER hookup and not a stove that sits on top of the canister.
The best of this type are made by MSR and Fire Maple (the Blade 2, not the plain Blade)
Also you need a heavy duty aluminum windscreen from MSR to shield the stove burner.
The stove MUST have a vaporizing loop beside the burner to turn the liquid fuel into burnable vapor.
*** In cold weather there will not be enough pressure to send butane vapor to the burner from an upright canister, thus the need to INVERT the canister to use its liquid fuel.

My best recommendation is to get a WHISPERLITE UNIVERSAL stove that has the ability to use white gas, butane or diesel fuel. I prefer white gas in winter. It works at ANY temperature, even at -40 F.!!

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If you're going to go into all that, then at least explain what "winter" is and which gases differ.

Normal n butane will be problematic around 35 degrees.

Iso butane however works a little better. Performance will be diminished but it works in the teens @ about 8000ft. The general rating on the big brands that produce the fuel is 11F.

So if you're hunting weather is a high of 20 degrees and a low of really ******* cold, then for sure leave the upright canister at home and just go with an inverted canister or liquid fuel.

Bucklowery said:

Looking for recommendations on a stove like a jet boil set up. It does not have to be super lite. it will not be used solely for backpacking and hunting

Thanks

Buck

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I have used this at Mt Rainier's Camp Muir (10,200 ft) and the top of the Ingraham Glacier (12,600 ft) without issue. Same for numerous backpacking trips at Philmont and locally (Carolinas). It is a solid stove.

Jet boils kind of suck as backpacking stoves. They boil water fast, but they're bulky, heavy, and you really can't do anything other than boil water in them. They're great for big wall, but that's about the only place they excell. I gave mine away.

I used a BSR3000 for a while, which is the smallest and lightest stove I'm aware of. It's just under 1oz. It works pretty well, but even a slight breeze is an issue. It's not great for anything but boiling water since the heat is so concentrated, but it is possible to do a bit more cooking.

I picked up a Soto Windmaster early this year and am loving it so far. The bigger burner makes it much better for cooking (like cooking meat after a successful hunt) and it does much better with wind. I use the triflex pot stand to save a bit under an ounce, and it comes in just over 2oz.

I also have a Whisperlite universal. It doesn't get a whole lot of use since it's big and heavy, but it's great for melting snow and I'll carry it on slower backpacking trips when I'm planning on making real food. It's nice to have something that'll burn just about any fuel. When I fly in somewhere with it I use gasoline so I don't have to worry about finding white fuel and dealing with whatever's left over. It can be used as a remote canister stove which works well in cold weather.