Cold Weather Backpack Stoves

Remington Man,

I consider "cold" to be below 0 F. for canister stove purposes. I don't even bother taking a canister stove in temps from +10 F to 0 F. I just pack my MSR Dragonfly and fuel bottles or my Sidewinder wood burner.

To me very cold weather means taking extra time to pack all the right gear for traveling, tenting, sleeping and cooking.

TRAVELING-> backcountry skis and climbing skins and poles or snowshoes and poles

TENTING-> Tarptent Moment DW with ripstop inner and snow stakes

SLEEPING-> Trail pro mattress (& Ridgerest closed cell mattress if below zero) and -20F. sleeping bag.

COOKING-> Everything I mentioned above plus a 2 quart snow melting pot.

CLOTHES-> A very involved subject that needs another thread.
 
What do you do at (-40 F) ? I have not camped at those temperatures, but I have been in them and that is when you really need a fire to start and equipment to work.
 
NOTE FOR MSR STOVE OWNERS:

MSR has had some of their plastic pumps break so I recommend getting a replacement pump for your model as a backup, especially if it is over 10 years old and has the original older style pump.
 
The MSR Reactor is my go-to cold weather stove, primarily because it puts out so much heat that it is great for melting snow (which is typically how I get my water in the winter time.)

With regards to butane performance in sub zero weather, I put the butane canister inside my jacket and warm it up. Then, I attach the warm canister to the stove, and heat up a small amount of water. I then pour the warmed up water in a bowl, and set the butane canister in this bowl of warm (not hot) water.

This method works very well, and I've used it down to 30 below zero. The bowl I use is a very light titanium bowl, so it only adds less than 2 ounces to my stove system.
 
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