Backpacking Stoves

[SouthPoleScout]

Okay... Pepsi can stove aside...

 

What are your recommendations for good, light - reliable camp stove. My son is a small guy and we don't want to load him down, but he needs to carry his own stove. I have NO IDEA what kind of stove/fuel is best to look for.

 

I don't want to spend a fortune on something thats a) not approved by scouting b) unreliable c) unpractical

 

I do want something reasonably priced that will be light enough to carry and tough enough to withstand a Scout.

 

Please HELP!!

[Bob White]

Alot depends on the altitude and temperature you will most often use your stove at as wellas who will be using it.

Personal I use an MSR Whisperlite. A white gas stove that is extremely lightweight. Its tripod design is prone to tipping so I use a Trillium base to stabilize it and it provides a a good platform on snow.

I honestly would not recommend white gas appliances for scouts however. If you read the Guide to safe Scouting and the BSA's policies on fuels, you will see that although white gas is allowed it has several storage and usage safety requirements.

For ease of operation, and safety, I would recommend a bottled propane stove for scouts. They are safer to refuel, safer to store and easy to operate (no prewarming the fuel line or burner head). They come with drawbacks though. Bottled propane is bulkier and slightly heavier to pack, fuel canisters lose pressure at high altitude and cold temperatures. There are also stoves that run on other materials such as unleaded gas, alcohol and butane.

 

Any way you go be sure you know and follow all related safty rules regarding the use of chemical fuels. It takes very little horse play to turn them from a tool to a timebomb.

 

Ask you local Roundtable to have a "stove night" where leaders bring in their various stoves and demonstrate their use and features. This should help in your shopping. It appears we have alot of camping talent on this forum. I'm sure others will post with their suggestions.

Happy Scouting,

Bob

[Mike Long]

I think this thread will give you some food for thought.

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=719

 

Isobutane canister stoves are probably the safest, lightest, easiest to use stoves for scouts. Our guys generally use canisters or Pepsi can stoves.(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

[YoungBlood]

I too have a Whisperlite. It is a quality stove and I highly recommend it.

[dcviper]

I too have a MSR Wisperlite Internationale Combo (Awesome price @ Galyans in Cols. OH --10% to scouts). I love mine, but wouldn't recomend it for younger scouts. At the troop level, we use the Coleman Apex backpacker stoves, with Adults filling and carrying the gas. The boys all know how to light it, and must have adult supervision (not a prob since we are keepers of the flame so to speak). Doesn't your troop issue stoves?

 

-dcviper

Assistant Scoutmaster, BSA Troop 3

PGP KeyID == 0xA81C9DCB

[LongHaul]

SouthPoleScout,

Not knowing where you are located it's hard to recomend a specific stove. As Bob White said altitude and temp are big factors and play a big role in deciding which stove "to invest in". When you are buying a piece of equiptment you want to aim for the center of you use curve. By that I mean that you decide what your needs are and buy something which can be used most often. As an example I recomend that our new scouts DON'T buy expensive 0 degree sleeping bags even though we tent camp in 0 degree weather. A good 40 degree bag with quilt liner will work just fine and can be used at summer camp when it's 80 degrees at night. Same with stoves. Propane and other compressed gas stoves don't function well at high altitude or low temp. 40 degrees can be low temp for some stoves as the canister frosts up and pressure drops.

Why does your son need his own stove? Backpacking (this was originally posted in High Adventure) is team oriented so the "group" doesn't carry redundant weight.

All that said, as a long term investment, I would go with the MSR Whisperlite Internationale. If it burns this stove can use it as fuel. It has exchangable fittings for different fuels. INVEST IN THE BASE. Again as Bob White pointed out this stove tips under weight. I don't have a problem with who carriesd the fuel, adult or youth as long as the MSR bottle is good. We test ours by placing them, open in a refrigerator over night and then capping them. They are then placed on a pot of 120 degree water, cap down. No bubbles after four or five minutes equals good bottle/good gasket. These stoves don't require refueling because the canister is the fuel tank. We used these at Philmont this summer, had two stoves and used 2 1/2 bottles of fuel for the entire ten person crew over ten days. Adults are required for campouts where stoves are used (as opposed to patrol outings where we limit cooking options) so supervision issue is covered. My dime says the Whisperlite will give you the widest range of uses.

[LongHaul]

Where are the proof readers when I need them.

 

When testing the MSR bottles put the IN a pot of hot water not ON.

[firstpusk]

I know that many think they are too loud and maybe too expensive (about $100), but I still prefer my Dragonfly. The stove allows me accurately adjust flame level for the proper cooking temperature. I can cook some great food with this one. It allows for multiple fuels and works great in the cold winters that we have up here. I love it.

 

As with any pressurized fuel appliance, proper care and knowledge are a must. No good leader should take any such equipment out with scouts unless they understand and apply the wisdom from the Guide to Safe Scouting.

 

[ASM7]

Definitely go with a mutifuel stove if your going to be in lower temps and higher altitude. Propane is not good in those conditions. The MSR stoves are good but prone to tipping. My choice is the Optimus Nova. It was rated best last year and has excellent stability with the turbine shaped base fins. It is also multi-fuel, so it doesn't matter where you go, you can find something to burn in it. It is a little more expensive than the MSR's but probably worth it considering the stability. This one will last him a lifetime unless we run out of fossil fuels. It is advisable to go to an outdoor store and compare them. I also don't see a reason for every boy to carry a stove. One stove per patrol and let someone else carry the extra fuel bottle(s). Be sure to read the lighting instructions because they are not as simple as a propane stove. The Scout catalog carries the Coleman Exponent 442 Dual Fuel and Multifuel. Both have the integrated fuel tank. I personally prefer the separate fuel bottle. Hope this Helps.

[John D]

Our troop has an MSR Whisperlite, an old Optimus from the 1970's and a propane cannister stove. The boys start with the propane, then move up to the more complex stove. Gives them a feeling of accomplishment.

[KoreaScouter]

I've owned two Peak 1's for quite a while, one multifuel and one white gas-only. We're recent converts to canister stoves due to their ease of use and safety. Now, where I live currently, the canisters are cheap -- about $1.00 each after the Won-to-Dollar conversion. I was shocked during a recent visit to Hawaii, though, to see the canisters with a $4.49 price tag! Is that the standard going rate; where do you canister stove-types get your canisters?

 

KS

[silver-shark]

For backpacking I use the Coleman Peak 1 XPedition. It is the 2 burner model. Very little extra weight compared to the added versatility, added stability, and cooking area.

 

It uses the Coleman Powermax canisters which run about $4.25 at Galyans if I remember right for the 10.6 oz canisters. They are just as easy as the propane stoves to use.

 

I originally bought it on clearance for the same price of the single burner model, around $55.00 if I remember right and haven't seen another one since.

 

I usually take an aluminum griddle with me and it works out great for pancakes or french toast in the morning, along with bacon or sausage if we're just on an overnighter.(This message has been edited by silver-shark)

[Eagledad]

HI

 

We also use the 2 burner Expeditions. Our Troop converted to Troop Light five years ago to get rid of the patrol boxes. We wanted to be a troop that could pack everyting to our campouts.

 

We have use seven of these stoves every month for four years. They have also been to Philmont, Pecos Wilderness, Spanish Peaks and a few other Backpaking treks, Northern tier Canoe trips and loaned out for personal campouts. They have worked well at 12000 ft and 10 degrees below zero. They have been stepped on, kick on, tossed around, left in the rain and dropped in the lake and all seven of our stoves still work great. I believe they are the safest stove a scout could use.

 

I'm not trying to sell the stove, just give you our experience with them. If anyone is at Philmont between June 19 and 30th, look for Troop 386 and we will show it to you. Great Boy Scout backpacking stove.

 

Have a great scouting week.

 

Barry

[hops_scout]

Barry,

How much does one of those run for? I'm possibly looking for one.

[Eagledad]

$89.99 at Campmor. A little pricy for a stove and we only bought two at first to try them out. But after six month testing by the Venture Patrol, we got one for every patrol. Well worth it. They make up for the prices that you can use them for your high-adventure treks.

 

We had so many problems with the Coleman Dual-Fuel Camping stoves. We had several fires from over pumping where no one was hurt, but they sure woke us up. We converted to propane for safey, but they still seem to require constant maintenance. We had to take a spare every campout. About thsi time the troop wanted to get away from the heavy patrol boxes, so we decided to find a new stoves. We stumbled on to Coleman Exponent.

 

Buy one and let each patrol try it out for a campout. I think you will like them. It takes little while for the scouts to relize how little flame they need to boil water. Our patrols use to go through two bottles a campout, now some can get two campouts out of one bottle. We generally go through about three for a week of wilderness camping. That is useing two burners most of the time.

 

Barry