um... depends on the goal of the trip... Most solo day hikes I don't bother bringing a hot meal or never get around to cooking it if I do. If it's a group thing and miles aren't the issue than I'll bring something.

Heaviest option if 2 people or more are with and will be needing warm water or a meal.
Evernew 1.3L pot, Coleman F1 canister stove, a spork, a cozy and a lighter.

Lighter option, most common carry.
BPL esbit wing stove, BPL Trapper mug, a spork, a cozy, and a lighter.

Lightest Option!
Have Sarah carry the cooking gear and only bring a cozy and spork! :p

Edited by rooinater on 09/21/2009 12:32:24 MDT.

I normally don't bring a stove, but it's not a bad idea. I would bring an alcohol stove rather than a canister because it's quite a bit lighter. With a canister stove, you are carrying 4-5oz for just the empty canister. You can bring a complete alcohol stove setup for that. With the alcohol stove, you need a bit more fuel (ie. 1oz vs. 0.5oz) but your fuel container is much lighter (ie. 1 oz) and you don't need to carry extra fuel, so overall you way ahead with the alcohol stove.

If you take a full 8oz fuel canister, you are carrying about 13oz plus the weight of your stove (ie. 3oz). So with a light canister stove that's about a pound total.

With an alcohol stove (2oz), windscreen (1oz), fuel bottle (1oz) and fuel (1oz) you've got a total weight around 5oz....much lighter.

You could definately argue that saving 11oz doesn't matter for a day hike....kinda depends what your priorities are and how hard the hike is.

Going with wood would be even lighter. One of those Tri-Ti Cone is probably 2oz. Some people may like this, but I've never been into wood stoves, mainly because they make your pot disgusting which is a pain to put back in your pack. If I was cooking with wood, I would just leave the cone at home and make a camp fire and then cook sausages over it.

I would carry the alcohol stove for all the reasons Dan mentions. The same could be said for an esbit stove.

A friend carrys a mega thermos on a winter day hike filled with hot soup.
NB its hanging from the waist of the guy on the right
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1228164053045831896kNRcgR

Once I took a Coleman Peak One with me to heat up a hot lunch on a winter day hike. By the time I got the stove going and the water heating up, I looked around me and all the kids were standing in the cold freezing. We forgot about the hot lunch and hiked on.

If you do carry a stove on a day hike, be sure it is your lightest option, then you won't leave it at home in the last minute before you pack up!

Hi Frank

> By the time I got the stove going and the water heating up, I looked around me and
> all the kids were standing in the cold freezing. We forgot about the hot lunch and hiked on.

Could be dangerous. Suppose one of the kids sprained an ankle or slashed a leg, or you had to stop for a while for some other reason. The kids would freeze? Maybe you should make sure they are carrying enough warm clothing that you *can* stop for a while.

Just a thought.
Cheers

Roger, the GST-100 looks like a wonderful light little stove, but with the fuel canister it adds up in weight and volume - why not take a lighter option like an alcohol or esbit stove? Faster boil time?

Your our stove guru, so sincerely appreciate your thoughts.

+ 1 on making sure the kids have warm enough clothing. Synthetic puff insulation jackets which they can throw over shell and other layers at rest stops, like the Montbell Thermawrap or Patagonia Hooded Micropuff or similar should really help. Insulated sit pads will help too.

Just have to bring a spork and dig in!

Hi EJ

Obviously I have plenty of alky and solid fuel stoves to hand. But there are several reasons for taking the GST-100.

* In our Australian bush, lighting open flames can be ... hazardous at times, especially during the day in summer. This applies to alcohol, solid fuel and wood fires.

* The GST-100 is faster than alky or solid fuel.

* Canister is cleaner than solid fuel or wood fires (bottom of kettle).

* Frankly, canister is so much easier than the others too. Screw stove on, open valve, click of lighter. That may be just pure laziness: I admit it :-)

* Why the GST-100 over other stoves? Because it is such a great robust reliable clean efficient stove imho. But sometimes I take a Vargo Jet-Ti instead - almost the same thing. Biased, of course.

As for the weight and volume bit - on day walks I take heavier stuff just to keep the pack weight UP. I also take a (heavy) cut lunch on day walks, even though I am making a brew. I guess that by that argument I should be taking something as heavy as a Reactor ... but I don't like the CO emission.

Cheers

For those of you that carry the alcohol stoves,

Is the weight savings really a significant factor (considering that you wouldn't be carrying a tent or a sleeping bag)?

It's a lot of weight saved, but no it's probably not going to significantly affect your hike one way or the other because your overall load is going to be quite light either way. If you're in a hurry, then the faster boil times of a canister stove is probably more important than the weight saved by alcohol. Personally, I aim to never be in a hurry though because I get into the wilderness to relax. Accordingly, I prefer the quiet simplicity of an alcohol stove.

I do like the weight savings but what I like about alcohol stoves the most is the silent operation.

Plus it takes less volume in my pack.

I can take a small titanium cup like the BPL 550 and put everything (stove, windscreen, folding spork, small bic lighter and a small fuel bottle) inside it for a day hike.

Its a nice, small and light package.

Edited by HighAltitude on 09/22/2009 00:47:36 MDT.

Hi Roger, keep the pack weight up? This is BPL you know. Though I can see the training benefit for longer walks.

I have hiked in Australia in the Blue Mountains and in the Uluru/Olgas/Kings Canyon areas and I know what you mean by dry brush. We have similar conditions in summer in Northern California.

I used canister stoves for many years from the Boy Scouts through post university (last one was an MSR Pocket Rocket I sold several years ago). I now have 2 Coleman Xtreme remote canister stoves for winter use and car camping based on recommendations I read here, but was thinking of also picking up a small canister stove that will pack up nicely with fuel, and the GST-100 looks very nice.

How do the Vargo Jet-Ti differ, and do they have low CO emissions? Do you ever take them on colder trips, or do you stick with your Xtreme?

Hi EJ

> keep the pack weight up?
Yep, for training purposes.

> 2 Coleman Xtreme remote canister stoves for winter use
Perfect.

> GST-100 vs Vargo Jet-Ti vs LiteMax
Actually, these are all made by Kovea of Korea on the same production line. There are only minor differences - some just cosmetic. See the CO series of articles for more details on them.
However, while the GST-100 and the Vargo Jet-Ti have very low CO emission, the Litemax has a slightly higher level. There was a slight design change for the LiteMax which had not been thought through imho. Otherwise it works OK though.

> colder trips
Complex. For snow trips I take an Xtreme so far. For just cold alpine walks where it might get sub-zero, I have taken a range of remote-canister stoves, including the rig outlined in the Brunton Stove Stand article.
But of late I have been taking some of my experimental remote-canister stoves - they are still under development. Yeah, STILL!

Cheers

Oh to take a look a Roger's stove gear closet. lol. (or should I say stove gear warehouse?) ;)

If it's a cool day - like in the Fall - I'll bring my little tea light stove and my Snow Peak 600 to make some tea, chai, or coffee. I'll find a nice overlook area and sit, looking at the scenery and sipping my hot beverage. That's what I enjoy.

I would prefer to use alcohol, a cup of hot drinks with some pre-made food overlooking the nice view will be nice in winter.

Gear:
Evernew's Titanium DX Set [also can burn wood]
Ti Mug any brand, if it fit the DX set in will be prefect!

Reason:
-Alcohol you can bring the medication one so if getting hurt u can use that alcohol to clean up.
-Light weight
-zero noise
-Compact

cheers

> Oh to take a look a Roger's stove gear closet. lol. (or should I say stove gear warehouse?) ;)

Or Stove workshop ... :-)

Cheers

"You hike with me, you often get used as a tester."

I don't see any down sides there ;)

As for me, I like to stop and take in the sights. I suppose it goes with being a photographer.

I'll be carrying a 1-oz alcohol stove (http://www.zelphs-stoveworks.com/goto-stove.php) and an MLD 850 pot on day hikes, along with some teabags and possibly make some soup to go with the tea. Of course, I also tend to take sandwiches and such, so for me the cooking stuff is a luxury (especially if it's a cold and/or rainy day hike), but the cook stuff is so light that there's not any point in leaving it at home, since I'll be carrying the 4x5 anyway, which weighs more than my 10 essentials does now that I've "ultralighted" that stuff. :)

I always take my diy fancee feast(the zelph variety) style mini which fits my sp700.

As to the question of why alcohol? well I think for those of us who are alky stovies it's really more philosophical than anything.


I had to think about it when I friend of mine was asking me about a canister stove recently, he's new to hiking and is starting out light. I wanted to give him honest advice, and I realized I have a big chip on my shoulder against canister stoves. I just don't like them. Well, I just don't like carting canisters around, I don't mind the minimalist variety of the stoves themselves but, canisters are a no go for me.

I get by with 1-1.5oz of alcohol a day on average so, it's never much fuel even for a week plus plenty of extra. I hate the bulk of the canisters and just the solid non-reusable non-consumable nature of the bodies.

Like I said, it's just too much a personal choice. If I could make a canister stove myself, I'd probably see it differently though.


Roger's got a valid point about the danger though. I've started more than one fire with alcohol, and once had to pay the price of all my water to put it out.

Well since last Sept when the thread started my Primus died after 7 years of use. So now I am taking a Giga canister stove. I changed my pot set as well - since I spent the whole fall/winter preggo I wasn't hiking much and had a lot of time to wander gear shops. I got a new baby in March and 4 new pot sets :-D Hehheh!

This year my pack is super light - no pack on my back, I am carrying the baby on the front. The older boy, Ford, though is carrying my test kitchen. Hehheh! He eats a lot so his pack is heavy. But it works :-)