I've only ever gone traveling with a pop can alcohol stove. I've been happy with it, no real complaints, but I am entertaining the idea of trying a canister stove, namely the Snow Peak LiteMax. I've had some questions about it that are probably pretty quick to answer.

1) Mainly, how long should I expect a 110g canister to last. I realize that this figure will vary greatly. Let's say that I'm boiling 3 cups of water for breakfast and dinner each day, maybe a little simmer at dinner. Am I looking at 3 days? A week?

2) I'm hiking the JMT this summer (first time in the Sierras). I know that it's easy to find canisters around the AT, but how many should I expect to pack? Could I find them at Red Meadows, or Muir Ranch without shipping them?

3) What are the issues people can have with these? I like my alcohol stove because it's just darn reliable (also because it's cheap, but that's beside the point).

4) Anything else I'm not thinking of?

First of all, make sure that the width of the burner flame makes sense for the diameter of your cook pot. A wider cook pot means that it can absorb more heat from the flame. A taller cook pot means that it can lose more heat to the surrounding air. Make sure that you cook out of the wind as much as possible, and even then you want a lightweight wind shield. A lightweight lid for the cook pot is necessary. All of these things will improve your stove efficiency. Study the burn times to get a boil, and know whether you need to crank it up hot or to run it mid-way.

With that amount of cooking, I think you will get well over 3 days worth, and possibly a week worth, but not necessarily. In summer, I've gone 6 or 7 days on one small canister. The canisters rarely leak. However, that does not mean zero failure.

--B.G.--

I rarely ever use a canister stove anymore but I can get 15-17 12oz boils out of a 110g canister. For a long trip it probably makes a lot of since weight wise, but not for short trips. I have used the caldera cone almost exclusively for the past two years and can get 12oz of water boiling with 15mL of fuel.

Fuel canisters can be purchased at Red's Meadow and at Muir Trail Ranch. You can also get them at Tuolumne Meadows and at Vermillion Valley Resort. They cost more there than they do at Walmart. All of the above also stock white gas and denatured ethanol.

Charles, any idea about the cost at MTR or VVR?

I went to purchase a small canister at a hard-to-get-to place last summer, and they charged the same price for a small one as what the big ones cost elsewhere.

I was at the Tuolumne Meadows Permit Station one time, and as I walked out of the place, some stranger in the parking lot asked me if I could use an almost-new butane canister. I said, "Sure." He handed it to me.

The canister was one of the huge ones, not the small one or the medium size one. He had carried that over some distance, but then he was flying out from Reno, so he had to dump it. That works dandy for the butane stove I keep in my car trunk.

--B.G.--

I have a SnowPeak TiMini Solo Cookset. It has a 4" diameter base. I made my alcohol stove out of two Red Bull sized cans (the smaller skinny ones), but the flame is still a bit too wide for what I'de like it to be. Any idea on what the LiteMax might do? Would it be a bit more fuel efficient?

Maybe somebody with the LiteMax can comment about flame size.

I have a couple of MSR Pocket Rockets, and I felt that they were fine. Then somebody commented about how it puts a narrow flame onto the cook pot and makes a hot spot. I just purchased a Monatauk Gnat for lower weight.

I have two alcohol burners. One is a top burner, so it works best in a narrow cook pot. One is a pressurized side burner, so it works best with a slightly wider cook pot. Neither will do a good job on a large pot, but you probably wouldn't carry that.

--B.G.--

I have a Litemax and a Snow Peak 600ml mug/pot(3-1/2" base) and they work very well together. The key is to not run the stove at max, it works best throttled down a bit. Boil tests have also shown that the stove is more efficient when throttled back. With the flame turned up high, a lot of the heat just goes up the sides of the pot.

I typically boil about 12 oz. of water for my supper and it required 6 to 7 grams of fuel for each boil.


Jerry

Litemax - OK flame, some CO, but otherwise good stove.
Pocket Rocket - very focused flame, burns food. Pot supports fragile/bendy. Stove too high and unstable.
Gnat - good stove, acceptable CO, low, strong enough.

A treasure trove of canister stove articles (some very technical) available for subscribers.

Cheers

"Pocket Rocket - very focused flame, burns food. Pot supports fragile/bendy. Stove too high and unstable."

Roger, we've heard that many times from you.

How is it that I've used my oldest Pocket Rocket for about ten years now, and the pot support arms are just fine? Mine doesn't seem to burn food, and it doesn't seem to tip over? What is it that I'm missing?

I admit, I always carry it in the red plastic box for protection.

--B.G.--

I have the Snow Peak Ti MiniSolo and use it with a Primus Micron Stove. I've tried other stoves with this pot and they all had similar fuel consumptions. My tests were done in light-ish winds with no windscreen.

2 Cup to boil = 10 gr. of fuel
8 min simmer = 7 gr. of fuel
1 Cup boil = 7 gr. of fuel

The MiniSolo is not the best shape for efficient boiling (bottom is too small) but it holds two small gas canisters and the cup nests on the bottom of the pot so that's a space saving bonus.

The gas consumption for my "simmer" time is probably a bit high because I put the MiniSolo Ti cup on the bottom of my pot during the simmer to prevent burning (mini- double boiler).

I believe I remember a test of the small 110 gram canisters boiling 12 to 14 pints (16 oz) per canister.

James,
That's a very interesting idea for a longevity test. Any chance you could find where you read that?

Canister stoves are convenient. Extra weight for the stove and the canisters. I have two Snow Peaks, a LiteMax and a manual GigaPower. They are awful in wind. You can get a wind screen for the GigaPower at a 2 oz weight penalty. Do a search on BPL for some DIY windscreens that attach to the burner. On a long trip, the 220g canisters would probably make to total weight of Giga Power stove/fuel lighter than a cone set-up, as the fuel is more efficient. Problem would be availability of the canisters, where alcohol is much easier to find.

To me it is really a flip of the coin, just a matter of personal preference.

I have the LiteMax and cook about the same amount or maybe a little more than you do as I sometimes have a hot lunch as well as an evening coco. One ounce of fuel per day has been my average usage which works out to a small canister 110 for a weekend trip or a medium 220 canister for a week-long trip.

On the JMT you'll have no problem picking up fresh canisters as needed, they sell them along the way: In the Valley, Tuolomne Meadows, Reds Meadow, VVR and at Muir Trail Ranch. Yes, they may charge a dollar or two extra per canister, but in planning for a JMT trip the extra five dollars probably shouldn't come into play.

When I stopped at Muir Trail Ranch they only have one size canister the Primus 450. It should last you all the way to Whitney.

I have found this site http://howardjohnson.name/Backpacking/Stove/Stoves.htm quite helpful when figuring out how much fuel is needed. It got me to switch over to Esbit a few years ago. In any case, there a bunch of variables you can adjust to calculate fuel requirements (while comparing fuel stove/options). I have found the default of 0.25 oz of fuel per pint of water boiled to be quite accurate for canister stoves. Of course, as others have mentioned, having the right pot size and keeping it out of the wind is extremely important to performance. One other suggestion worth mentioning is keeping the canister warm, especially if you plan on boiling water in the morning. It is a good idea to keep your canister inside you shelter, and better yet inside you bag, the previous night. Some people even put their canister on a small piece of foam to insulate from the ground. I never tried that but it's also worth considering. Have fun on your hike, it's a great trail.

One other note on that Fuel Calculator. Under section D - % overages, the default for canister fuel is 50%. If you adjust that to something more reasonable you get much lower weights.

It is not effecient, however, if you keep your canister warm or insulated while cooking. Keeping it warm only helps to get it going in the cold.

I used a gigapower on my JMT hike. I started with a large and small canister and had fuel left over at the end of my hike. For five days I was also cooking for two, but used it only for dinners. MTR used to have a note on their website about the only canister they sold.

If you fly into Reno, there is an REI within walking distance of the airport.

Edited by rambler on 02/09/2011 14:33:04 MST.

The Jetboil Sol due out this spring advertises its integrated efficiency at achieving 12 liters of boil per 110gm canister which should last you around 10 days I think. No doubt that is under ideal lab conditions but it does seem like several days longer than I have experienced with the Snowpeak Litemax. I have been wondering about this issue too so look forward to what you learn.

This article has all the info on fuel mileage, etc.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/comparative_fuel_efficiency_and_weight_of_stoves_pt2.html

A canister comes out more efficient (over alcolhol) in a weeks time but not shorter intervals according to the article.