My most used stove is a Mo-Go-Gear Fire Fly from Gossamer Gear with the Titanium stand from the Ion Stove. For me this is the best set up.

For convenience I would go with the Brunton Crux canister stove.

For the last two years, I have used nothing but my esbit + beercan stove. 48 grams. I've used it 3 seasons in Nova Scotia... costal areas... down to maybe 5 or 10 C... usually just for a couple nights. I don't find it any less convenient... personally. I do sometimes have to find a sheltered place if I'm in a coastal area... i.e... can be hard to get the tab lit on a beach with a breeze... altho' I hear that hand sanitizer works wonders.

For solo trips I use a common UL backpacking combo, i.e., a homemade mini version of the Pepsi-G alcohol stove with a Snow Peak 600 mug. If I am heating liquid for two or three I typically carry the larger Pepsi-G and maybe the Trek 700 mug or a larger titanium cook pot. In similar situations my stepson prefers a MSR Pocket Rocket canister stove. If we anticipate needing to melt snow or have a large group, e.g., on a Philmont trip, we take a white gas stove, e.g., a MSR SimmerLite with a larger aluminum or titanium pot.

For a longer fast trip, with simple meals, in good weather--you can't beat the BPL Esbit Ti wing stove with a MSR Ti pot/cozy (you can get a lighter pot). This is a light weight combination that's easy to use. For a shorter trip--say less than 5 days--I use alcohol with either the turbo brass or mini-bull sketti. You pay a 1/2 ounce per day penalty for using alcohol instead of Esbit.

If the weather is going to be sketchy or I want to cook more complex meals, I'll bring the snow peak Ti or for thick sauces the Brunton crux. This way I can cook inside and control my fuel use better--at .25-.35 oz of fuel per day (with custom windscreen/heat reflector for the snow peak stove) it would take two weeks to "pay the price" of the extra weight of the fuel canister compared with esbit but since you'd use more than one canister in two weeks you probably never catch up. However being able to cook inside, start/stop the stove instantly, and control the flame is worth something. In high fire danger areas (say Yellowstone "meadows" in summer) the risks of alcohol or esbit of starting a fire are greater. On Andy and my trip last summer he had to cook in a couple dusty/dirty of buffalo wallows so as not to start a new round of Yellowstone fires!!

In winter I use a hybrid of the bush buddy and a whisperlight (for long trips). The 5oz bushbuddy pays for its weight if I save even one day of fuel (if melting snow for water) and the whisperlight insures that I can cook quickly and in bad weather OR if no wood is available. For shorter trips below timberline in good weather I may only take the bushbuddy. If it's going to be stormy I'll always take the whisperlight.

In the past, I've been a huge fan of Esbit on my summer long-distance hikes. Using the BPL Esbit Ti wing stove, with home-made foil windscreen and a Snow Peak 700 ml Ti Mug and Lexan spoon, my kitchen is under 5 ounces.

This summer however, I will also try my Snow Peak GigaPower on the Tahoe Rim Trail, since I feel good about resupply options in Tahoe City. If I like it well enough, I will carry it instead of my esbit setup on my John Muir Trail thru-hike shortly after.

In winter, I use my MSR Whisperlite with an 11 ounce fuel bottle.

For melting snow as a water source I've used the Jetboil since it was introduced and loved it, but didn't like the weight. Alcohol and esbit are slow. Last week on a two day trip I took an old Snow Peak Gigapower to save weight but ran out of fuel while melting snow, so it's back to the Jetboil for the mountaineering.

Hi Bearpaw!

Question for you. Do you only use snowpeak canisters with your snowpeak gigapower stove? Or do you consider your snowpeak gigapower interchangable with most fuel canisters?
There were some posts on one of the backpacking sites a while back that said only snowpeak canisters can be used with snowpeak gigapower stoves!!

Has anyone used the Caldera Cone Stove system but substituted a White Box Stove (to hold more alcohol fuel (59 ml v. 40 ml) to support better cooking for two? I'm talking about these two links:

http://traildesigns.com/products01.html

http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/White_Box_Stove.html

I have the Caldera stove, not used it on the trail, but timed it in my back yard and would like to see it hold more fuel (I think 59 ml would be fine).

The White Box Stove does not have a primer pan, but Caldera sells a Primer Pan independently for $3.00. I'm curious with the Caldera stove if one should get a wick added to the White Box Stove like Tinny at minibull designs talks about:

http://www.minibulldesign.com/myadventure/index.php?query=white+box+stove&amount=0&blogid=1

First, to answer the question, I use my Jetboil more than anything else; only four components, fast and efficient.

However, lately I have been learning and experimenting with TrailDesigns Caldera cones.. using these has been the only way for me to make alcohol cooking almost as hassle-free and convenient as my jetboil. Caldera cones combine the windscreen and pot support into one unit. The base of the cone is MUCH more stable than a little wire pot holder, and the windscreen envelops the pot, unlike aluminum foil. Also, it just looks a little more elegant than chicken wire and wrinkled aluminum foil. One good thing about the cones is that they can be used with multiple fuel sources, while maintaining the wind-resistance.
This photo shows some of the setups Ive tried.. when using a canister stove, the caldera friction fits to the pot and 'hovers' a few inches off the ground.. The cansiter stays cool, and the burner stays protected from the wind.

Cat, to answer your question, Snowpeak says the warrantee will be voided by using any other fuel, but I mix and match whichever canisters are cheapest with no fuel-related problems.

Edited by Brett1234 on 05/25/2007 00:13:32 MDT.

Cat,

I've used Jetboil and MSR cannisters with no problem, but I usually use Snow Peak (because they're the least expensive cannisters we carry at my REI).

I'm a big fan of my minibulldesign Mini-Sith alcohol stove. It's really efficient and light.

Chalk another up for the Esbit stove and beer can pot (kit by Ultralight Outfitters). I use this set-up 90% of the time now. If I am cooking for more people or the weather is going to be particularly volatile, I'll bring by Pocket Rocket with an SP 600 mug instead. I've found that using Esbit is just as convenient as a canister for my hiking needs (September-May in Arkansas), though.

Canister - Pocket Rocket - car camping

Alcohol - Caldera Cone - backpacking

I too tried the Caldera with different stoves and found it did not really make a difference. Great Stove ...to mean its the cone/windscreen/pot support that makes this stove perform so well.
Since it cooks so fast on just 1/2 ounce of fuel, I just use 1 ounce when needing longer cooking times.

Ok, I have to add my comments about this one. I tried using the White Box stove with my Caldera Cone and succeeded in drastically discoloring my Caldera Cone. I definitely would not recommend it nor does Trail Designs seem to do so. I recently tried my White Box stove on a trip in Utah and found it to be a fuel hog compared to my friend's Thermojet. Because this stove is such a blowtorch, in my opinion, it can be difficult to safely remove a pot (I used a MSR Kettle) from the stove due to the intense heat. I probably will not use it again.

Kevin Sawchuk wrote >In winter I use a hybrid of the bush buddy and a whisperlight (for long trips).

Now this sounds interesting! Have you posted the details somewhere and I missed it?

Svea 123; it's the only stove I own, but I use it all year round (including Quebec winter).

Most? Sadly my old Primus Multifuel from 1998 on canister fuel.

Most when backpacking? Brunton Crux

Most when solo backpacking? Definitely the Caldera cone with Titan kettle

E C: ...si je partait dans le bois du Québec l'hiver, j'apporterai une poele ben simple, ben rude, et don ben fiable

>"E C: ...si je partait dans le bois du Québec l'hiver, j'apporterai une poele ben simple, ben rude, et don ben fiable"

KISS would be the advice, I believe.

Brian James & Sam Francis - the KISS principle definitely applies to almost all of my gear, backpacking or otherwise ;-)
As far as my Svea goes - it's been on 4 continents with me on duty as well as in a civilian capacity, and hasn't let me down.

Three seasons: Snow Peak GST-100 (Gigapower) with a 30/70 Kovea canister. There are a couple of quite similar stoves which are nearly the same.

Winter: Coleman Xtreme (although the Fyrestorm would also do).