Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

I'm just getting into lightweight backpacking, and this is my first "beer can" alcohol stove.

I considered building one myself... for about 10 seconds.... then decided I was nuts. I didn't have the time or the patience to do a good job right now. I ordered this stove after seeing a review on Backpackinglight.com. At first, I thought it seemed a little expensive ($35 incl shipping), but the kit is complete: no muss no fuss.

When I received it, I was amazed. The BPL review praised the workmanship, but to see it yourself is to truly appreciate it. Superbly made!

The kit comes with the stove, simmer ring, snuffer, windscreen, pot holder, and wait, there's more..... a fuel bottle. The pot holder is light and easy to assemble. The wind screen has holes on one side and is solid on the other (for protection from the wind). The stove lights easily and boils water in a flash (I'd guess a flash equals about 4 minutes for 2 cups of water, although I have yet to time it with a stop watch).

Also this thing is practically silent! The flame-thrower-like sound of gas stoves will forever grate on your nerves after using an alcohol stove (if it hasn't already!).

This is a great stove kit. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. The weight and space savings over my gas stoves are awesome! As I said earlier, this is my first alcohol stove, so my comparisons are mainly made to gas stoves. However, for a "beer can" stove kit, I don't see how this kit could be improved: it's simple, elegant, light, and works beautifully. What more could you ask for?

Rating: 3 / 5

I have tried this stove several times it doesn't really impress me. It is easily dented and doesn't seem as strong as some of the others.