Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

I've been testing out this stove for about a month now, and its always exceeded my expectations. The stove (1.0 oz capacity), trimmed windscreen, heat reflector, titanium pot stand, and stuff sack weigh exactly 1 oz on my scale. Additionally, the entire package is small enough that it can be stored inside even the smallest commercial and homemade pots (in my case, a 2 cup capacity Labatt's Blue can). In my intial kitchen tests, I was consistently able to boil 2 cups of water for three full minutes with only 0.6 oz of fuel. As is typically the case with all alcohol stoves, field tests proved to be a bit different, but I was still very impressed with the results. With 40 degree water in 35 degree temperatures with light winds, the Ion stove fully boiled 1.5 cups of water for 2.5 minutes with 0.6 ounces of fuel in aproximately 14 minutes. The stove is also extremely simple to operate, and spills are easily minimized by the removable stove top 'lid'. Overall, I've been very happy with the Ion stove in terms of performance, weight, and volume. If you can get past the slightly longer boil times (sometimes its nice to just stop and take a look around for a while anyway....), the Ion stove defintely deserves your consideration. Thanks,

-Dave:)

Edited by davidp80 on 03/26/2006 20:06:12 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

Wow!! Very tiny after trimming windscrean and heat pad. It took 0.4oz alcohol to boil a 1 1/2 cup of H2O in 8 minutes and the boil roared for a few more minutes after that. I am very impressed with Titanium pot stand and main stove. The stove is easy to fill becuase you can take off the top and then return it with no problems. I used it with cut down Hieny can 0.7oz. My cooking system is down to about 4 oz. total. Wow!! Excellent Stove.

Rating: 4 / 5

Unfortunately, this stove is no longer sold by sgt rock.

The ion was my primary stove 2005-2009. It is the most alcohol efficient stove I have used, consistently boiling 16oz of water with just <=.3oz of fuel in both lab and field conditions. I typically bring .5oz of fuel... which is more than enough to bring 20oz of water to a boil and then to keep a rolling boiling for several more minutes. Note: this was using a wide bottom Evernew .9 pot, narrower pots are a bit less efficient. The stove is extremely compact, easily packing in any pot you might use. The pot stand is easy to use. Mine is slightly tippy due to a manufacturing flaw which I understand was addressed for future units. The one downside of this stove is the slow boil time. It often takes 14 minutes or so to bring water to boil which can seem like forever if you are hungry and everyone around you is already eating. I ultimately switched to a UL Caldera Cone for faster boiling times, and more compact packing size.

Edited by verber on 01/01/2011 10:57:10 MST.