OK... I'll keep my 22's, 8R's 00 and Sveas and 111's for winter trips and canoeing but my foray into testing canister stoves has got me going in a different direction for three season backpacking. I played with alcohol stoves but they don't have enough power for the occasional snow melt. I was almost sold on the Jet boil system but with the addition of the Optimus weekender pot with heat exchanging fins I thought I'd give the MSR Pocket Rocket a go. Glad I did. 45 second boil time with a new canister. Amazing Video
Except you also need a pot. That's at least another 1/2 pound. You will also still be doing the pre-burn whilst the pocket rocket has already boiled the water.
But it's not a classic camp stove! Seriously though, they're all good. From a Trangia 25 to a Svea 123 to a homemade alky that only weighs 10 ounces for pot, windscreen, burner and mug, I like them all. My short trips I usually take the Svea; if it's going to be really windy it's one of the Trangias. For lots of miles (which doesn't happen much anymore) I'll take the homemade alky set up. Over the past few years I've converted much of my equipment from old school to ultra-light. The benefits of this is that I can afford to carry a stove capable of real meals and not just my dehydrated/freeze dried stuff. An added bonus is that if the stove is a classic, I get an immense amount of entertainment fiddling with it in on the trail. They've all become like old friends to me (not that I fiddle with my friends, mind you!) With all that said, I continuously fight the urge to buy a canister stove like the Pocket Rocket or one of the various Snow Peaks. I've still got the REI dividend from 2013 burning a hole in my pocket, so who knows! It would certainly round out my collection. Regards, Ridge
If you can find a Coleman F1, it's as fast as a Pocket rocket, but half the price, under $30. And smaller...
Look also the Optimus Crux. It has smaller packing size and flame pattern is larger so it will not burn food so easily. I had Pocket Rocket but I changed to Optimus Crux because of above reasons. Crux can be stored under the gas canister's bottom so it almost doesn't take any packing space.
No doubt that canister stoves are convenient. What I consider the major drawbacks of canisters are the amount of waste, and the difficulty of topping up fuel. Otherwise very practical as long as the temperature keeps above freezing. I use a Primus 1 litre Trek kettle, and it's a perfect match for either a 220g canister with an Optimus Crux attached to the base, OR a Svea 123. So why choose, use both and take along whatever you like that particular day But when extra weight and bulk doesn't matter, nothing can ever beat a kero burning 111. My opinion!
Congrats on the MSR Pocket Rocket. I have one too, and like it. I also like the Optimus Vega, Soto Windmaster, and Snow Peak Gigalite titanium. The first because i can use a windscreen, the second because of the simmer control, and the third because of the heat output for its small size (fits in gsi hallulite solo or snow peak summit hybrid with gas canister). All three work well with the Optimus HE weekender. But from setup to boil to packaway, it's hard to beat the overall speed of the jetboil system. Most recently, though, i've been using the Trangia 27-2, primarily for the trash reduction reason knutb mentioned. Pretty impressive boil times for an alcohol stove. In snow environments, seems to work better if you can find a rock platform, or use the Trangia secondary heater to keep the mini hot enough for cooking temps. The 28-2 is also very light, and the newer matte finish Trangia fuel bottles are very light as well. The Trangia X2 multi-fuel works well with it, though, even with the max output reduced from 3k to 2k btu, it's still a bit too powerful for the 27-2. Seems better suited to the larger 25 series.
I am no technician, but have understood the point of low temp for a canister is 42°F. That's when the propane starts to vaporize leaving the butane. What is then left is less than useful. Did you mean Giga Power? I have several, and before going to the 'Kitten Stove' alcohol burner I used it exclusively backpacking. I really like the windscreen made for Giga Power. I could get a full week, 7 days, on a 110 gram canister using the Jet Boil Group Pot with it's Neoprene wrapping and heat exchanger. 3 cups of water in the morning and 3 cups of water at night every day. But now I use the Kitten Stove in a Caldera Cone. No canister to worry about how much fuel is left. That said, I can cook a whole meal with the alcohol I prime a classic stove with. It's not all about efficiency here. I went to a Hammock Forum meet a few years ago and brought the SVEA 123 and Primus 210. That started some conversations. Ken in NC
I have the gigapower too. It is no longer made, and the gigalite titanium has since replaced it. The gigalite does not have a piezo igniter built in, as the gigapower was known to have several failures. The gigalite also doesn't have the optional wind screen. Except for the super simmering control of the Soto windmaster and Optimus Vega, most of these don't simmer well. And with a leave no trace philosophy, ends up being more trash in the pack when used up. Caldera cone looks good, haven't used it. The SVEA 123R is one of my favorite stoves when backpacking alone for a quick overnight trip or day hike. It does make me nervous that i would accidentally burn it too long and end up running it dry, burning the wick, but it works so well for me with the Optimus HE weekender for boiling water and is so much fun to use. Of the spirit stoves, right now, the Optimus Hiker+ is my goto when wanting tohave fun car camping, and the Primus OmniFuel and OmniLite are my de facto goto's for week long trips. Anything over a week and i use the 180 wood stove or the FireBox.
Thanks, that's new to me about the Gigalite. I made 2 Caldera cones using Cone layout software downloaded from the internet. It prints the pattern on multiple sheets of paper, which you cut and tape together and trace the pattern onto the sheet metal. I made the first with aluminum roofing flashing, then, after some adjustments, titanium foil, 0.012" thickness, I bought from Titanium Goat website. The only advantage to the titanium is the ability to build a fire in it. Ken in NC
Very cool. Thanks for the tip. May have to try it since i hear good things about it. What i really want right now is a modular hybrid of an Optimus Hiker+, SVEA 123R, and the Primus OmniFuel. Basically a flexible fuel line, separating the tank and stove, a pump brass tank like the Optimus Hiker+ but in the shape of a SVEA tank, the stove having it's own stand, and a metal rectangular box to put it all in that is smaller and more packable than the Hiker+ enclosure.
Yeah, cold affects the canister stoves in the cold for sure. I found they stop flowing gas at around 20F. If you have the kind of stove with a fuel line then you can flip it upside down and burn the liquid, but that doesn't work too well for stoves that attach directly to the canister like the Pocket Rocket or Optimus Crux. In 20F or less I like to use liquid fuel, especially Coleman Fuel. It's just easier for me and more likely for my luck to work more often than not over a canister stove, which have not worked more often than have in cold weather. My two nickles. sam
Its hard to beat canister stove convenience for warmer weather trips, where fires are banned or inconvenient. No flare ups, no priming, easy assembly, and many sizes of canisters for each trip length. Its no surprise that they are so popular for most backpackers over liquid fuel stoves. However I have never been able to replicate a 45 second boil time for 2 cups (I only boil 1 liter as a standard). The best times I usually get for a liter are 5-9 minutes, but altitude and temperature and windspeed also affect these things. Cool to see your best boil time.
Heck, I grabbed a Primus Yellowstone classic, under $20 new, light with a large burner, so you can cook a real meal on it, added a three-leg conversion base, so I can use the food service butane cans makes a bit cheaper to use. If I'm really figuring on freezing my 'nads off, I'd grab the old Primus 2260 Grasshopper, and use propane or MAPP gas! Burning that will put a boil on your pot right fast, as the burn temp beats anything sold in sporting goods stores! Murph
YUP..it shocked me to get a 45 second boil. In part due to 1) using a new canister and 2) The heat exchange fins on the Optimus weekender. This pot is really made to suck every BTU out of the stove. Great combo. Takes nearly 2 minutes to get 2 cups going on my best 111 after a minute of pre-heat. I'll play more with the this exchanger pot...maybe it's a game changer?
Murph, I use the same Primus stove. It's cheap and works quite well. I also take my Svea 123 and I use both. This article is very informative as to canister gas. http://snowboardmountaineer.com/gear-review-jetboil-and-other-canister-gas-explained/ John
Great article john. Took the liberty of quoting and sourcing an excerpt and copying into all my gas canister stove reviews.
If you run into issues with cold weather... Evidently Primus has come up with a 'winter gas' canisters that have internal fins to combat evaporative cooling. Btw I enjoy your YouTube channel!
