Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board camp stove suggestions?

would like to ask the WPSMB members their suggestions likes/dislikes re: backcountrylite camp stoves. I've had the same MSR Expedition campstove for several years (maybe coming up on 10?!) and its quite possible that I'm missing out on better stoves out there.
Looking for light, reliable stove that can melt a lot of snow fast. I dont care about burning food cuz i'm not a fancy backcountry chef. Good thing bout the Exped stove is its shuttle rocket booster quality.
Penny for your thoughts please
thanks

I had a MSR WhisperLite International for years, and I loved it, still have it in the garage. A couple of years ago I picked up a JetBoil at an REI used gear sale, it's great. Boils quickly, compacts into the size of a Nalgene bottle, and the fuel last a good while and not too expensive.

Just my 2 cents...

On another board a hiker named Hiking Jim is doing a writer up once a week on different stoves and their pro's and con's.

Here's the link to all of the one's he's done thus far.

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3396.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3445.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3450.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3464.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3506.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3520.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3557.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3561.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3612.html

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3626.html

and a write up about "white gas and cartridge" here
http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/about3626.html

it's quite the education.

For winter use stay away from the Butane stoves, Butanes boiling point is 33 degrees F.

I use a Peak One, its heavy, cranks out BTU's, and is simple to use with gloves on.

love my winter canister stove, butane/propane works just fine if you invert the canister.

http://gearjunkie.com/gear-review-jetboil-helios

love that thing for cold weather performance

summer, I use a Vargo titanium mini thing with a titanium pot - about 1/4th the weight of the Helios, but flimsy and rather inefficent per canister. Also have a SnowPeak remote canister stove that's a little lighter than the Helios, but it doesn't have the efficient heat exchanger pot nor does it fit on it.

liquid fuel stoves are for pyromaniacs.

I've had a Jetboil for 3 years. Since I do freeze dried food and pack out the containers and don't do campfires, I did a 17 day trek last summer in the SEKI backcountry and never struck a match. Used 2 1/2 gas cartridges.

MSR Reactor is a good canister stove as well (large heating element). Might do better in colder weather than the JB but your results may vary.

I recently purchased a Brunton fuel stove. I am impressed with the build quality, bullet proof and you're able to adjust the flame size. Another plus is the price, it's half the price of the name brands, about $60. Comes with stove, fuel canister, pump, and rebuild kit.

I have a jet boil and pocket rocket for summer, but in winter they are both worthless.
An inverted canister stove works fine in the cold but not the upright canister type. The inverted cansiters work by using the propane to force the butane out as a liquid, that is then vaporized at the burner. In the winter I want fast and easy with nothing to assemble. The Peak One works beautifuly full blast or low simmer. Put some fire paste on the generator tube to pre heat then light it up. The big down side is that its heavy. The up side is that it is bomb proof simple, boils a liter in about 4 min. I have never had a failure.

thanks a lot for everyones input ..very helpful

Disclaimer: I am a dinosaur when it comes to gear...

For winter use, I'll take my trusty old SVEA 123 any day. White gas, minimal moving parts (just the needle valve) but you have to prime it, so it puts on a nice show burning off the priming squirt before it fires up and acts like a stove instead of a fuel truck accident. (I'm exaggerating but you do have to watch out for what's above it when you flame off the priming fuel.)

With the Svea, I have an old Sigg "Tourist" cookset that combines a stove base, windscreen and either one or two pots into a reasonable package with the stove stored inside the whole set.

That stuff is from the mid-70s, so it is obviously durable...

Now, for short trips in the summertime, I also have an MSR "Pocket Rocket" gas-canister stove. Doesn't work worth a darn below freezing, at least after the propane has outgassed from the canister and all you have left is butane which doesn't vaporize well when it's cold.

Given the fact that I live out in the flatlands (St. Louis), I usually have to fly somewhere so the Svea has to stay at home. I can pack the Pocket Rocket and just buy one or more canisters when I get to my destination, so it's more practical for me in the post-9/11 epoch. Still, I hate lugging around empty canisters on longer trips...

So, as usual, my answer is, "it depends..."

I still have several SVEA 123 stoves too. Can't beat them.

Are those the ones that you doused with fuel to "prime" them?