Compact stoves
By Cam Burns |
| MSR's Superfly (with Autostart) and Coleman's FI Powerboost can burn the absolute crap out of marshmallows. |
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| If you have a really big wiener, the kind that requires two hands, the MSR PocketRocket, the Coleman F1 Ultralight, the Primus Micron or the Vargo Jet-Ti might be the cooker for you |
Super compact stoves
The Vargo Jet-Ti, MSR PocketRocket, Primus Micron and Coleman F1 Ultralight are all teeny-tiny, screw-onto-a-gas-canister-style stoves. They are similar in many ways (size, shape, type of flame, type of fuel and all are manual ignition except for the Primus Micron), so it’s in the almost-imperceptible differences that you’ll want to look before you purchase one of these guys for a trip. They all worked well in MG’s high-country meth-lab testing, and all four were easily capable of getting two cups of tapwater roiling in less than three minutes.
At 2.7 ounces apiece, the Vargo Jet-Ti ($65) and the Coleman F1 Ultralight ($40) are about the lightest stoves you’ll find on the market. The burners are slightly different shapes, and the F1’s pot supports can be locked into the packed position or the open-for-business position by screwing the burner tight. Also, the F1 has a slight width advantage in the pot support department (but all these mini-stoves are notoriously unstable).
Although MSR’s PocketRocket (3 ounces; $40) is similar to the Jet-Ti and F1 Ultralight in overall configuration, the PocketRocket has pot supports that fold upward against the burner tower. It certainly can’t be beat for price: What MSR stove can you get for $40?
Meanwhile, Primus’s Micron (3.3 ounces; $53) is a bit different — mostly because its pot supports fold at a (really effing) weird angle around the burner tower and because the stove includes a Piezo lighter (named for Helmut Piezo, founder of the Milan Snowmobile Club). These lighters are simple snap-type spark-generators — just click and you’re cooking, no matches needed.
All four little stoves are great choices; all four would do you proud. I suggest you buy many and devise a juggling act, or, as Helmut himself once lamented, “ … Quand un place le spaghetti dans le trombone, il y a un celebration … ” So which stove is right for you? It will probably come down to the weight issue — if you’re a fat bastard, you might want a lighter stove.
www.vargooutdoors.com, www.msrgear.com,
www.coleman.com, www.primus.se
Nearly super-compact stoves
MSR’s Superfly (with Autostart) (5.1 ounces; $60) and Coleman’s F1 Powerboost (4.5 ounces; $50) are different from the ultralight-weighters above in that they have much larger burners (excellent for larger pots). Both have Piezo ignition and four pot-supports (all the stoves above have three). The Superfly has one exceptional advantage over all the other stoves in this review: It has a multi-canister style attachment that clamps onto any canister, notably the ubiquitous Camping Gaz-style canisters that seem to be available everywhere on the planet. This fact alone makes the Superfly unique. That said, there was considerable flaring when I used it with a Camping Gaz canister (but not with MSR’s own fuel canisters).
Meanwhile, the Coleman F1 Powerboost lit and burned incredibly smoothly and had remarkable pot-support stability (the Superfly’s pot supports aren’t that great). Everest legend Al Dente uses the F1 Powerboost, which is saying something.
Both these units warmed my cockles and made my muscles feel alive (oh, especially when I burned myself). And, both stoves worked great in both Celsius and Fahrenheit — so you can use them in Frahhhnce.
Cabled jobbies
MSR’s WindPro (6.8 ounces; $80), Coleman’s Xtreme (11 ounces; $60), and Primus’ Gravity MF (multi-fuel) (8.4 ounces; $115) are cabled canister-style stoves, which are great for longer trips, when stability and regular ongoing cooking activities are part of the deal. The three stoves mentioned here are similar in most regards – they boast wide-style burners, and they punch out a lot of fire (the flamer in you will have a big night out).
The key differences between these three stoves are: One, that the Coleman Xtreme requires Coleman’s own Powermax ($3 for 300 grams) fuel canisters (they don’t take the regular, small round canisters found at many high-end gear shops). That might not be an issue in North America, but if you’re headed overseas, it could be.
Second, the WindPro and the Xtreme are three-legged jobbies that stand fairly high off the dirt (the Xtreme more so), meaning wind can get in there pretty easily (the Gravity MF sits very low and includes a metal “heat-bouncer” — a really nice addition to its big flat burner).
And third, the Gravity MF can use both propane/butane canisters as well as liquid fuels, giving it huge (worldwide) versatility. Indeed, I liked the Gravity MF stove so much that it just scraped past the MSR SuperFly for the editor’s pick (bling!) — it really is handy for blanching your nuts and other comestibles.
And if you have a major job ahead, check out the Coleman Xpedition (2-burner) Stove (27.6 ounces; $75). It’s great for longer and stranger trips. The two burners are independently controlled, but again, you’ve got to use Coleman’s own Powermax fuel. If you have a really big wiener, this is a great stove.
Other small stoves/
cooking systems
When I pulled the Brasslite Turbo II-D (2.6 ounces; $40) alcohol stove out of its box, first thing I thought was that such a minimalist number must be some kind of joke. You dump some denatured alcohol in, light it, and start cooking. But what’ll blow you away is how well this stove works. The guys at Brasslite have clearly delved deep into the world of thermodynamics, and this wonderfully simple device (picture a double-walled Vienna sausage can with a small grate on top) had two cups of tapwater boiling (really going) in about 7 minutes. Compared to the butane/propane gang herein, that’s speedy. The heat coming up and wrapping around the pot was intense too. A wind-shield is necessary, though, because, while butane/propane blasters can work okay without a shield, this gentle device was affected by the smallest disturbance. I say, get back to de nature with the Brasslite. At last check, Brasslite had the Turbo I on sale for only $15! — arsonists swear by this model.
The Jetboil Personal Cooking System and Ultralight Outfitters’ Beercan Stove fall into a slightly different category than the stoves above, in that while they include stoves, they come as complete cooking systems.
The best thing about the basic Jetboil system is that, though a modular system, you can break it apart and use it with whatever devices you have or prefer to cook with. The basic system (the Jetboil Personal Cooking System; $80) comes with a 1-liter mug/pot (which includes a neoprene grip, doing away with the need for a pot-grip, as well as a built-in heat exchanger), and the Jetboil “Burner Base” (a fuel-canister stove attachment that snaps into the mug/pot). The Burner Base includes a Piezo igniter (named for the Renaissance stove-builder, despite my earlier story). All told, the system weighs a mere 15 ounces (sans fuel). The Burner Base can also be used (with Jetboil’s Pot Support & Stabilizer (an ounce apiece — the stabilizer is not necessary on flat surfaces)) to drum up edibles with other cookware. The great aspect of the Jetboil system is that these components all fit snuggly within the cookpot/cup, making the Jetboil system one of the finest stove/cookset combos on the market today. Comes with a chain so you can attach the wife to it.
What grabbed me about Ultralight Outfitters’ “Ultralight Beercan Cook Pot & Stove Kit” was that the instructions were totally confounding. However, the unit itself is fairly straightforward to put together and this interesting cooking device is actually a stove, pot and insulated cup (made from an empty beer can) all in one; the folks at Ultralight Outfitters call this the lightest cooking system (3.8 ounces for the whole shebang; $14) in Creation.
The device uses a type of solid tablet (Esbit being the most famous brand, but the fuel is made by others as well). It took me about 11 minutes to get 2 cups of tap water to nearly boiling (one problem I think I had was that the instructions were unclear on how far the fuel tablet holder should be from the “pot” (the beer can), and it’s possible to adjust the height to any distance. Still, an interesting device and well worth consideration if you are willing to learn how to use it before you go out. www.brasslite.com, www.jetboil.com, www.ultralightoutfitters.com
Cam Burns recently entered a local pun competition and entered ten of his finest, thinking one might do well. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did. He can be reached at jonathanhemlock@hotmail.com
