What's the best backcountry stove?
Up until now, I've been content with either picking a wilderness that allows backcountry campfires for cooking dinner, or eating cold food for the duration. Now I'm starting to feel like my choices are limited and/or my dinner sucks. What kind of backcountry stove should I be looking into, and what is the difference between the different fuels? For the stove, my most important prerequisites are that it's lightweight and reliable. Mark Brick, New Jersey
There is a third category of stove, a series of "unpressurized" stoves. Alcohol stoves are one such type. They're very easy to use, simple, and light. But they don't put out a ton of heat, so are poor in windy conditions or very cold temperatures. Lots of folks swear by them, though. Next come wood stoves, using small bits of wood and a battery-powered fan. They work well if a decent supply of dry material is available, but I'm suspicious of the durability of the fan mechanism, a moving part the likes of which gas stoves don't have.
For most people in most conditions, myself included, a canister stove works the best. MSR's Pocket Rocket ($40) is an excellent lightweight stove of this type. Coleman's Xpert ($55) has excellent stability and cold-weather burn characteristics, but is slightly heavy and bulky and uses proprietary fuel canisters (most other canister fuels use a "universal" threaded fitting). If liquid fuel sounds appealing, the ol' standby is the MSR WhisperLite ($60). The Optimus Nova ($130) burns anything liquid, simmers well, and is exceptionally easy to use. But it's costly.
For you, I'd recommend the Pocket Rocket. The Trangia Westwind alcohol stove ($20) might be the ticket, too, seeing as you obviously are used to going without a stove. It's enough to warm a meal or cup of coffee for you.
More information: MSR Pocket Rocket; MSR WhisperLite; Coleman Xpert; Optimus Nova; Trangia stoves.
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