[pct-l] Esbit vs. Alcohol and some canister notes

[Slow Comfort]

The titanium zip stove (10oz) packs down to 5" X 3" no fuel necessary,
but does use a AA battery.  Reviews claim 6hr cooking time from one
stove but they last so long I just replace them when necessary.  It
cooks as long and often as you want, no fuel logistics, you can fly
with it (baggage - not carry on)  and provides a nice way to cook on
the trail.  While you can build a forge fire with it if you
want...this baby will put out some flames!  But, in fire risk areas
the fire chamber easily handles a hot but small fire sufficient for
any trail meal without concern. Its use is allowed in all national
forests (contained cook fire)  but I also carry a 0.4oz "FireLite"
titanium Esbit wing stove with 2oz of fuel (4 tabs) for back up, for
emergency tent use, or in case of wood fire stove ban, which I've
never encountered, so  I've never used the backup and on the way up to
a bald spot (no fuel) I just pick up a bit of sticks and bark for the
zip stove along the way...doesn't take much...no problem.  Some people
complain about sooty pots but it don't take long to figure out the
juju for that.

My longest hike is just under 250 miles.  I used the 18oz sierra zip
for that hike and a for whole bunch of 3 & 4 day camping trips.  It
never let me down and works great in windy conditions.  Considering
the fluctuating weight impact of solid and liquid fuel, the need for
logistics and the necessary pack care for the use of alcohol or esbit,
I opted for the titanium zip for the PCT this year.

Slow



On 1/24/07, Marcia <gottawalk at pacbell.net> wrote:
> Does anyone remember Jake on the PCT in 2000, the chef that warmed his
> dehydrated and soaked meals with plastique? Wow!
>
> Canisters can be mailed http://www.gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel.htm . For two
> people hiking together a canister is weight efficient.
>
> We have used the gigapower with snowpeak isobutane fuel on all our hikes.
> Calculations for us show that the stove is heavier but carrying with fuel
> for two ends up being equivalent or lighter. The small cnaister (110g plas
> can weight) lasts 3.5 days of 2 cups of drink in the morning and 2 cups of
> drinks and 3-4 cups of water for dinner. So it depends how frequently you
> plan to resupply...I think a small can would last you a week and the large
> can (220g fuel plus can weight) two weeks.
>
> The stove seems to be safe for tent or vestibule use in bad weather. The
> stove tipped and rolled once but the flame still shoots skyward and didn't
> hit the floor or wall (water ran to a corner of the tent). Fuel needs to be
> warmed in sleepingbag or in jacket in really cold conditions but still boils
> water. Altitude doesn't affect a canister stove.
>
>
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