[pct-l] Alcohol vs. white gas

[losthiker at sisqtel.net (Deems)]

There's nothing wrong with alcohol stoves. You will soon figure this out for yourself, should your instinct and curiosity lead you further.
I used white gas stoves for 30 years. Svea, MSR, and Coleman Peak1 and they all boiled water. Every one of these systems  weighs over 1 pound dry, plus the bottle wt.   When I learned of the cat stove by Roy Robinson, I tried it and soon became a convert. The 3oz dry weight of the alcohol system speaks for itself, and there are no moving parts.  I'm a solo hiker, and boil a quart at morning and evening meals.  My most frugal fuel burn rate with MSR stoves-Dragonfly and Whisperlite- was in order 1.5 to 1.8 ounces of white gas per day.   With my alcohol stove system, and there are many to choose from, I am burning 2.5 to 3 ounces of fuel a day for the same boiling chores. Other's fuel rates may vary, but this is mine.  Simple math will show you which system will suit you from a weight perspective over time, but the true conversion comes from the fact that both systems will boil water, but only one system will weigh 3 ounces dry.  I've spent too much time in camp looking for MSR pump parts that fell off. I had my beloved Svea 123 that had taken me thru my earliest first hikes fail in camp making coffee 10 yrs ago, and has never worked well since.  There is a training curve required to change from white gas to alcohol, but I have found that once you try it, you won't go back. You will then begin reassessing every other piece of equipment you've been carrying, and this will only lead you into the depths of the ultralight revelation.  Type "alcohol stove" into google, and you will see most of them.  The "cat stove" by Roy is very easy to make, totally reliable, and the most trail worn and tested system available.  Flyin Brian carried one on his triple crown trail quest. The simplest fuel at reloads is HEET gas line antifreeze in the 12oz yellow bottle, be sure it is methyl alcohol.   Ping me, and I'll send you the pika stove link.