[pct-l] comparative stove weights

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

We decided to do our llama trek with a propane cannister stove last year (sick
and tired or fussing with a cranky, clogged whisperlite every other night).  We
wanted to determine how many pots of boiling water we would get out of one
cannister.  We used a gram scale and burnt thru one whole cannister by making
our morning coffee every day at home, in the kitchen, with the camp stove and
pot we use on the trail to heat water to rehydrate dinner.  We weighed the full
can, then weighed it again each day after boiling another pot.  We were able to
determine that we would get 15 days' cooking on each can.  This proved realistic
on the trail.
The same principle can be applied to your type of cannister stove.
Marion Davison

"Plotnikoff, David" wrote:

> Greetings (and happy holidays) from a longtime list lurker and section
> hiker.
>
> As part of my planning for next year's section hikes (Peavine Creek to
> Willamette Pass), I'm re-examining a lot in my packing list, including
> stoves. I've had good luck with MSR Whisperlites over the years, but am
> looking at other options. (I took a fair amount of ribbing from the thrus in
> Sierra City last year over the weight of the whisperlite. You'd have thunk
> I'd had a cast-iron skillet lashed to my pack...)
>
> In addition to building the Cat and Pepsi stoves, I'm also considering the
> MSR Pocket Rocket or the comparable Gigapeak gas stove. (My stripped down
> whisperlite with 6 oz of fuel is 20 oz. The Pocket Rocket with its smallest
> cannister may be a tad less than half that.) Being unfamiliar with this fuel
> type, I was hoping someone could tell me:
>
> What's the true weight of the smallest possible cannister these stoves will
> accomodate?
>
> Are the gas stoves now standards-based so the cartridges are
> interchangeable?
>
> Short of shaking the can and guessing, how can I estimate how many boils I
> have left in a can?
>
> And, finally, any other pro or con experience that might help me make an
> informed decision.
>
> Nine months of planning and scheming is how I stay sane between my times on
> the trail....
>
> Many thanks.
>
> David Plotnikoff
> San Jose Mercury News
> (408) 920-5867
> dplotnikoff@mercurynews.com
>
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