[pct-l] stove comparison chart

[hankm at ncast.com (Hank Magnuski)]

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005, Jay Willis wrote:

> Deems, these are excellent! I've just brushed over them, but these sites
> are just what I was hoping for.
> 
> I've come up with a cursory list of pros and cons of the stove types
> that I could think of:

I think you need to address the issue of safety, especially for the age 
group you dealing with in the Boy Scouts. I remember a long debate 
about this when I was a parent here in Troop 57 in Palo Alto, and 
eventually we banned use of all white gas stoves due to the potential for
explosive situations when kids were attempting to light these stoves. I 
believe we allowed propane or butane stoves where canisters had easy to 
use controls for turning the flame on and off. I don't remember the exact 
outcomes, but I know white gas stoves were only allowed for use by senior 
Scouts on longer trips.

The debate centered on issues such as "How are the Scouts going to learn 
proper use of these stoves if they're banned from using them?" and "Do you 
want your son and maybe his friends scarred for life because he was 
careless in using this equipment or was too young to appreciate proper use 
of this equipment?"

Also, there were reports that alcohol stoves tipped over and caused major 
fires on the PCT last year and that it is a type of stove that's very hard 
to control once it's lighted.

So, my point is that adding safety of use is a very important aspect to 
your comparisons.

Hank