RE: [pct-l] Fuel usage

[Karl Brandt <brandt@snf.Stanford.EDU>]

On Wed, 9 Dec 1998, Andrew Yip wrote:

> >A couple of years ago in backpacker mag. there was info on fuel usage per
> >person per meal for white gas stoves and other fuels.  Can anyone help 
> >me?
> 
> My MSR stove came with specs on boil times and minutes of burn time per
> liter of fuel, (and other stoves might have them too) so since a lot of the
> stuff you're probably cooking involves boiling water that should give you an
> idea. If your stove didn't come with specs like that, I guess you could just
> figure them out yourself - time boiling a liter and time how long it takes
> to use up a whole fuel bottle, etc.

In theory, that's correct but I've never been able to correlate
manufacturers numbers with actual usage. Most thru-hikers I saw,
including myself, were carrying 22oz. bottles for their MSR stoves. I
quickly discovered that it was much bigger than I needed. I'd go 2-3
town stops without having to refill. I got into the habit of only
filling it half way and never ran out of fuel. Nowadays, I just carry
a 11oz. bottle if I'm alone. The only place I might carry a bigger
bottle is the southern Sierras both because of the cold and the
potential of a 9-10 day stretch between towns. 

Most people are a little paranoid about running out of fuel. I know
that I was before I thru-hiked. In fact, if someone had recommended
only carrying a 11oz. bottle, I probably wouldn't have listened. But
trust me, it'll work. There's white gas available at nearly every town
stop and you can always use unleaded fuel otherwise. Although I've
never tried it, I also hear that charcoal lighter fluid will work too.

-Karl

*********************************************************************
Karl "Birdman" Brandt PCT97 LT98                       (650) 725-3686
http://www.stanford.edu/~kbrandt/

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