Is the wood burning stove illogical nowadays?

[12trysomething]

I just finished a 65 mile trip where we used my solo stove and supplemented it with alcohol. Different tools for different conditions and moods. Towards the end of part 2 and again at the beginning of part 3 you can see the solo stove in use.

Good luck!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...70rf2iPY9yftqZ

[QiWiz]

Disclaimer: I make and sell wood stoves. They are beautiful and work great.

But to your question: Unless you are in a fire ban area or above tree line, a wood/twig stove can be a very effective choice. IMO, you should have the ability to use it with alcohol and/or Esbit, so you have another option if conditions really suck or you don't want to make a fire for some reason. You can DIY something or get a commercial or cottage industry wood stove. Try it out on some short trips before you commit to a longer trip. You will need to develop some fire skills (that are pretty easy to acquire) in order to be most efficient with your wood stove use.

[HooKooDooKu]

(Sofar im leaning towards jetboil)

A jetboil does one job very efficiently... boils water. But beyond that... it takes fiddling with.
The stove is pretty much either full on or off (the difference is about a 1/4 turn of the control knob). So it's not designed to simmer or slow cook what-so-ever.

Based on what I know now, if I were purchasing my first stove, I would start with the Oilcamp XTS stove and the Snow Peak LiteMax.

I recommend the Oilcamp because it's the only other stove I have heard of with the heat ex-changer build-in like the Jet Boil. I personally don't own an Oilcamp, but when its been mentioned on WB, I've never heard any major negatives (it gets 4-1/2 stars on Amazon).

I recommend the Snow Peak LiteMax for it's ability to fold into a tiny size, and because it seems to feel more stable than the MSR Pocket Rocket. I've owned both, and the LiteMax is what I carry for warm weather camping.

The other thing to consider is that canister stoves are between difficult and impossible to use in cold weather. As the temperature heads towards freezing, the fuel simply doesn't vaporize properly to keep the stove running. So if you plan to do some at or below freezing cooking, you might need to be able to use white gas. So while it might be a little heavier over-all, the other thing to possibly consider would be something like the MSR WhisperLite Universal (it works with canisters, white gas, and other stoves).

[squeezebox]

I'm thinking of a back up stove to a canister. but by the time you carry a tuna can drilled out, esbit tabs. or a coffee can wood stove with the sout issues,
maybe a spare 4 oz canister is a better backup ?
Your stories please.
Must consider below freezing temps issue.

[Bronk]

I'm thinking of a back up stove to a canister. but by the time you carry a tuna can drilled out, esbit tabs. or a coffee can wood stove with the sout issues,
maybe a spare 4 oz canister is a better backup ?
Your stories please.
Must consider below freezing temps issue.

If all you're looking for is a backup, how about 3 metal tent stakes pushed partly in the ground to balance your pot on and then building a small fire under it? No need to carry a wood stove. If you don't want to fool with small twigs, how about carrying an esbit tablet and use the stakes to balance your pot? I have an esbit stove and really all there is to it is a folding piece of metal that acts as a pot stand. For that matter, if you don't have tent stakes you could just find two rocks to balance your pot on and build the fire between them. If you want to go the alcohol route the Fancy Feast is probably the lightest, but I made a stove from a soda can and a pocket knife and carried it for 700 miles...they don't have to be fancy (no pun intended), you just need a metal container to hold the alcohol.

An extra canister won't help you if your stove malfunctions and isn't working.

[RED-DOG]

I paid $42.00 for my MSR Pocket Rocket back in November of 2005 I used on two AT thru-hikes and many many sections and other trails it has served me well with no complaints, before that i had a ZIP Stove i used on my 96 Flip-Flop thru which is a wood stove with an electric fan which worked fine but kinda annoying especially if it's wet or windy You got to remember open flame stoves such as Wood, Alcohol are becoming illegal especially on the west coast, so why don't you do your self a favor and get an Cannister stove that will last for many many years, and then you want have to deal with all those Hassles

[Odd Man Out]

As pointed out already, the JetBoil has is insulated and has a heat exchanger to make it extra efficient, hence the higher price.

There are backpacking pots that have heat exchangers that can be used with any stove. I have the OliCamp XTS pot which you can pick up for under $30. You can make a cozy using a reflectix car windshield shade from the dollar store and pair this with a cheap stove.

Another advantage of this strategy is you can use the same pot with a twig stove if you want (or an alcohol stove, if they actually existed). Lots of versatility. Less cost.

[Just Bill]

Canister stoves seem well covered- Although I prefer a snow peak or fire maple that let's you use a regular pot so your options aren't limited and you don't have to own separate pots.

The only thing I would add- if considering the "alternative" fuels (Wood, Esbit, alchy) Why limit your options?
(sorry QiWiz)- But a Caldera Cone Ti-Tri can burn all three fuels for a reasonable price.

Crappy day- use some esbit. Nice day or not in a rush- use it in wood mode. Or more accurately- in the morning when you want to get moving- use an esbit to see you on your way and wood at dinner time when lounging. Your twig fire is easily converted into your campfire for the evenings entertainment.

Also- No rule against just cooking on a fire, no fan, batteries, TI or other parts needed.

I'm not a jetboil fan only because if a canister runs dry I don't have a pot along I can put directly in a fire-stoves break (rarely these days) but I've never heard of a pot failure so cooking on a fire is my backup. That said, as other have said- for what it does do there is none better.

[lemon b]

I think I've tried everything. Wood stoves require dry wood which after two days of rain is not easy to locate. Whisperlites my standby and the one I've had the longest. Pocketrockets are nice too. Alcohol I just can't t down too much fuss in mildly cold or windyconditions. 5 days or less whisperlite.More I go with the pocket rocket. fits right in the pot with a bic.

[rocketsocks]

My Coleman feather light was/is messy, noisy, heavy, stinky, and a work horse.
My Sierra stove is "Hungry"...period!
My alcohol stove is delicate, and a mosquito burp will put out the flame.

My Pocket Rocket is the easyest thing I've used, reliable, light weight, quick, and fairly efficient. Can't help but say, I've always felt these wood stoves are nothing more than a pot stand. Really nice pot stands though, and they do work well.

[SunnyWalker]

I own a Caldera Cone w/Alcohol Stove, a Pocket Rocket, MSR Whisper Lite, and a Fire Fly. I am taking the Fire Fly (wood burning) on CDT in about a week for a thru. Go to:http://www.qiwiz.net/

[Shutterbug]

The reason I created this thread was because I was thinking "Is it weird/dumb that sticks are the most useful thing to burn, yet people buy stoves and fuel, instead'?

That seems like a cattle farmer going to walmart to buy hamburger patties.... You have a whole field of what you CAN use, for free. But little actually use it.

I was just making sure I wasnt thinking odd, and that there was a reason to use fuel stoves etc (which ya'll explained the faster time, less smoke, no smell etc)

The last time I hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness, it rained for three days straight. We could not find a dry twig anywhere. It was impossible to keep a wood fire going. I was glad I had my Jet Boil along.


(I am sorry for the double post. My computer hung up and I didn't think the first one posted.)

[Shutterbug]

The reason I created this thread was because I was thinking "Is it weird/dumb that sticks are the most useful thing to burn, yet people buy stoves and fuel, instead'?

That seems like a cattle farmer going to walmart to buy hamburger patties.... You have a whole field of what you CAN use, for free. But little actually use it.

I was just making sure I wasnt thinking odd, and that there was a reason to use fuel stoves etc (which ya'll explained the faster time, less smoke, no smell etc)

There is another reason. Sometimes one can't find dry wood. The last time I hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness, it rained for three days straight. We couldn't find a dry twig anywhere. It was impossible to keep a wood fire going. I was sure glad I had a Jet Boil along.

[rafe]

There is another reason. Sometimes one can't find dry wood. The last time I hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness, it rained for three days straight. We couldn't find a dry twig anywhere. It was impossible to keep a wood fire going. I was sure glad I had a Jet Boil along.

I don't know about a three-day-rain, but I learned how to deal with wet wood in my Zip stove. Put a bunch of (wet) twigs and a dollop of alcohol into a small ziploc bag. Shake it up good. Dump the drunken twigs into the stove and light up. I'd often carry a wad of birch bark as well, it makes a very good fire starter.

But now you're carrying fuel anyway (as emergency starter) which sort of goes against the basic premise of the thing...

There are places where the Zip is inappropriate. Eg., at Dan Quinn's barn in VT where you're not in the woods any more, and it's somebody's private space. Or an outdoor picnic table at a hostel, where a canister stove might cut it, but a Zip might not.

[dink]

I have a Firefly wood stove (titanium fold flat) and love the little thing...but I also carry a alcohol stove for when I can't use the wood stove. I enjoy the relaxation factor of a fire, no rush, that is why I hike and camp, to get away from the rush!!

[QiWiz]

The only thing I would add- if considering the "alternative" fuels (Wood, Esbit, alchy) Why limit your options?
(sorry QiWiz)- But a Caldera Cone Ti-Tri can burn all three fuels for a reasonable price.

I'm also a big fan of not limiting options and reasonable prices:

Ti Tri Multifuel System and Ti floor as ground shield for wood burning = $89.95 (Inferno insert not included, can get for another $40)

FireFly with FlexPort and MultiFuel system = $85.90 (titanium WindShield ground shield/wind shield, DualFuel burner, and pot support included)

While I'm at it, the FireFly system will work with more than one size pot, while the Ti Tri is pot-specific.
I just could not resist defending my baby - Just sayin . . .

[RockDoc]

Wood stoves are great, although you will have trouble finding any fuel at most shelters.
I have sat and watched children (sometimes not so young children) run around collecting every single piece of fuel, and then burning it all in huge bonfires.
But there's plenty of wood if you get away from shelters and popular campsites.

[rafe]

Wood stoves are great, although you will have trouble finding any fuel at most shelters.
I have sat and watched children (sometimes not so young children) run around collecting every single piece of fuel, and then burning it all in huge bonfires.
But there's plenty of wood if you get away from shelters and popular campsites.

I carried a Zip stove from Etna, NH to Bennington VT, and from the Hudson River (Bear Mtn.) to Great Barrington, MA. That's not my experience at all. Never had issues finding fuel at a shelter.

[QiWiz]

Wood stoves are great, although you will have trouble finding any fuel at most shelters.
I have sat and watched children (sometimes not so young children) run around collecting every single piece of fuel, and then burning it all in huge bonfires.
But there's plenty of wood if you get away from shelters and popular campsites.

I carried a Zip stove from Etna, NH to Bennington VT, and from the Hudson River (Bear Mtn.) to Great Barrington, MA. That's not my experience at all. Never had issues finding fuel at a shelter.

+1; +1
IMO you are both right, in the sense that wood of the caliber you might want for a fire in a fire ring or fireplace may be scarce in a frequently visited AT shelter area, but the small twigs you need for a FireFly or Zip stove can be found literally everywhere there are trees, including right around and even inside shelters. Under a shelter can often be a great place to find dry twigs after a rain BTW.

[lemon b]

In 78 I hiked 15 straight days of rain. Try finding dry wood? Actually had to use sterno. But that was then and now we have options. Also how many shelters do you think were on the AT in 78. Ate a lot f peanut butter and cheese those 15days. Also drank a lot of whiskey. Anyway lots of goo ideas here.