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  1. #1
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    Default What stove to use on the Appalachian Trail

    Over the last 2 years it seems the trend in stoves being used are canister stoves. Jetboils being the most popular.

    What is the stove you currently will be using?

  2. #2

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    Soto Windmaster Stove w/ Tri Support, Titan Kettle Pot 0.85 Liter, & MSR Folding Spoon.

    Follows 7 years of alcohol stove usage. Want to do something different.

  3. #3
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    Have you given any thought to a Jetboil?

  4. #4

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    I've owned/used just about every kind stove available over the last 40 years.

    Pocket Rocket works best for me.
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by TJ aka Teej View Post
    I've owned/used just about every kind stove available over the last 40 years.
    Pocket Rocket works best for me.
    What didn't you like about the Jetboils?

  6. #6
    Registered User ScottTrip's Avatar
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    I used a Pocket Rocket on my hike in 2016 but I would say that the Jet Boil was the most popular back then.

  7. #7
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    Pocket Rocket:
    The 1st cannister stove I tried was the Pocket Rocket. I didn't like it because of how unstable things felt (and I did knock over a few pots).

    LiteMax:
    The next cannister stove I tried and used for years was the SnowPeak LiteMax. It folds down much smaller than the Pocket Rocket, and the pot seemed to be more stable, even though the span of the support arms are about the same. The key difference is that the arms of the LiteMax lay flat. By contrast, the Pocket Rocket has slopped arms so your pot only rests on the very tips of the arm.

    SOTO WindMaster
    This year I'm trying the SOTO WindMaster with 4 arms. It got good reviews. Among it's positive points:
    1. The burner is concave in shape providing some amount of natural wind resistance. By contrast, the LiteMax has burners on the sides leaving the side towards the wind totally exposed. The PocketRocket includes a Y-shaped wind screen in the middle of the burner, but that means some part of the burner is always left exposed to the wind.
    2. Regulated - The output of the WindMaster is regulated, so the amount of fuel burned remains the same as pressure changes in the canister. The LiteMax and Pocket Rocket are NOT regulated.
    3. Great Cold Performane - I just used the WindMaster last week where the morning temperatures were low to mid 30s. I didn't do anything special to keep my canister warm (actually formed ice crystals while in use) and the stove performed great.
    4. Option of 4 arms... Don't have enough practical experience to know for sure, but it seems like a stove with 4 arms will leave the pot more stable to tipping than one with 3 arms.
    About the only down side is that the stove is much larger than the LiteMax when you go to pack it. But you have the option to easily remove the arms if that makes packing better (but the 'cup' that is the burner is much larger and is simply going to require more room).

    JetBoil:
    Along the way, I've tried the JetBoil and usually didn't use it because of weight. Most of my trips are 2 night hikes, so the "efficiency" of the stove/pot doesn't makeup for it's additional weight.
    But when I thru-hiked the JMT, efficiency became a bigger need. I used the modern equivalent of the MicroMo (actually an SOL aluminum cup paired with the MiniMo stove that claims to have better cold-temperature performance).
    I would say that I averaged boiling two cups of water per day on that trip plus warming up some "bath water" (I took sponge baths each night to get sun screen oils off before getting in my tent/sleeping bag). On day 4, I purchased a small canister at Red's, and then anther on day 8 at MTR. The one I purchased at Red's lasted thru the end of the trip on day 18. That night, I had to burn the stove at full blast for 10 minutes to burn off the fuel that remained so that I could safely dispose of the cannister (flying home, couldn't take it with me... the full one I was able to give to a local at the exit trailhead).

    In my opinion, of these stoves, if you only need to boil water, the JetBoil seems best for long hikes, and the SOTO WindMaster for short trips.

  8. #8
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    With the increasing prohibitions on "open flame" stoves, I bought my first canister stove to add to my white gas, alcohol, esbit, and wood burning options. I went with a Soto Amicus and the Ocelot wind screen from Flat Cat Gear to conserve fuel. A good friend of mine who is a serious mountaineer and often camps suspended from cliffs loves the Jetboil because he can lock the pot to the stove. Not important to me, so I favor the Amicus as a very reliable and lightweight canister stove. YMMV.

  9. #9
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    I use a Jet Boil Stash pot with a MYOG eCHS alcohol stove, but will use the Jet Boil burner if I go someplace alcohol is not allowed or available. I cook in my pot so did not consider other Jet Boil systems. The Stash is more like a conventional pot/stove combo vs the other Jet Boils that are mostly used as water boilers for FBC.

  10. #10
    Registered User Kaptainkriz's Avatar
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    I flip back and forth between a caldera cone/toaks 550 and a BRS3000/550 setup. Been playing with an inferno mug and an ocelot-hx… does not pack down as nice as the 550, so will probably revert back soon.
    Plaid is fast! Ticks suck, literally... It’s ok, bologna hoses off…
    Follow my hiking adventures: https://www.youtube.com/user/KrizAkoni
    Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphagalhikes/

  11. #11
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    I love my bushbuddy.

  12. #12

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    Canister stove with a pot cozy is the best system I've found in 50 years of backpacking.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeffmeh View Post
    With the increasing prohibitions on "open flame" stoves, I bought my first canister stove to add to my white gas, alcohol, esbit, and wood burning options.
    Burners/stoves that have absorbing material in them that prevent spilage are favorable to Park Rangers out west. I personally got approval from a Park Ranger in the Sequoia National Park in California to use a no spill Starlyte Stove. On another backpacking site there were 2 people that got approval also by asking the officials where they usually hiked.

    sequoia-national-park-brian-tree.jpg...awsomeness

  14. #14
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    Sterno Inferno with Groove Stove (alcohol). Not the lightest but certainly fastest, very wind resistant and Heet is widely available.

    For borderline SUL there's the Esbit tri-wing and Toaks 550. Complete cook kit (stove, windscreen, pot, lid, cup, spoon, lighter and stuff sack) is 128g and fuel per day is 28g.

    For winter, the Sterno Inferno and FMS-300/Ocelot plate are hard to beat for a canister setup.

  15. #15

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    I'm sticking with the Caldera cone and alki stove for my upcoming LASH. (NOBO from Harpers Ferry to ?) I'm also considering carrying my "Snow Peak" burner for back up since it's small and doesn't weigh much, just in case I can't find yellow heat, but can find a canister.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  16. #16
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    I flip between a Sterno Inferno with an alcohol stove (very effective) or a canister stove (an old Primus), depending on length of trip, mood, consultation with the oracle, and the reading of the tea leaves.

    Market research, Zelph?

  17. #17
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Question:
    The fire season warnings and instructions that I have read from various Government sources clearly stipulated “A stove with a positive ON-OFF valve.” Examples: SVEA white gas or propane canister like Jetboil or Pocket Rocket.
    Many of the stoves mentioned above do not meet these requirements. How do y’all get around the stated rules?
    Wayne

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Question:
    The fire season warnings and instructions that I have read from various Government sources clearly stipulated “A stove with a positive ON-OFF valve.” Examples: SVEA white gas or propane canister like Jetboil or Pocket Rocket.
    Many of the stoves mentioned above do not meet these requirements. How do y’all get around the stated rules?
    Wayne
    Are there any sections of the AT with restrictions on the type of stove allowed? Are there seasonal restrictions on parts of the AT?

  19. #19
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by gpburdelljr View Post
    Are there any sections of the AT with restrictions on the type of stove allowed? Are there seasonal restrictions on parts of the AT?
    Generally no...
    But Whiteblaze has been a destination site for more than just AT hikers. (There's entire sub-sections devoted to other trails and other recreational areas).
    Out west (California) this can be a major issue as the state has much stronger restrictions that you will see in the east.
    FYI: You can't even light a cannister stove in the CA back country without a permit. The permit is an easy to obtain-self administered test. But the point being, to light a stove in CA you need a permit.

  20. #20
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    I should clarify:
    I am talking about high probability of forest fire conditions. When open campfires are forbidden and only stoves with positive shut off controls are allowed.
    I bring it up because the entire state of North Carolina has had at least one, possibly 2, FULL STATE FIRE BANS in the last 6 months. Approximately. We had a wildfire in Pilot Mountain State Park. The fire originated in an illegal campsite caused by an illegal open campfire. You obviously can’t fix STUPID.
    BE SAFE Y’all!
    Wayne

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