High Sierra Topix

I use a MSR simmerlite. It works pretty well, but I wish I could get it to simmer better, although removing the windscreen seems to help.

From the Boy Scout perspective, our troop used to use whisperlites, as they are pretty indestructable, albeit, a bit unstable on uneven granite. Every once in a while, some careless Johnny would get too close and kick over a bucket of water, earning the wrath of all present. A good lesson to all about keeping out of the kitchen. (take three steps back, boys) Also, sometimes a scout trying to start a whisperlite can burn alot of fuel and we have got dangerously low in just three days due to their carelessness. Fortunately, the rangers at cabins get all sorts of stuff dumped on their front porches, including a lot of white gas fuel. On a couple of occasions, we have stopped by and were able to tank up, relieving a serious situation.

Now the troop has gone to Dragonflies. Although heavier, they are a bit more stable.

I've also run through a gamut(?) of stoves in my time camping and backpacking. I still have my old 2 burner coleman that I bought in High School that survived through my first winter as a ski bum. For backpacking, My dad got a Svea 123, and I got one a few years later. It was always interesting to pour a little fuel in the priming cup to get the sucker to roar. I even got a Sigg-Tourist cookset for mine. My buddy had a canister stove (camping gaz or bluet) that we used and it was a lot simpler than the old Svea to light. I also had a few buddies that loved their Hank Roberts canister stoves (just saw one at a garage sale out in Chalfant this weekend). I heard great things about the MSR XGK...... you could burn anything in the multi fuel one and it was practically as hot as an Oxy Acetylene rig, but still used my Svea for a while. I got a peak one in the early 90's and thought it was pretty cool until I saw the Snow Peak Titanium stove. I have that now, and even carry it on day hikes some times "just in case" with some instant soup packets and tea bags. It doesnt seem to have a lot of adjustment in the flame, but i'm not usually eating gormet style food out there anyway. I used it on my boat a a couple of trout opener's ago and it sure was nice to have a steaming cup of tea on the lake after a cold morning of getting my feet wet.

I am also new here, there is a tremendous amount of knowledge and enthusiasm on this site, tempered by wisdom and maturity. I respect and appreciate the points of views here, hopefully some of what I share will be useful, or at least elicit a smile.

I also use the pocket rocket. It's light enough, and does what I need it to do. I like my GSR soloist kit. Not the lightest, but I love the dimentions of the pot, and I love the bowl.

I'm kinda limited on this topic as Ive only ever owned 4 different types of back packing stoves. My 1st (I actually had two of these) was the old Gaz/Bluet canister stoves. Used them for years and while not the most convenient (once the can was on, it was on) and a few times I thought my pack might explode because the valve got opened, I cant say one ever let me down even when I had to sleep with the canisters.

I got a Coleman Peak 1 from an old girlfriend, but I have to admit I only used it a few times backpacking cuz it was bulky thing and I didn't like carrying fuel. Followed that with a little butane thing by Gaz (cant recall the name)that all fit together in its own pot and it was an upgrade from the old Bluet (it really simmered well), but the canisters didn't last very long and then they quit making them. Brought back the old Bluet for awhile, but got a MSR Pocket Rocket sometime back and now have two of those. Just got my son a MSR WindPro and look forward to using it this season.

A couple of weekends ago in the Western Blue Ridge Mountains at about 3,000 feet, I did some more tests on my 2 favorite stoves: The MSR Pocket Rocket and the Swedish Trangia . It had snowed the day before, so it was chilly and very windy. I left both stoves outside in the elements overnight, and conducted the tests at around 8am in the shade. The temperature was 32ºf. I used 2 cups of cold water in a Snow Peak 1.5 liter pot with the lid on. The times are for a rapid boil.

The MSR sputtered a bit at first, but boiled water in 3.5 minutes. Not sure how much fuel was burned.

The Trangia boiled water in 5 minutes. It used 1.5oz of alcohol.

I am impressed with the simplicity and lifetime durability of the Trangia, plus it's so quiet. The Pocket Rocket on the other hand, sounds like a Harley Davidson.

I also like that the Trangia's windscreen(a piece of roof flashing) is shorter than the Pocket Rocket's, and the pot seems much more stable on the Trangia's stand(hardware cloth), than the PR.

Troutdog 59 wrote: My 1st (I actually had two of these) was the old Gaz/Bluet canister stoves. Used them for years

here's my Bleuet Gaz - this baby got used in Europe and on the JMT from 1986 through 2007, here in use at Reds Meadow campground in 1990:




Since 2008, I've added three more stoves. A solid SnowPeak, a light but flimsy Vargo Titanium, and just last month a Jetboil Helios (my snow melt machine)

Like them all, never had a problem with a canister stove, ever, unless you count wind gusts picking up the JetBoil Helios pot lid and blowing it across frozen Frog Pond below Whitney. The darn plastic lid is a perfect frisbee! Took me 20 minutes to get it back.

New here too but have been camping all my life and backpacking for a "few" years (decades ) Ouch am I getting old. Anyway, for a long time my peak 1 was my stove. I have and had several Coleman stove and lanterns. They all have been very reliable. I still have my grandfather's lantern that is probably over 65 years old and still works great. The peak 1 is bulletproof and has never failed me plus I like being able to see how much fuel I have left. We like to cook meals as well as have hot drinks when it gets chilly. I like the idea of alcohol stoves but don't have the patients. I now have a Giga and so far like it a lot. I am still testing it to see how much fuel I will need and how to cook with out the burning. As we do most of out trips in the fall and temps are sometimes low, I may stick with the peak 1 or depending on the weather take both for a try.

On a side note, I had and still have a coleman 442 ( predesessor to the peak 1). I used to carry it in the saddlebag on my horse on many mountain trips. That and the little aluminum 2 cup coffee pot went everywhere. One time my horse spooked and we went over the side. the horse and I rolled about 50 yards down the steep side of a mountain. I managed to stay out from under him but my saddlebags didn't. We both got a little scratched and dinged up but were OK. When I pulled the stove and coffee pot out of my bags, the pot was flat and the stove burner was bent like a taco. I pounded it back out straight and it still worked great.

The older I get the lighter I try to go so that Giga may just grow on me.

Has anyone used the Soto canister stove?

The Soto appears to work the same as any other canister stove.

There was a review at Backpacking Light - it appears to boil water just fine. Claimed advantages over other stoves appear to be minimal.

Thank you Almost There. I have an aging Superfly that I am replacing. I purchased the Soto, but have not yet used it. It is lighter, and it looks like it can be used to cook with, instead of just boiling water.