High Sierra Topix

AlmostThere wrote:It's a bummer, too. I prefer to shop at the local store rather than REI - all they carry anymore is Optimus. But I monitor the weight of canisters - I can get three weekends out of a small canister, but one and a half if it's Optimus.

Optimus, Primus, MSR, Snow Peak, and Jetboil are all major brands. In warm weather, there shouldn't be any major differences between them that can't be explained by differences in canister size. Canister sizes do vary. Everyone is pretty much 110g now for the small size of canister except Jetboil which is only 100g. A 10g variance won't cause a 50% fall off in use -- and the variance is in Optimus' favor not against.

The only thing I can think of is wind. Especially if you're up high and it's windy, wind will really kill canister performance.

You might try an aluminum foil windscreen like the one Longri showed. I think the one in the below photo is 3 sheets of heavy duty kitchen foil.

Tooling foil, 36 gauge, is even better, but that's harder to find. Just be careful not to fully surround the stove! You can melt parts if it gets too hot in there or worse, cause a canister burst. Check the canister temp with your hand periodically. If it feels hot, that's too hot. Canisters are only certified to 50°C (about 120°F) which isn't all that hot. The inside of a car on a sunny day can easily get hotter than that.

I've found aluminum foil windscreens are surprisingly durable. You can fold them in half,


roll them around a water bottle (or similar),


and stick them in a bread bag. They hold up pretty well like that. Better than I expected anyway.


In stronger winds, you have to brace them with rocks, branches, snow, etc.

HJ

Sorry, no. The windscreen Snow Peak makes goes in when I expect alpine breezes. It just is what it is.


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I don't know what Markskor burns in fuel, but his setup makes sense to me. The can is external. You can windbreak the rest of the apparatus all you want at that point.
russ

Looks like an MSR Windpro. Cool old pot. Sigg?

HJ

hikin_jim wrote:Looks like an MSR Windpro. Cool old pot. Sigg?

HJ

Yes. My pot. His stove. I love my pot. He'll have to answer for his stove, but the config is much safer and controllable given the discussion.

HJ,

just saw your review on MSR WindPro II. I think it's yours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTD1WI-vSTE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very nice!

and a remote can with options. How much fuel does it suck?

rlown wrote:... a remote can with options. How much fuel does it suck?

Two of us, doing real cooking... fish, dinners, hot breakfasts too - about 5 days @10,000' on one medium sized can of fuel. One big canister lasted 10 + days.

Been using a Windpro for 5+ years now and all those pocket-rocket/ flame over canister type stoves (IMHO), do not compare.
Once again, stable, windscreen, 6.7 oz., simmers or blast-hot, no burning off the butane first and hence a constant flame all the way through the canister, a wide flame pattern (think fish)...works pretty well if going high Sierra where the cold temps matter.

rlown wrote: I love my pot.

I like pot too.
Mark

rlown wrote:HJ,

just saw your review on MSR WindPro II. I think it's yours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTD1WI-vSTE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very nice!

and a remote can with options. How much fuel does it suck?

Russ,

Yes, that's my (ahem) "professional grade" video (not). Hopefully it gets the point across despite the fact that it's all one take with no editing.

The stove in the video is an MSR Windpro II. That should be the same stove that markskor was using (although his might be an older version). As in most things, there are trade offs. On the plus side, the Windpro has:
-Better wind protection (you can use a full windscreen without worrying about overheating the canister)
-Better pot stability, particularly with larger pots.
-Better cold weather performance (with the canister inverted).

On the minus side:
-It's heavier than upright canister stoves
-It's bulkier than upright canister stoves
-It's more expensive than upright canister stoves.

It kind of depends on what is important to a given individual as to whether or not a Windpro would be a desirable stove. One thing I will say is that one could conceivably buy just one stove if one bought a Windpro and be able to use it year round. There would be some challenges in very cold weather, but it could be done if one had the proper techniques and preparation.

HJ

markskor wrote:Been using a Windpro for 5+ years now and all those pocket-rocket/ flame over canister type stoves (IMHO), do not compare.

Sure it compares. In your experience it always compares favorably. Jim thinks it's a tradeoff. From my perspective there is never any need for the added weight/bulk of a remote stove in the Sierra.

longri wrote: From my perspective there is never any need for the added weight/bulk of a remote stove in the Sierra.

Respectfully disagree.
What extra bulk? The stove fits safe and easily inside of my cooking pot which is large enough to feed two adults (pot also holds my reel, extra spools, scrubby, bics, etc.)
That "extra" 3 oz of weight for the Windpro allows me to go higher, deeper, and longer for extended fishing trips, all year long...and cook fish and real food...simmers nicely too...stable, with a safe windscreen.

Show me all the pretty 3-color graphs and charts you have , but...IMHO too many variables between the various canister stoves available and pot size used to be explained by any straight line graphs (so far presented here). There is more to it than just comparing the gas mix used and the time it takes to boil water...Pot size, humidity, temperature, valve-opening size, windscreen used, altitude, wind, amount of gas (butane) remaining in the canister, type of cooking/simmering. At +12,000', using an unstable frypan (fish), going out for 2+ weeks at a time - May to October, my experience says a remote canister works better than a pocket rocket.
From my limited Sierra experience, any other stove-over-canister set-up just does not work as efficiently for my type of backpacking regularly done. YMMV.

Maybe I just go higher or go out longer than you do...and do more than boil water?