High Sierra Topix

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.

I personally love my Giga. I have been using it for "several" years. I bought it when I decided to become an ultralight backpacker. Decided some gear, such as a stable backpack, is worth the few extra pounds. Anyway, I'm more of a water boiler, also, so this stove gets a high rating from me! And, it's so EASY to use!

OK, we took my 11 year old granddaughter on her first backpacking trip. We went in our local mountains for three nights. I only took the giga to see how it would work. We ""cooked" dinner Monday night, three meals Tuesday,Wednesday and breakfast Thursday. Plus Coffee and hot chocolate. When I say cook it was substantial cooking for three people, including pancakes,biscuits,pizza biscuits,spanish rice(lipton) hashbrowns ect. My homemade aluminum windscreen melted but the stove worked fine. I had to play with the flame and move the pot around some. For the three days of cooking and baking we used not quite two large canisters of fuel. I'm either going to redesign my windscreen or breakdown and buy the giga steel one. I think it's a keeper. I will probably use the Coleman for high altitude and cold weather.

Aluminum roof flashing makes a decent stove wind screen.

That's what I used and it melted next to the burner. I have a stand up one for the coleman but for the Giga you need one that goes right up to and around the burner. This is so you don't trap heat around the canister. The factory ones are steel for a reason I guess. I have an idea for a hybrid version with a tin center section. The thing worked awsome until the center part around the burner melted and the whole thing started to sag letting the wind in.

I don't know the output of your stove in BTU but my Primus is very high and I have no problems using flashing. IMO I never enclose my stove 100%, 75% is good enough and has allowed sufficient air flow to prevent overheating the fuel can.
You could always add additional vent holes to the bottom edge if you needed more
ventilation.

The windscreen I made looks something like the factory one but it melted around the burner.