[at-l] "Stoves" and thruhiking --- LONG

[spiriteagle99@hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

I came down with a terminal case of “dead time” this afternoon, so I’m gonna 
talk about “stoves” – for a thruhike.  Yeah, I know – I rarely talk about 
gear.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t know about it – just means I don’t 
generally consider it worthwhile, cause “gear” is NOT a determining factor 
in completing a thruhike.

Some time ago, I said in a water treatment discussion that I don’t care what 
equipment you use – but before you pick something, you should KNOW what the 
possible alternatives are so you can make the best possible decisions for 
YOU.  One of the basic lessons of the Trail is that there is NO “one and 
only, ultimate, one-size-fits-all, RIGHT” equipment or way to do anything on 
the Trail.

Also remember the words “false economy” – if you buy something and then hate 
it cause you didn’t know about the disadvantages, you’ll likely end up 
buying something else (hopefully what you should have bought to start with). 
Life can get real expensive like that – and if you really are on a limited 
budget, it “can” make a difference in your hike.  In other words – get the 
facts before you commit your money and (in this case your stomach) to 
something that works well for someone else but might not work at all for 
you.

Two things to keep in mind here are 1/ that advice is ALWAYS worth what you 
pay for it (and the payment isn’t always in cash) and 2/ that many of those 
who give advice on at-l are thruhikers or long section-hikers who have “been 
there and done that” and know what worked for them.  Most (but not all) of 
them also know that what worked for them won’t necessarily work for you.

One of the things I did before my AT thruhike was to “analyze” the different 
stove types to get some idea about cost, weight, reliability, 
maintainability, advantages, problems, etc.  Since we have some prospective 
thruhikers and/or section hikers who seem to have questions, I sort of 
updated that analysis based on both observation and personal experience over 
the last ten years and a couple thruhikes.

So --- let’s take ‘em one at a time.  I’ll include approximate initial cost, 
operating costs and total costs for a 6-month thruhike assuming two hot 
meals per day (total = 360 hot meals) as well as some comments on operation, 
problems, etc.  This has nothing to do with food – except for the assumption 
that cooking time is minimum (i.e. – no long-cooking rice, oatmeal or 
lentils).  And anyone who'd like to add to it should have at it - this is 
probably a "fire and forget" for me  :-))

Esbit – basically the same thing as the “heat tabs” that have been in use by 
the military since WWII – except that the chemicals are marginally better 
now.  I still have an “Esbit stove” that I picked up for $1 in 1956.  The 
“stove” is small, lightweight, relatively inexpensive ($9.99) – and 
generally unnecessary.  The tablets can be used with the tin can alcohol 
stove or by just using a couple rocks to support the pot.  There are some 
people (a few) who love them.  The down side is that 1/ regardless of the 
manufacturers claims, I consider the fumes to be toxic, 2/ personal 
experience is that they never properly “boiled” enough water to provide a 
meal before they burned out and 3/ at nearly 50 cents per tablet, they’re 
EXPENSIVE to operate.  Cost wise – the initial investment is $9.99 for the 
stove (if you bother with it), operating cost is $0.50 per meal (assuming 
using only one tablet per meal – which we never could get to work) and total 
cost for “6 months” would then be  $189.99 – just to cook your meals – no 
food.  Weight – for 5 days, about 10 oz, including the stove (if you carry 
it).


The canister (butane) stoves (Primus, Snow Peak, Bleuet, etc) are fast, easy 
to use and relatively safe as long as you don’t cross-thread the stove into 
the canister or allow the valve to open inside your pack.  But that doesn’t 
happen very often.  I’ve used several versions of canister stoves at one 
time or another – and they’re great for short trips, but for longer trips (a 
week or more) I leave them at home.  I won’t carry a “spare” canister on a 
thruhike.  For thruhiking, anything that can be labeled as “spare” is 
“extraneous” and “unnecessary” and I don’t carry that stuff.  But there are 
people who have thruhiked with them and loved them.  The downside is that 
fuel canisters aren’t necessarily commonly available in some places.  On the 
AT, they’ve probably become more common in recent years – on other trails, 
you’re “definitely” into doing maildrops – and that has it’s own problems 
both with the mailing and with pickup.  You haven’t lived until you’ve 
gotten to town late on the Friday of a holiday weekend and found the Post 
Office closed until Tuesday.  Lemme tell you – that can blow a budget.  Cost 
– and I’ll pick just one – the Bleuet stove initial cost is $29.99, fuel 
cartridges are (last time I bought one) $3.99 each and I figure a minimum of 
12 over the 6 months for $47.88 operating cost and a total “stove” cost of 
$77.87.  Weight – 5 to 10 oz for the stove (depending on type) plus one 
operating canister plus one spare.  My guess, based on personal usage, is 
between #1 and #2.5 depending on the stove, the contents of the canister and 
whether you carry a spare.  Just remember – you don’t leave the empty 
canister behind in a shelter – you get to carry it out.  Snow Peak, by the 
way, has been known to maildrop canisters to thruhikers on the Trail – I 
don’t know what that service costs, but I’d bet it’s not cheap.

Then there are the alcohol stoves.  You could go with Trangia, but I’m not 
sure where they’re sold anymore.  The soda can stoves are the latest rage – 
and seem to work for a lot of people.  They’re light weight, reliable, 
relatively easily replaced and inexpensive.  We used one for a while on the 
PCT – it worked, but not to our satisfaction.  For one person, it does very 
well except for being just a little slow.  For two people (and the way we 
cook), it’s slow, inefficient and takes too much fuel to be cost/weight 
effective.  With the recommended amount of alcohol, it never did “boil” the 
water, we always had to “reload” it.  But that’s for two people – not one.  
Resupply “can” be a problem even if you’re using gas line antifreeze – 
especially late in the season when a lot of other thruhikers have cleaned 
out the supplies along the Trail.  Using denatured alcohol will give a 
better flame, but is even more problematical for resupply unless you’re 
mail-dropping it.   The stove can be built with 2 Pepsi cans – figure $1.20 
initial cost(and you get to drink the Pepsi) plus $1.10 for a 20 oz bottle 
to carry the alcohol (and again you get to drink the Pepsi).  Using gas line 
antifreeze at $1.00 per 12 oz can, you’re talking minimum 60 cans or $60 
operating cost and $62.40 “total cost” for the 6 months.  At $3.50 per 
quart, denatured alcohol would be more expensive to use but would provide 
some gain in performance. But again, resupply becomes a problem.  The 
assumption here is that you can actually cook each meal using no more than 2 
oz of alcohol.  Pack weight – about 20 to 24 oz if carrying only 1 bottle of 
fuel.


“White gas” stoves -- We started with the MSR Whisperlite, then went to the 
MSR International when it came out.  Some people hate them – some have had 
them do “bad” things – like leak, blow up – what ever. The stories I’ve 
heard, though, generally indicated that those stoves hadn’t been maintained 
and that the malfunctions were obvious before the “problems” occurred.  The 
only problems we’ve had for most of 10 or 12 thousand miles were with 
clogging of the valve (now a thing of the past with the advent of Shaker 
jets) and a leaky fuel bottle while we were on the PCT.  For anyone with 
enough mechanical ability to take one apart – and get it back together – 
there’s no problem that can’t be field-fixed.  That was the downside – other 
than that, the stoves are fast, hot, reliable, maintainable and provide the 
most energy per ounce of anything you can carry.  If I’m gonna carry fuel, 
it’s “will” provide the most “bang for the buck” that I can get.  There are 
other opinions.  Cost – the MSR International sells for $69.95 (you can get 
it on sale for $50 but we’ll use the higher price for the initial cost.  We 
consistently use 2.5 oz per day of fuel, and we use either white gas or 
regular unleaded.  Using “only” white gas, at $3.99/gal, the operating cost 
would be $13.96.  Using “only” regular unleaded at $1.20 per gallon, the 
cost would be $4.20 for the 6 months.  So the “total cost” would be between 
$74.15 and $83.91. It would be even cheaper for the “Shaker jet” stove – 
$64.17 to $74.33.  Note, though, that using regular unleaded will produce 
more carbon than white gas.

Another “white gas” stove is the Svea – there are those who love them – and 
those who can’t stand the “jet engine” effect.  But it IS reliable, if a 
little slower and heavier than the MSR.  It’s an internal tank type stove, 
which means 1/ carrying a fuel bottle (which adds weight) and 2/ greater 
difficulty in taking it on a plane (and, soon to come – on a train or bus).  
Nearly all stoves have the plane transportation problem these days.

The “Zip” stove – It’s relatively cheap to run, fairly reliable (although 
I’ve seen some of them fail) and generally field-maintainable for those who 
are mechanically inclined.  It’s proponents claim you don’t have to carry 
fuel, but if it’s a wet, rainy, nasty day – you’ll probably end up carrying 
at least some dry tinder and probably a lot more.  I’m not sure “everyone” 
does, but those who have traveled with us and used the Zip have also carried 
a saw – which adds to the weight and expense – and which the Zip proponents 
generally fail to remember.  They also don’t usually have much to say about 
battery replacement so while I don’t know how often the battery has to be 
replaced, for the moment I’ll assume about once every two weeks.  As has 
been pointed out – they smoke, which means using one in a crowded shelter on 
a rainy day is problematical.  They also leave your pot very sooty – which 
means being very careful about storage unless you really like soot colored 
sleeping bags, clothing and food.  They’re also slow – at the end of a 
25-mile day, I’m not interested in collecting wood, building and feeding a 
fire and waiting an hour to eat.  We watched a partner on the CDT go through 
that routine in the rain, snow and cold – for a week.  The CDT doesn't have 
shelters in Montana. Then he ditched the Zip and got a Whisperlite.  There’s 
also the problem that they’re not considered “legal” in some places.  
Reportedly, they’re considered “open fires” and illegal in some places of 
the prettier places in the world even in “non-drought” conditions (not 
generally on the AT, though).  And in spite of all that, we may try one next 
summer in Montana – we’re not planning on big-mile days out there.  Cost – 
initial purchase cost is $48.99 plus $13.99 for a saw (which I’ve been led 
to believe is a good idea).  The $13.00 operating cost consists of battery 
replacement (assuming every 2 weeks) over a 6-month thruhike, so “total” 
cost would be $72.98.   Weight is 1# for the stove plus a bag to carry it 
in, plus 5.5 oz for the saw plus a spare battery plus whatever tinder or 
fuel is carried plus a bag to carry it in.  Plus a bag to carefully carry a 
sooty pot in.  Total weight – hmmm – not sure.  Probably ranges from 1.5# to 
2.5# on the “bad” days.  Ask Weary or Kahley.


Summary – for a “normal” thruhike (whatever that is), not using long-cooking 
foods, the “total” cost of cooking on the Trail will be somewhere in the $60 
to $85 range - as a minimum and unless you’re using Esbit.  Alcohol has the 
“cheapest stove to use” distinction - if you don’t mind the operational 
downsides.  But ALL of the possible methods (except Esbit) fall in the same 
basic overall cost range for a thruhike.

Weight runs between 10 oz for Esbit (for which weight loss you then pay in 
cash) to probably 2.5# max – not including food, pot, etc.

You shouldn’t take all this as Gospel, cause there are also a lot of 
possible variations in the numbers I used here.  For example, the cost of 
batteries can vary between 75 cents and $2.00 each; the cost of white gas 
will vary depending on where you get it and the quantity you buy; the cost 
of alcohol can vary………… etc., etc., etc. But it’s a good “rough estimate”.  
The real point is that over a 6-month thruhike, none of the stoves has a 
tremendous advantage in cost or, for the most part, weight.  The criteria 
you should be using for stove selection are performance, potential problems, 
foreseeable operating conditions, reliability, maintainability, 
replacability, resupply, personal preference - with weight and cost as a 
secondary factors.

Enough – I just ran out of time.  For those few who got this far – you can 
learn from this, laugh at it – or burn it.  Your choice.  Just don’t think 
I’ve given anyone ALL the answers – I wouldn’t do that to you even if I 
could   : -)))

Walk softly,
Jim





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