[at-l] Zip Stove

[Bob Cummings <ellen@clinic.net> (Bob Cummings)]

"...But if you are somewhere in between today's average ultralight town hopper
and and old fat geezer that is carrying too much weight around his or her waist
avoid town resupply ( a necessary evil)  every 8 or 10 days, it might be worth
consideration."

 Hey, Rocky. I resent that. My wife says I'm getting old, but I'm not that fat
 -- yet.

 My two favorite stoves are the Whisperlite and the Zip. My Whisperlite is great
 for a weekend jaunt. Fill the fuel bottle and save all cooking hassles. A
 canister stove would be equally convenient, but a waste of both money and
 resources. Esbit and alcohol don't strike me as practical for my cooking and
 eating style.

 But the equation changes when I'm on a long distance walk -- especially when I
 plan to cook anything more than expensive "instant" foods, which is always for
 me. I like leisurely meals. I like hot coffee, soup or cocoa sometimes both
 before and after I eat. I heat water each morning for coffee and oatmeal. I
 don't know of any stove that will do this efficiently, except the Zip.

 I like warm water for washing my face and hands. I often boil two quarts of
 water after eating for use the next day, thus eliminating the weight of a
 filter or reliance on chemicals for water purification. I sometimes even rinse
 my pot in boiling water after washing it with Ivory soap.

 And I like the smoke that a Zip produces in black fly season and when
 mosquitoes are swarming on a muggy, cloudy evening. BTW I never worried about
 sparks or bothering other hikers in shelters. My practice was to look for a
 good sturdy flat-top rock or log a few yards away and downwind from the
 shelter. I would cook there rain (that's why I invested in an $18 Campmor rain
 jacket) or shine unless shelter mates begged me to bring some of that bug
 repelling smoke inside.

Weary