[at-l] Alcohol stoves; light weight?

[KarenS62@xxxxxxx (KarenS62@xxxxxxx)]

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> One aspect of alcohol stoves/pop bottles that I do like is it's very easy to
> tell how much fuel you have left.  The canisters and opaque bottles always
> leave me wondering.

Me too! Plus, if you used a partial canister but you don't have enough to
last til the next town, you now have to carry two canisters. And then, you
have to dispose of the two canisters.  That's not very LNT.  And...you either
have to find the canisters or mail them which runs into all sorts of mailing
regulations.  I have had trouble finding the Pocket Rocket fuel at times and
I live in a town with four outfitters!  Alcohol is really easy to find now
with most, if not all, outfitters and many other backpacker oriented
facilities carrying it in bulk.  You can resupply with just what you need,
not just full canisters at a time. It's also more cost effective for those
hikers on a budget - especially when the stove is essentially free. (not that
I have ever acted frugally when gear is concerned, but some wiser hikers do)

I have Pocket Rocket too, and I love it for short trips, but wouldn't carry
it on long trips for those specific reasons.  I am not sure what Pb meant by
the wind screen being built in - mine sure doesn't have a wind screen built
in and I have definitely needed to carry one for windy/cold conditions.  At
least a  piece of heavy duty foil folded over a few times.

Pb's observations about the amount of alcohol it takes for one person for 7
days is way high for my personal use, but I don't have a hot breakfast and I
have figured out how to snuff out the stove and save the alcohol if I finish
cooking before the fuel runs out.  (yes, it can be done)

I haven't done the weighing  but the one observation I may make is, from what
I can tell by the email, Pb was comparing a weight based ounce for the Pocket
Rocket fuel to a volume based ounce for the alcohol stove. Methyl alcohol
weighs only about .8 ounces per liquid ounce, not 1 ounce.

That said, I am back to Esbit when I am hiking by myself. It is simple, the
residue doesn't bother me because I don't really care if the stuff sack I
keep my pot in is dirty, simple to mail if you get Esbit Brand (not trioxane
which is toxic and illegal to mail) and it's easy to see right up front how
much fuel you are carrying. It might be a more expensive method of cooking
than others, but it works for me.

Stoves are a personal preference, that's all. This list is about sharing
observations such as Sparky's, not arguing about which is right, wrong,
heaviest or lightest for everyone.  We all have different opinions about what
we feel works best for us, what's lightest for us depending on the amount of
fuel we carry, our usage, who we hike with, etc.

I'm outta here to go have pizza and beer and then get ready to go to
Trailfest tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll see some of you there?

POG
(Princess Of Gear)