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[pct-l] Re: going stoveless?
Going stoveless always seems to be controversial. Some (e.g., Jardine) hate
it, while others, like me, love it and would never consider carrying one.
For starters, you don't have to worry about it breaking down, finding
white gas, kerosene, etc., and it also saves > 1lb. in weight (stove+fuel+
fuel bottle+pot). As for hot type foods being lighter than cold type foods,
I did a little study about a year ago, where I went through the supermarket
and wrote down cals/oz. as well as nutritional content for a wide
variety of foods (rice, pasta, grapenuts, granola, snickers, TVP, etc.).
I then formulated a little dynamic programming problem - hooey, a practical
use for math! :) - where I found the set of foods that maximized cals/oz
while achieving my desired distribution of complex carbs/sugar/protein/fat.
Anyway, I didn't find any significant difference between hot and cold foods,
so I went with the cold.
So far, I have done two 4+ month hikes stoveless- the AT, and my hike
across Tibet and the Himalayas, and I have never noticed a lack of energy
from eating cold food vs. hot food (even the infamous corn pasta).
It definitely limits your food variety, though, and isn't for everyone...
mark
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