Emergency Stove / Hiking Stove

[DayTrip]

With all the winter related posts of late for food, fires, etc I have seen numerous references to emergency stoves/compact stoves. I only day hike so I have never even looked into a stove and really know nothing about them. Is there such a thing as a compact "emergency" stove with some sort of stable fuel that can be used for providing warmth, possibly heating up a frozen water bottle or other similar functions? I've seen many threads mention stoves and fuel but generally that is for cooking and overnight backpacking. If there is such a thing as an emergency stove (as in lightweight, easy to light in horrible conditions, etc) I'd be curious to learn more.

 

[sardog1]

Esbit Stove – superior to its imitators, of which there are more and more.

 

[DayTrip]

Solid fuel pellets. I assume they are easy to light? And for what it's worth could I just light the solid fuel pellets? The 14g pellets have a burn time of only 12 minutes though so you'd have to pack quite a few of these to provide hours of emergency warmth. Are they cheap? Don't see any prices on site.

 

[sierra]

I do not carry a stove in the winter. If I did it would be my pocket rocket ( MSR).

 

[Quietman]

Are they cheap? Don't see any prices on site.

$6.95 for 12 14gram tabs HERE

 

[Tom Rankin]

+1 for the Esbit. I've used it under less than ideal conditions and it seems to work as advertised.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I carry the Esbit Titanium stove along with 5 or 6 fuel tabs. It weighs about 0.4 ounces and the fuel tabs are 0.2 ounces each. The stove was $13 and the solid fuel tabs are really cheap at any Army-Navy store, I think I have 20 of them kicking around on the shelf.

I have a few of the Esbit cigarette pack stoves but they weigh more than this one, and I rarely use it anyway. I have used it to heat up soup but you can forget about trying to use it to boil water and it'd take a long time to melt snow. The fuel tabs are great for starting a wood fire with because they do last a long time. You can also blow out the fuel tab and reuse what is left.

I have a Sea to Summit 700ml titanium cup (3.2 oz) that fits perfectly in a winter cozy under the Nalgene that I use on the stove, and a Brunton titanium folding spork (0.6oz) that stays in the kit as well. I carry dry Lipton noodle soup just in case I need something but have never actually needed it. Still, it is nice having something hot when you want it out on the trail. I used to carry bouillon cubes but like the additional 'chunkage' of the noodles. I have made my own with bouillon cubes and dry vegetables but have not found a decent package to store them in, so they kept breaking and making a mess in my pack. I also carry a few dry hot chocolates in individual packets.

 

[peakbagger]

To touch back on Day Trips original questions. An emergency stove is nice thing to have but most folks are not going to carry adequate fuel for it to become a viable source of emergency heat. If you use NH F&G as a guide they carry a white gas stove and bottle of fuel. White gas is about the maximum Btu/lb. An esbit will warm up a hot drink which may be major psychological boost and possibly help out a short term cold core but its not going to do much overnight as the energy density of the tabs are low. The esbit tabs themselves do make a nice option for drying out locally sourced fuel but in windy conditions I don't know if you will be able to sustain a fire with locally sourced fuel. IMHO, if you want a emergency stove, a white gas stove is worth the extra weight. I cant support carrying a pressurized butane or isopropane stove as they don't work well in cold temps. Much as I like my MSR, An Optimus hiker box type stove is the least space and easiest to set up although the SVEA (123 can type stove) folks will argue just as effectively. In ether case, they both have learning curves and if you don't use them on occasion you could have trouble in extreme conditions. An MSR Whisperlight white gas stove is a great stove for lots of heat in short period of time, but it doesn't turn down well and the is far more difficult to assemble in tough conditions than the other two makes. Great for winter camping but overkill for emergency.

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Count my vote for the esbit. My partner and I each carry one with four fuel tabs in the stove and 12 more in a plastic box in our packs year round. Bought 'em at EMS or LLBean, both places still have them. Tabs in bulk @ www.sportsmansguide.com.

I have added some accessories:

1) windscreens of aluminum flashing cut to 3" x 2", corners rounded. Bend at 90 degree angle so angle makes 2" side into 3/4" and 1 1/4". Use one for each side of the stovewhen open, or half-open. Cuts down on the draft to the fire save for 4 slots at bottom of stove, which is as much as needed.

2) grate of galvanized hardware cloth @ 1/4" squares. Cut to 10 squares x 12 squares, bend a square line at 90 degree angle on opposite sides to make a grate 10 squares by 10, with the bent ends holding it one square above the bottom of the stove. Perfect airflow for complkete combustion. The grate helps when you add twigs to the fire too, just be ready to lift pot off stove to add them.

3) a lid on the pot and a screen to go around it all is next provided it is lightweight and cheap to build.

 

[Damselfly]

I've carried white gas & canisters... but now carry the Esbit...Purely for emergencies. Very low weight. Fool proof to light in any temp. Brought a pot to boil on a single fuel tab. Fuel tabs double as fire starters.

 

[Andrew]

Love my Esbit. If you are weighing whether or not to carry a stove at all, it's a choice that you will barely notice that you are. 4 fuel tabs folded in the stove, stove slipped neatly in a titanium cup along with a couple tiny pieces of HD aluminum foil for windbreak and lid, and a couple tea bags tucked in; definitely a mood-changer on a dreary day.

I have a dwindling case of the military surplus fuel from Sportsman Guide that is very good, but must say the Esbit brand fuel is worth the extra cost as it seems to burn a tad longer. I always get a boil with one of them but seem 1 + for the trioxane .

 

[DayTrip]

Seems like the Esbit is a great stove for potential emergencies and quick hot snacks or liquids. I would probably only be using after falling into water or lost on a very cold day preparing for nightfall. The lack of assembly and simple lighting seem like huge pluses in these circumstances. Like the idea of the pellets doubling as a fire starter too. 12 minutes provides plenty of time to arrange kindling over the flame and get some good tinder going for a fire. I noticed on EMS there is a somewhat larger stove for $29 or so that was a round bottom that provided a wind shield and came with a small pot and some tabs. For emergency purposes that seems pretty cost effective even though it was slightly larger.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

12 minutes provides plenty of time to arrange kindling over the flame and get some good tinder going for a fire.

Ok, I apologize for being too picky, but....

The esbit tablet [Hexamin] is your tinder and, if at all possible, collect your kindling and fuel wood before starting.

 

[dave.m]

With all the winter related posts of late for food, fires, etc I have seen numerous references to emergency stoves/compact stoves. I only day hike so I have never even looked into a stove and really know nothing about them. Is there such a thing as a compact "emergency" stove with some sort of stable fuel that can be used for providing warmth, possibly heating up a frozen water bottle or other similar functions? I've seen many threads mention stoves and fuel but generally that is for cooking and overnight backpacking. If there is such a thing as an emergency stove (as in lightweight, easy to light in horrible conditions, etc) I'd be curious to learn more.

Here's my take on it...

CONTEXT - When I pack for a trip, I think of emergency gear in a larger context. I carry the same core set of things anytime I'm in the woods (See: http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/essentials-list.txt) , and really, when staying the night in the winter, I'm already carrying a full camping kit. Emergency gear for a winter day trip is really tricky then because it is more than my 10 Essentials Kit and less than a full camping kit. Additional emergency gear starts adding things and weight and complexity that starts to move towards a full camping load. Tarp? Bivy? Bag (for an injured party)? Stove? I think a lot about Chouinard's adage that if you bring bivy gear, you'll use it (because the additional weight will slow you down) and the corresponding adage that "speed is safety". This is true and I've used light weight and the resulting speed to get out of Dodge on many occasions. But, a twisted ankle is all it takes to pin somebody down far from the trail head on a winter evening. I would be lying if I said I'm confident on every trip with every gear selection, which includes what NOT to bring.

PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT - IMO, the number one issues with stoves of any sort is practice. My tradition for getting to know a stove is to make tea on it daily (or as close as I can) for a month in all weather conditions. Muscle memory and confidence result. I'm currently doing this with my Emberlit wood stove. (See: http://www.emberlit.com/) I am very, very confident with my Svea 123. Almost as confident with my Trangia Mini (modified). I'm not there yet with the Emberlit.

SYSTEMS, NOT STOVE - IMO, all stoves require some additional weight and gear. Pot, windscreen, thin plywood base (prevents melting into the snow or loosing prime), fire starter of some sort and fuel. That is, it's not just stove. It's a full stove system. Here's a photo set that describes my "system" for the Trangia. I use the same pot(s) and windscreen with my Svea.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinnah/sets/72157638127024523/

WHITE GAS ROCKS - I put away the Trangia at the end of October and don't get it back out until May. Even on a weekend trip, I find the hotter burn of the Svea 123 to be infinitely better.

BUT THE EMBERLIT MAY BE BEST - In terms of WINTER DAY TRIP EMERGENCY STOVES, I could easily see the Emberlit being the best choice (at least for below treeline). It is very easy to light, is very miserly in terms of wood usage (minimizes harvesting impact), burns wood down to clean ash nearly all the time (minimizes ash/charred wood impact) and, unlike the Svea, can be used as an on-going fire source for warmth through the night provided you harvest the wood. I must emphasize that the Emberlit burns wood about thumb thick so in most situations, wood harvesting is a matter of breaking off twigs from dead fall. I carry cut up sections of tack cloth to act as a fire starter of last resort but a bit of birch bark will spark it up real quick. Since there is no fuel needed (beyond back up tack cloth or some other fire starter material which I think makes sense to carry anyhow in the winter) it is lighter than even my Trangia. Light, versatility, not horrible impact... For day trips, I think this will bump the Svea aside. When the sun goes down and I'm under equipped, I want the flames of the Emberlit not the blow torch and then out of the Svea. But, I need to finish off this month.

 

[DayTrip]

Ok, I apologize for being too picky, but....

The esbit tablet [Hexamin] is your tinder and, if at all possible, collect your kindling and fuel wood before starting.

I knew the way I typed that someone would call me out for poor fire building skills! .

I didn't literally mean that I would light the tablet and then go looking for kindling. I meant that a 12 minute flame is far longer than the sparks of a flint on tinder for a brief second or the flash of a match catching hopefully dry kindling. With 12 minutes you could hold your kindling to the flame and make sure it is burning, start another piece, etc, etc. Once all of the proper kindling, fuel, etc has been gathered then I had 12 minutes to get it all going. And if I was shivering from cold and the clock was ticking I like my chances this way versus striking match after match or some other method.

No problem with the pickiness though. I am a novice so it is entirely possible you could have caught me making a boo boo that required correcting.