Winter Stove Favorites

[sardog1]

I had trouble getting all three to light in super cold temps (again, between 0 and -10). All fuel seems to need a little help at that point.

Once you go Swedish below zero, you never go back.

 

[Oldsmores]

The Svea has never failed me, though it can get exciting at times and I blame it for my hearing loss. I do use fire ribbon to prime it in the winter.

 

[MadRiver]

The Svea has never failed me, though it can get exciting at times and I blame it for my hearing loss. I do use fire ribbon to prime it in the winter.

So I gather if I light it off in a cabin I should make certain everyone is already up.

 

[giggy]

So I gather if I light it off in a cabin I should make certain everyone is already up.

I don't know - I think anyone staying in a cabin kind of knows the deal. Playing loud music at 2am is one thing - but lighting a stove to cook or melt is fine I think. You have just as much right to get an early start as people have to sleep late.

Just curious, if you don't winter camp and stay in cabins - why not a cannister?

I winter camp a bit (maybe 2 to 3 times per year) and the cannister has always been fine if you sleep with it, warm it up. To me - thats easier than dealing with the MSR gas stoves... but - the MSR gas are the standard and if I was going out for more than 1 or 2 nights (I never do in winter) then I would like the gas stoves

I use the pocket rocket with primus 4 season fuel. As long as its out of the wind and warm it works ok - I am very basic with food though - boiling water is all I do.

 

[--M.]

There's no question it would awaken the average bear, but hikers can be weird that way: some easily disturbed, others like the dead.

I fired my Optimus up once at the Imp shelter a bit after everyone else had finished their quiet little cooking (got there late), and everyone acted like they'd never seen such a thing. They laughed louder than the stove's roar, and it took hearing from yet others that yes, in fact, such things are still in use. But for those first-time observers, it was a real comedy. I must have looked like Old Man Phelps (uh, albeit in the wrong mountain range; maybe "Joe Dodge" is the more accurate local characterization).

I've since been reassured that many still swear by their loud gas stoves, and I still love mine. Except for it being loud. And heavy.

 

[skiguy]

There's no question it would awaken the average bear, but hikers can be weird that way: some easily disturbed, others like the dead.

XGK power and some baked beans.....only one answer: EarPlugs

 

[Double Bow]

Big fan of my JetBoil, year-round. I warm the cannister slightly by putting it in my jacket pocket and don't worry about if it's a little less efficient. It probably puts the fuel usage on par with what other stoves use in summer.

If it's gonna be wicked stupid cold, I'll break out my Peak 1 Apex II stove and use the white gas. I've had that thing completely engulfed in flame before so I'm a little hesitant...

 

[cbcbd]

XGK power and some baked beans.....only one answer: EarPlugs

Second answer: Nose plugs!!

 

[MadRiver]

Just curious, if you don't winter camp and stay in cabins - why not a cannister?

.

I have been using my Superfly in the past and I put the canister in my down booty to keep it warm and have had no issues so far. I was just curious if I do decide to switch if the noise will be an issue. I remember doing a Pemi loop a few years back and a person at the Garfield platforms lit off his stove a 5:30am and woke everyone up. The other hikers were not pleased.

 

[Peakbagr]

MSR XGK. 2 settings: Off and blowtorch.

 

[DougPaul]

MSR Model G. (Gasoline-only first member of the XGK line.)

And I can make it simmer. (Low tank pressure and delicate hand on the valve.)

Doug

 

[skiguy]

I have been using my Superfly in the past and I put the canister in my down booty to keep it warm and have had no issues so far. I was just curious if I do decide to switch if the noise will be an issue. I remember doing a Pemi loop a few years back and a person at the Garfield platforms lit off his stove a 5:30am and woke everyone up. The other hikers were not pleased.

5:30 am in the winter sounds like a pretty resonable hour to me. Noisy stoves go with the territory. Much of the time I have seen the same people who are getting cranky in the morning over someone elses noise are the same ones that were keeping everyone else up the night before. I would'nt worry....

 

[Little Rickie]

I've never tried my alcohol stove or a canister stove in winter.

Although I can't stand fussing with a Whisperlite in summer, I'm very happy using my modified version for winter trips (see photo). The pot sits on top of the stove which fits through the cut-out bottom of a lightweight metal bucket. The fuel bottle is attached to a bracket that is attached to the bucket with a wingnut. The bucket itself serves as a heat exchanger, reflector and windscreen. Because the stove is suspended off the ground, there is no need for a base. The wires are attached to a rod that can be adjusted to the fuel level in the bottle, so the pot always stays level. The stove also warms up the (well-ventilated) winter tent nicely!

It was easy to make- Spencer should give it a try!

Looks like a great idea. You don't have to squat down to cook.

Does anyone else use this kind of set up?

I have a simmer light but have not used it below 0. It works fine in single didgets.

 

[DougPaul]

The stove also warms up the (well-ventilated) winter tent nicely!

Just a caution:

Camping stoves give off carbon monoxide. As wardsgirl notes, make sure your tent is well ventilated if you use the stove in the tent. People have died from cooking in a closed tent.

Doug

 

[wardsgirl]

Yes, the importance of ventilation in a winter tent cannot be stressed enough!

One funny note about noisy stoves... two weeks ago my boyfriend and I slept at the 9 degree Crag Camp. In the early morning hours, our sleep was momentarily disrupted by a loud stove. When we finally began to stir for the day, he yawned and wistfully asked "Did you hear the Svea?" before drifting back to sleep again...

 

[--M.]

Actually, I would add that cooking in a tent is itself a no-margin-of-error proposition. I've had a little white gas spill over and flame up and it was incredibly focusing for the half a second before I smothered it.

Cooking in your tent is a risky business. Know it going in.

 

[TomD]

I've got a few stoves - a Svea 123 (with the Tourist cook kit); an XGK; an Optimus Nova; a Coleman Xtreme (uses their proprietary cartridge); and a Primus Micron.

The Svea is retired, but still works; the XGK still works-most reliable of them all, I think; the Nova, I'm not sold on yet-too many moving parts; the Coleman works pretty well, but the pot stand wires are a bit slippery; the Micron is a good day hike stove-I carry it in a small pot with the little SnowPeak canister. I don't go out that much, but I take two stoves in winter, the Micron and something else for an overnight.

 

[Jasper]

Wood Stove gets my vote.

I am just back from a 5 day winter snowshoeing trip with the Conover's (North Woods Way). I can tell you that a wood stove in a tent is the way to go. Nothing like -15 degrees F outside and 75 degrees inside the cotton canvas tent.

We measure the temperature at the tent's peak along the clothes dryintg line. It was 100 degrees. The boots and other stuff dried well.

It was interesting that the stoves were made of titanium and the latch to the wood door was not hot.

 

[TomD]

Jasper,What kind of stove was it? Was it one of the Ti Goat barrel shaped take-apart stoves? What kind of tent?
Thanks

 

[Jasper]

Wood Stove gets my vote.

TomD asks:

Jasper,What kind of stove was it? Was it one of the Ti Goat barrel shaped take-apart stoves? What kind of tent?
Well, I understand the stove is made in Maine specificly for the Conovers. It is a typical box trail stove but with double fold out shelves. It was light and the stoking door latch was cool to the touch. Both the stack and the door had dampers so that the burn rate could be control very precisely. You can contact the Conovers through their web site. They now have computers.
www.northwoodsways.com

The tents are the 'Snow Walker' version made by Empire Canvas. 100% untreated cotton. We used a 12 x 12 and a 12x10 versions. Lots of floor space and you can stand up as well. These were great in cold conditions. On Wednesday, it warmed up into the 30's and we had rain for most of the day. A nylon tarp over the tents looked after that rather well.