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WKR
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2021
- Messages
- 483
Do you actually want the "lightest" stove? If so I'm not sure you can get better than the Esbit (and replica) folding pellet-fuel based options:
This is 0.4oz not counting fuel. They have three tablet sizes but IMO the most useful is the 0.5oz (14g) version, which is is JUST enough to boil 24oz of water at altitude. That will rehydrate one Mountain House or similar meal and make an 8oz cup of tea.
If you cook only for dinner, I don't think you can get any lighter "per packed, cooked meal weight."
For a modest weight increase, this variant (and its generic clones) is much more stable and the pellets are carried inside it, which is kind of convenient:
This is 3.5oz, which is heavier than the ultralight butane-canister stoves like the MSR, but total packed weight WITH fuel is lighter overall and the pack-out weight is very low because you don't have a canister to pack out.
Lots of folks complain about the smell of these tablets. I've personally never minded them but they do have another downside in that they're sort of fire-and-forget. You light them and cook and you'd better be ready when they get going. Unless you cut them (or bring more tablets), you don't have the option of a quick cup of tea or coffee in the morning. And if you hunt just once or twice a year, cost probably doesn't matter, but if you backpack a LOT (more than 20 days a year), they aren't very cost-effective.
If you care about "ultralight but still cost-effective" the MSR/BRS style stoves are best IMO. I have this one:
I'm very happy with it but did spend an extra ounce on this stand:
The smallest (3.5oz) butane canisters are notoriously unstable once you put a pot full of water on them, and the stand helps a ton with that. So all in, not counting my pot, my stove + canister + stand are about 5.5oz together. That's an ounce less than the folding UST-style tablet stove listed above, but bear in mind the pack-out weight is about the same as the pack-in (with the tablet stove, you save 2-3oz on your way out because you don't pack out the fuel...)
IMO the big advantage of the canister style stoves is flexibility. You use just what you need, when you need it, and you don't need to over-think how much fuel you bring quite as much. One canister will easily cover an entire hunting trip or more, depending on use, so there's usually no stress about running out.
This is 0.4oz not counting fuel. They have three tablet sizes but IMO the most useful is the 0.5oz (14g) version, which is is JUST enough to boil 24oz of water at altitude. That will rehydrate one Mountain House or similar meal and make an 8oz cup of tea.
If you cook only for dinner, I don't think you can get any lighter "per packed, cooked meal weight."
For a modest weight increase, this variant (and its generic clones) is much more stable and the pellets are carried inside it, which is kind of convenient:
This is 3.5oz, which is heavier than the ultralight butane-canister stoves like the MSR, but total packed weight WITH fuel is lighter overall and the pack-out weight is very low because you don't have a canister to pack out.
Lots of folks complain about the smell of these tablets. I've personally never minded them but they do have another downside in that they're sort of fire-and-forget. You light them and cook and you'd better be ready when they get going. Unless you cut them (or bring more tablets), you don't have the option of a quick cup of tea or coffee in the morning. And if you hunt just once or twice a year, cost probably doesn't matter, but if you backpack a LOT (more than 20 days a year), they aren't very cost-effective.
If you care about "ultralight but still cost-effective" the MSR/BRS style stoves are best IMO. I have this one:
I'm very happy with it but did spend an extra ounce on this stand:
The smallest (3.5oz) butane canisters are notoriously unstable once you put a pot full of water on them, and the stand helps a ton with that. So all in, not counting my pot, my stove + canister + stand are about 5.5oz together. That's an ounce less than the folding UST-style tablet stove listed above, but bear in mind the pack-out weight is about the same as the pack-in (with the tablet stove, you save 2-3oz on your way out because you don't pack out the fuel...)
IMO the big advantage of the canister style stoves is flexibility. You use just what you need, when you need it, and you don't need to over-think how much fuel you bring quite as much. One canister will easily cover an entire hunting trip or more, depending on use, so there's usually no stress about running out.
