Well put Bill!
As Dr. Bob said earlier, I didn't have a dog in the canister fight. I don't
like canister stoves - that is just my personal preference for pretty much
the same reasons Bill listed. The original poster didn't want to push the
discussion to canister vs. white gas anyway. He just wanted to know what
was available where. I didn't pay attention to fuel canisters because we
didn't use them.
As for my choice of stove - the MSR Dragonfly. Yes, it is loud. If you are
lost in the woods, light the stove, turn it up to full blast, and help will
find you. That stove does it all though. It will laugh at an 8qt pot with
its wide leg base. It will simmer so low that gourmet meals are truly
possible in the woods. It is definitely overkill for Philmont (overkill for
almost anything), but it's mine, and I don't mind lugging it. The Troop and
Crew own MSR Whisperlites.
BTW - I do take my pump out of the fuel bottle every time. In 2002, one of
our crews kept their pump in. Then one morning, one of the young men made a
mistake packing the fuel bottle and broke the plunger off of the pump body -
oops. I've never left the pump in the bottle for just that reason. I'd
rather take the extra 20 seconds to put it on the bottle before using. I
don't mind pumping the air back into the bottle. I'm out in the wood for
goodness sakes!
Shane Hoffman
Advisor Crew 445 - <http://www.crew445.org> www.crew445.org
ASM Troop 445 - <http://www.troop445.org> www.troop445.org
Webmaster - www.philmontforum.com
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" ~
Jim Elliot
_____
From: philmont@troop47.com [mailto:philmont@troop47.com] On Behalf Of W.
Keller
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 10:03 AM
To: philmont List Member
Subject: [philmont] Stove Thougts
Just some random thoughts on the stove thread from my years in the boonies -
Philmont included. No particular order.
A stove will break. For our last Philmont trip this was not until our night
at Bear Creek - the guys dropped my Whisperlite face down in a very dusty
cooking site. Heavy sigh. Used my partner's for the remainder of the trip.
TAKE TWO STOVES - EXACTLY THE SAME TYPE.
Pots will spill. I resist the idea of a single 8 quart pot for a crew. We
take two 4 quart pots and we do cook on both stoves. We also use turkey
bags. This process has saved us a number of times. POTS WILL BE SPILLED.
Stoves need to be stable. I purchased my son a MSR Pocket Rocket stove for
his personal camping gear. Nice stove for a single person but honestly I
can't see cooking for a crew of 12 on one. Stability would be an issue for
a 4 quart pot, let alone an 8 quart pot. I love gadgets, and the Pocket
Rocket is a gadget, fine for single or couple use, but not for crews. (All
in my own humble opinion, of course! :-) )
Take enough fuel for the entire trip. It takes fuel to cook. While
canisters might be fine, but to depend on their being the right canister for
the right stove at the trading post you will be staying at tonight may leave
you eating cold, dry food. Actually, I have no problem with the guys
learning this lesson, but I have eaten enough cold, dry food in my days I
would just as soon take a pass. We take two quart MSR bottles of white gas
and two pint bottles to actually attach to the stove. This usually leaves
us nearly a quart left at the end of a week trip, but remember FUEL BOTTLES
SPILL and having the extra along can prevent the dreaded cold, dry food.
White gas starts, no matter what the temperature. Our coldest campout this
past year was in January, -4 degrees. My coldest to date has been -22
degrees. Canister stoves are a real bear at these temps. However, my
Whisperlite has never failed, no matter how cold. I prefer to get the guys
used to gear that will work, no matter what the conditions.
Just some thoughts. Of course, variety is the spice of life so we also
encourage lots of cooking over an open fire, we do use Coleman two burner,
white gas camp stoves and I have each scout make a little alcohol stove out
of a couple of coke cans. But, for day in - day out performance, it is
pretty hard to beat my good old Whisperlite!
One final thought. Our next Philmont trip will be August 2008. Next month
we will switch our campouts to "Philmont Mode". All gear will be packed as
we will at Philmont. Weights will be watched, base pack not over 25 pounds.
Meals will be similar to Philmont with our cooking techniques adjusted
accordingly. And, camps will be kept in Philmont fashion - the bear
triangle, smellable bags, and hanging of bags where possible (not a lot of
bears in Iowa :-) ). This seems to do a good job for us to get the guys
ready so no time is wasted at Philmont getting the guys on the same page.
Is it time to go yet???
Bill Keller
ASM Troop 47
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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Wed Apr 4 14:06:58 2007
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