From: Chris Summers (chrisinhouston@kingwoodcable.com)
Date: Wed Jan 02 2002 - 08:41:35 CST
When considering stoves for any high adventure group activity one should
consider several factors. Ease of use, reparability in the field, fuel cost
and availability, etc.
I teach our Council's training course for Philmont bound Crews, and our
training syllabus includes a section on stove and liquid fuel safety. The
thing I try to stress to Crews is to get the stoves early on and train with
them. I'll admit I am partial to the MSR Wisperlite and Dragonfly because
that is what I own and use regularly. I use the titanium folding base pad
for each stove to increase stability and for the Wisperlite which does not
simmer too well, I have an aluminum plate sold by Campmor and others to go
between the stove and pot and decrease the scorching. I think it is called a
"No Scortch" and it sort of resembles a bulls eye target (i.e. rings).
One thing to also consider is the fact that the MSR stoves and perhaps some
others have the fuel bottle along side of the stove as opposed to the
Coleman's that have the tank under the burner. Sometimes fitting 2 MSRs with
fuel tanks into a fire ring at Philmont can be a challenge, especially if
the ground is made uneven with rocks. Also consider that the MSRs come with
2 foldable wind screens (I rarely use the donut shaped one that goes below
the burner, just the one to wrap around the stove). Do not use a wind screen
with the Coleman Peak One as it is not designed for it and you will end up
heating the fuel tank below the stove which could be extremely dangerous.
As I have mentioned in the past I carry an old SVEA-123 stove for myself as
I cook a separate vegetarian meal and I have never had a breakdown in the 30
years I have owned it and it beats some stoves at boiling a qt. of water.
Last point is on fuel at Philmont. Regardless of what you use, double check
it when they fill your bottle, give it a sniff. We had a crew last year get
kerosene instead of white gas at base camp and by day 2 neither stove would
light and they had to borrow another crews stoves at camp prior to the night
before the next commissary where they got new fuel at no charge.
YOF
Chris in Houston
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