So over the years my go to cook kit is a MSR pocket rocket 2.0 with small gas canister for weekend backpacking trips, coupled with a snow peak 1400ml titanium pot. To be honest I find the 1400 way to big for single person use. I mainly just heat water to add to dehydrated food and make coffee. Im looking to shed some weight/pack size so I was going to get a 900ml Ti pot. Ive being watching alot of youtube videos regarding wood stoves like the solo stove lite and fire box 2.0. Does anyone here have experience with wood stoves for backpacking? The areas I camp in are usually dry with plenty of tinder lying around.
Heres what Im looking at:

I have many backpacking gadgets, and all manner of stove to pick from. I have a Solo stove when the owner first started selling them and were offering discounts in exchange for video reviews.

If you are rehydrating meals and making coffee, then just get a Jet Boil. The Zip is the cheapest and simplest.

Waiting 5 to 10 minutes for tinder to catch, then the stove to get hot enough to secondary combust, and then the water to boil is stupid slow. Then the dirty pot and stove gets all your stuff or your hands dirty. Then you have to maintain the fire if you want a second boil, or start it again.


With a jet Boil, I keep the stove and cup with me by the fire. I fire it up whenever I want and can make quick cups of hot water for tea, hot cocoa, dinner, etc. In the mornings, I'm 2 minutes away from a cup of coffee, then 60 seconds from oatmeal, then 60 seconds from coffee again.

For your intended use, the Jet Boil winds. Fuel weight is negligible. I've got on 7 day trips without finishing a canister.

Ive had a chance to use a jetboil flash that my friend had while car camping, im not sure its any better than the msr pocket rocket. I could see how it might work better in windy conditions, and it did boil a bit faster- but not by much. Good point about the fuel though. My thinking was with a wood stove I would have more versatility in what I could cook/heat, but to be honest its mostly just water. Maybe a SHTF situation would give the wood stove the advantage, but yeah not making alot of sense for weekend trips.

I haven't used a solo and like the idea of them. But Aeteocles post makes sense in real-world practical terms for quickly heating water.

A solo would be good for a bug out bag or car kit perhaps or the biolite with USB charging feature.

Im not a fan of Jetboil, they seem cheaply made, lots of palstic parts and if you look around, there are many stories of them catching on fire, therea re also claims that Jetboil is anti hunting, all things aside, they are of inferior quality and I'd never use one.

Wood stoves aren't great either, what do you do when its raining and you can't find dry wood??? happened to my buddy on a moose hunt last season.

ID stick with your pocket rocket or if you really want to upgrade, get an MSR reactor.

I have the Reactor and a pocket rocket which I use for my sheep and goat hunts here in AK And they have never skipped a beat, YOu could check out the Toaks titanium cups/pots if you want to save space and weight.

I stick with what you have. Are you really going to save that much weight? You can go with a smaller pot with your Pocket Rocket.

I've tried many different stoves over the years. For the last few years, I have used a cheap Amazon canister stove. Works fine just heating up water light you do. I also cook mostly dehydrated meals now as I'm usually just doing a night or two when backpacking.

Around here on the East Coast, especially last year finding dry tinder can sometimes be a PIA.

I use neither. For years in the backcountry I have used MSR Whisperlite and 2 MSR cannisters filed with white gas. Always reliable and burns hot. Have found JetBoils and thier ilk unreliable at altitude.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:
I stick with what you have. Are you really going to save that much weight? You can go with a smaller pot with your Pocket Rocket.

I've tried many different stoves over the years. For the last few years, I have used a cheap Amazon canister stove. Works fine just heating up water light you do. I also cook mostly dehydrated meals now as I'm usually just doing a night or two when backpacking.

Around here on the East Coast, especially last year finding dry tinder can sometimes be a PIA.

Thats what my first instinct was. The snow peak 1400 is pretty big for one person, plus the frying pan lid is flimsy and basically useless.

Its stupid simple but it works: Esbit folding stove with the fuel tablets. And Esbit makes fancier stoves, too.

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
I use neither. For years in the backcountry I have used MSR Whisperlite and 2 MSR cannisters filed with white gas. Always reliable and burns hot. Have found JetBoils and thier ilk unreliable at altitude.

A few years back I went car camping on a dive trip. Brought my old Wisperlight. Pumped it up and got it light. Turned to grab my food and pot looked back and the table was on fire. The plastic had cracked from age on the pump part and gas was spraying out.

It was a small fire and my buddy took a picture as I was trying to put it out. Have to love your good dive buddies.

Im a firm believer that simple is better. Thats why Ive avoided big fancy cooking systems like Jetboils. I too have seen pictures of Jetboil flux failures, and they aint pretty. A simple burner and a titanium pot has worked for me just fine. The wood stove interested me because of versatility and abundance of fuel that I dont have to pack, but the weight of the stove may be not much less than the canister itself.

Esbit looks kinda neat: simple, lightweight, compact and easy fuel. Downsides is it smells, leaves nasty residue, and takes a while to boil compared to burners.

KISS. My Svea 123 was purchased for $10 in 1972. A replacement from Optimus is $120 . I can get a rebuild kit for $25.

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Medic, are you still in California?

I ask because I've encountered State Park Officers that will ticket people for trying to take a rock home ~ I can only guess burning State property, they will probably want to arrest you.

Alan Kay likes the Vargo Hexagon Wood Stove in titanium @ 4 ounces. Stainless steel @ 7.4 ounces also avail. I haven't used them.

He's a survivalist rather than backpacker, but some of his gear ideas are useful just the same. Interesting video if you haven't seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk-r-X1i5i8

quote:

Originally posted by sleepla8er:
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Medic, are you still in California?

I ask because I've encountered State Park Officers that will ticket people for trying to take a rock home ~ I can only guess burning State property, they will probably want to arrest you.

Yep, many of our forest areas have strict no fire policies unless in a dedicated fire ring, especially late summer. Fuel stoves are almost always ok though. You can collect fallen wood is most areas without an issue, cutting stuff down is usually a no-no. This year should be a bit more relaxed due to the above average rainfall.

Primus white gas was my reliable companion 40 year ago. Hadn't used it for decades, then went out to the barn last fall & fired it up with no trouble. Mine was the aluminum body model. Probably a gas canister style would be easier today.

^^^ I'd also recommend you check out Primus. They are definitely worth considering. About 20 years ago I bought a Primus Ti Alpine stove that was around 3 oz and screws into the canister. It's been pretty much flawless the whole time. Camp up to 9-10k in summers mostly. Down to around 20 degrees or so. Sips fuel. I use it nowadays for camping with my family here in the mountains and it always performs.

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
I use neither. For years in the backcountry I have used MSR Whisperlite and 2 MSR cannisters filed with white gas. Always reliable and burns hot. Have found JetBoils and thier ilk unreliable at altitude.

Thats the same setup I use, pretty foolproof.

To go light, I like an alcohol burner stove. Fast to light and boil, simple, not heavy, fuel is light.

Bruce

Wood burners leave the cooking pot soot covered. I carried a pouch to carry the used mess in.

Switched to a pocket rocket “kit” that included a pot with lid and a tiny pot lifter. The small fuel cell nests inside. I heated water for coffee and lunch 6 days on my last hunt with the small fuel tank. Clean easy and compact.

I sorta miss the wood. The gas is instant gratification and no hot coals to tend. I guess I’m done with wood till my next whim.