Esbit stove
 

Depening on your needs an Esbit (heat tab) stove works well. I too entered into the fast packing style of camping and tried out the Esbit. The tabs weigh an ounce each and will heat a cup of water at sea level in 8 minutes. Not a world record. They are easy to travel with, light and all you need is a match or lighter to get them going. Most of the food I cook is add hot water type so this works well for that applacation. I tend to have a small chunk left over which can be used to light up fires when needed. Another benefit is that you consume weight as you go unlike the cannister stoves where you are left carrying the can for your whole trip. I made a wind screen, pot holder combo that weighs about two ounces. If you buy the stove I believe they are less than 7 bucks with 6 tabs included.
Boomer

Ah, you should have used them. Probably a little heavy for pure backpacking compared to some of the modern space age materials, but like I said, damn near bulletproof. I have never had it not fire up (sounds like a jet engine when it is up and going) and heats water fast.

Takes a little throttle manipulation sometimes to get the generator vaporizing the gas correctly, and so if you don't do it right it can be frustrating, but once you learn it -- its easy. There is one operational downside, in that the stove always starts off with a bright soft (and soot generating) yellow flame until the preheating causes it to "go blue," unlike the propane or vapor canister stoves that start off pale blue from the start.

Kelly Kettles!!
 

If you're mainly looking at boiling H2O, look at these!! They only require indigenous fuel.

http://www.kellykettle.com/?gclid=CI...FSda7AodmHhV5g

Take care
Martin

This reminds me that back in the day we would use small chunks of C4 to heat C-rations. Had to watch out for the fumes though.

Interesting
 

Looks to work on the same principle as those charcoal starter cones you can pick up and Lowes & Home Depot.

Squad Stove,

Can't agree more with CSB. They ARE bulletproof and will work where fancy backpacker stoves won't and, you can fix or clean it with a pocket knife at altitude. My pappy gave me his when i joined the army and it's served me well till i got with the times and bought a lightweight civvy one (Whisperlite Int and Jetboil-both great)

Now my Squad stove goes in my truck. In the winter my transmission fluid freezes overnight so i have to set it under the t-case for a about 10 mins on cold mornings. Which, is pretty amazing that where Internal Combustion Engine fails the US ARMY Squad stove M-1950 does not!

I wish i had spare parts or maybe a specialized cleaning kit, though.

Dude, have you considered moving? Seriously. If you have to thaw out your transfer case in the morning, that is not "cold". More like "holy shit what am I doing here I'm freezing my ass off!"

I now see why you keep your gel packets in your pocket to keep them from freezing.

Craig:
two things actually
1) you get used to the cold-i guess
2)wear more clothes lol...

who am i kidding-at the end of the day, cold is cold is cold right?

I have a Jetboil, i've tried using at altitude in the winter time and the canned fuel is sluggish at best. I've got a pal who wraps a couple strands of copper wire tight around the can/burner area. The idea being that the copper heats up on the element and the heat radiates down the wire to the can, heating it up enough to get the molecules of iso-butane moving around a bit better.

When he explained it to me i thought it sounded like a gurgling time bomb, death-trap but he swears by it.

I reckon its a problem that plagues all canister fed stoves in cold weather and altitude. If anyones got any more tricks i'd love to hear them.

Bear

Another good multifuel choice is the Primus Omnifuel. Runs on white gas, mogas, diesel, JP, kerosene...just about any liquid fuel besides alcohol. You can change the nozzle and run on LP and butane canisters. Weight is kind of an issue (near a pound for just the stove) but the thing is built like a tank. Sometimes you have to make the choice between weight and durability. Not saying MSR stoves are flimsy, but they just aren't built like the Primus.

Like a lot of stoves, it's pretty noisy. But if you are looking for something that can burn damn near anything you are likely to find in the field, this should be a serious contender. Most sites list it at around $150, but I got it at $115.

The instructional video that comes with the stove.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdja7UCIt0Y

XGK
 

I remember when I was the only guy on the team with an XGK and everybody complained about the noise: not tactical. I said "if you are worried about the noise of the stove you shouldn't be cooking..."

BTW: I too have been looking for a new stove since discovering my XGK is looking very rough after 8 years in storage. I need a stove for cub scout camping so I bought a Coleman Exponent Gemini 2-burner from the BX on sale at $79. It is a backpacker type that I hope can double as a small camp stove.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Expone...602994&sr=8-12

MVP

The old coleman 2 burner is standard issue in the army up here. Theres one in every toboggan tent group(8-10 man) and they are run all hours that humans are in the tent, with the exception of the couple of minutes every few hours it takes to re-fuel it.

Its what my scout master had as a camp stove when i was a small guy and the design hasn't changed much, which worked out cool because i knew how to trouble shoot it once i got in the army.

Goes to show you: "If it ain't broken.........."


Bear

IIRC., the new ones are made in China, and the quality/materials leave much to be desired. If you have an old one, keep it.

I have had the Coleman backpacker stove, a couple of Esbits, a hobo stove, an alcohol burner, an MSR Whisperlite International, an XGK, and a Dragonfly.

They each have their pros and cons, and their niches.

TR

Bluet
 

Guys at Toelz were pretty fond of the GAZ "Bluet" stoves in the 1980's. I never owned one but there are a few good stories connected to them. My single experience though came as a passenger in a certain W/O's old VW. We were attending the German Ski Instructor course at Mittenwald and had deccided to go home for the weekend. When I got in the car the W/O handed me the bluet and then proceeded to lite it. I asked "WTF" to which he replied "the heater tubes are rusted out so I use this to defrost/heat the car". We drove to Toelz and back that weekend with me holding the lit stove the entire time.

Ah, the good old days.....

MVP

The Seva 123

is and was my pack stove of choice. The same one has been with me since '83 and it always starts. three continents, sea-level (actually below sea-level) and up to 13,500 feet, all seasons, temp down to -50.
for a long time I did not know about the "optional" pressure pump. In those cases I just poured a little bit of gas around the throat and that got it going. I've mostly burned white gas but in a pinch gas, mogas. I've been told diesel, pure alcohol and good scotch will work too.
It does have a 'jet engine sound" aspect to it when it's at operational but as said before, if you're worried about noise you should probably be worrying more about light discipline. Of course when you awake to that roar you know someone else is making coffee and you don't have too!!
Probably the thing I like the best about it is with the cover / cup replaced over the burner it can go right into a nylon mesh bag and straight into your pack stow pocket without fear of burning yourself or melting anything.
http://www.spgear.org/gear/555/svea-123.html

What an outstanding piece of backpacking history. I'd love to have one of these, but I'm determined for it to be a random one I find in a thrift store with plenty of use to it. Buying a brand new one just wouldn't be the way to go.