The best portable stove for your Bug out bag...period!

[Dunerunner]

Cooking system is $72 and the cooking pot is another $60, then the fuel canisters are $7 each

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

So much for cheap and easily made or replaced . And when you run out of propane you are sol. I will stick to the homemade cheap & easy models.......... Dunerunner, I can tell you are about as thrilled with this thing as I am. However I think if was going mountain climbing in the Himalayan Mts.(which I don't foresee ever doing) I can where maybe this might be the way to go. For long term SHTF situations I don't think so.

 

[Dunerunner]

Or, above the tree line....

I think I'd build a rocket stove if SHTF and I was out of propane...

 

[Trick]

I wouldn't have paid that for it....found mine on clearance for $30 and it was a complete unit minus the fuel. The whole thing weighs under a pound and the canisters are in the 4 ounce range I think?

We use it all the time springer fishing in the late winter and early spring when the weather is nasty and it's worked well for about 5 years now. Granted once the fuel was gone it would be a nice cup at best.

Expense is all relative. I've spent double on a 20 round box of premium centerfire ammo then the stove cost me. I pick the canisters up when they are on ad for about $5 and a can with 3 or 4 guys using it lasts 2 or 3 trips.

Lets face it....eventually if the world fell apart you better learn how to rub sticks together because everything will fall apart, run out of fuel, whatever.

 

[Trick]

I learned to make a hobo stove in Cub Scouts over 55 years ago. Wonder what they learn nowadays?

Don't know if they were called hobo stoves when I was a kid, but I remember simply using a cat food can, rolling cardboard into it (I think) and then adding wax to bind the wick with the cardboard.....basically making a candle of sorts. Then we used a Folgers can and made a stove....it worked. Of course I would hate to pack this around with me.

 

[Dunerunner]

Cardboard, cat food can and paraffin, hmmmm. I would never have thought of that!! The Folgers can could become a portable container if the plastic lid were to be retained. I see a small pot nested in the can, a coffee mug, three or four cat food candle things, maybe some tinder and a blast match.

 

[Joe Link]

Anyone ever built a portable stove?

I was thinking last night that if our power were out for an extended period of time we'd have no way to cook.

 

[AMproducts]

honestly, why build when you can buy? The MSR whisperlite international, or the loose-chinese copy is probably the best lightweight stove option on the market. In either case, the stove will burn just about anything you can put in it, I've used my chinese copy with diesel, kero, white gas, butane etc. Vs the whisperlite, the main difference is it's a little more involved to start, but it works just fine once you get it hot.

Here's the chinese copy: Amazon.com : Lixada Portable Multi Fuel Outdoor Backpacking Camping Picnic Stove Oil Gas Furnace : Sports & Outdoors

if you're looking for a heavier (say home-bound) stove option, the Coleman X-Ponent (exponent?) which is another international kero, gas, white gas stove. There are also some really cheap butane burners out there. For home use, this would be my recommendation: Amazon.com : Dingo Compact Camping Burner : Sports & Outdoors

Those butane stoves take fairly cheap butane canisters (it looks like a large canister for refilling lighters or airsoft guns) it doesn't smell, and you can use it indoors without much thought (I would keep a window open if the electricity is out). They produce a good deal of heat and will boil water much faster than electric, and most natural-gas stoves.

There are wood-burning stoves out there, however there's no stove that's designed to burn both wood and liquid/gas fuels. I generally stay away from the wood burning type because I don't like dealing with the ash, or putting a dirty stove into my pack. They also produce a lot of smoke and badly stain most cookware.

 

[Joe Link]

honestly, why build when you can buy? The MSR whisperlite international, or the loose-chinese copy is probably the best lightweight stove option on the market. In either case, the stove will burn just about anything you can put in it, I've used my chinese copy with diesel, kero, white gas, butane etc. Vs the whisperlite, the main difference is it's a little more involved to start, but it works just fine once you get it hot.

Here's the chinese copy: Amazon.com : Lixada Portable Multi Fuel Outdoor Backpacking Camping Picnic Stove Oil Gas Furnace : Sports & Outdoors

if you're looking for a heavier (say home-bound) stove option, the Coleman X-Ponent (exponent?) which is another international kero, gas, white gas stove. There are also some really cheap butane burners out there. For home use, this would be my recommendation: Amazon.com : Dingo Compact Camping Burner : Sports & Outdoors

Those butane stoves take fairly cheap butane canisters (it looks like a large canister for refilling lighters or airsoft guns) it doesn't smell, and you can use it indoors without much thought (I would keep a window open if the electricity is out). They produce a good deal of heat and will boil water much faster than electric, and most natural-gas stoves.

There are wood-burning stoves out there, however there's no stove that's designed to burn both wood and liquid/gas fuels. I generally stay away from the wood burning type because I don't like dealing with the ash, or putting a dirty stove into my pack. They also produce a lot of smoke and badly stain most cookware.

You're right, that's really cheap for a decent backpacking stove. I don't do much camping right now but that Coleman stove with a few butane canisters seems like something worthwhile to tuck away just in case. Thanks for the info!

 

[Hook686]

Fuel can be the biggest consideration. Then there is how many to cook for, and for how long will you need it. Portable I have the MSR Whisperlite, which also works at home. This works so long as I have fuel for it. For long term I have a RoadPro 12V oven, a couple of deep cell 12V batteries and a Harbor Freight solar panel array to keep the batteries charged. In a long period of overcaste weather I guess I'd be down to cutting down trees, chopping up fences, stored charcoal, .... Again how long will your fuel last ?

 

[AMproducts]

Fuel can be the biggest consideration. Then there is how many to cook for, and for how long will you need it. Portable I have the MSR Whisperlite, which also works at home. This works so long as I have fuel for it. For long term I have a RoadPro 12V oven, a couple of deep cell 12V batteries and a Harbor Freight solar panel array to keep the batteries charged. In a long period of overcaste weather I guess I'd be down to cutting down trees, chopping up fences, stored charcoal, .... Again how long will your fuel last ?

So, with those adapters, and a multifuel whisperlite (or similar), you're burning: Isobutane, propane, kero, gasoline, white gas, and butane. If you were a bit creative you could probably get the stove to burn methanol (heet).

 

[Joe Link]

Fuel can be the biggest consideration. Then there is how many to cook for, and for how long will you need it. Portable I have the MSR Whisperlite, which also works at home. This works so long as I have fuel for it. For long term I have a RoadPro 12V oven, a couple of deep cell 12V batteries and a Harbor Freight solar panel array to keep the batteries charged. In a long period of overcaste weather I guess I'd be down to cutting down trees, chopping up fences, stored charcoal, .... Again how long will your fuel last ?

That's a good idea, the solar setup

So, with those adapters, and a multifuel whisperlite (or similar), you're burning: Isobutane, propane, kero, gasoline, white gas, and butane. If you were a bit creative you could probably get the stove to burn methanol (heet).

Like you've said, I think fuel versatility is key.

 

[Hook686]

So, with those adapters, and a multifuel whisperlite (or similar), you're burning: Isobutane, propane, kero, gasoline, white gas, and butane. If you were a bit creative you could probably get the stove to burn methanol (heet).

Yup multi fuels makes for a good choice. My question still comes down to, 'How much fuel do you store ?', or how long do you think the scenario will last ? Bosnia was over a year, and as I recall someone that was there posted that all the trees, wood in buildings was pretty much depleted before then. How much butane for a meal ? How much kero ? .... Consumables get consumed. How long to you figure you will need to cook, heat water, ... ?'

 

[Joe Link]

Yup multi fuels makes for a good choice. My question still comes down to, 'How much fuel do you store ?', or how long do you think the scenario will last ? Bosnia was over a year, and as I recall someone that was there posted that all the trees, wood in buildings was pretty much depleted before then. How much butane for a meal ? How much kero ? .... Consumables get consumed. How long to you figure you will need to cook, heat water, ... ?'

Excellent questions.