I’m sure this has been asked few times or more, but what is a good light weight portable stove to bring to bwca? What comes with it? Any suggestions on brand names and models? Thanks.

Stoves

Stoves 2

Probably lots of others

Where is Butthead when he is needed?

I like the Wind Pro 2 from MSR. Very light, totally adjustable, fairly quiet, comes with wrap around wind screen which saves a ton of fuel and the inverted canister stand for extremely cold weather. And, MSR is amazing for standing behind their products. My wife cross threaded a canister and ruined the threads on the stove and they sent the new part for the 6 year old stove and refused to charge me, even for shipping. I much prefer the canister stoves as they are crazy reliable(don't need to clean) and are odor free and don't leak fuel. I have found them to be very comparable in cost per trip as compared to liquid fuel. As a back-up we take a Pocket Rocket from MSR. 4 oz is cheap insurance.

Try to match the stove to your cook set. If you have a tall narrow based pot use a stove with a small burner head to it. Having that type of pot with a large burner head you will be wasting fuel and heat as the flames will be going up the sides of the pot. For a wide based pot or a frying pan go with a stove that has a large burner head to it. Using a small burner headed stove with a wide base pot or fry pan results in a small hot spot in the pan and thus uneven heating.

As for what brands of small stoves to get. I recommend either a MSR Pocketrocket or a Snowpeak Gigapower stove for sit on top canister stoves. These are both small burner head type stoves. For remote canister stoves a MSR Windpro is great. It has a larger burner head to it.

I didn't look back at the links to the old stove discussions, but a lot of the answer depends on how/what you cook.

I am in the "eat to live, not live to eat" bunch so I primarily use freeze dried meals. About the only thing I care about in a stove is how fast it boils water. There are lots of choices in this category. I love my Jetboil (can't remember which model) when with 4 or fewer people, and my Snow Peak GigaPower with 3L Jetboil pot for larger groups.

If you like to cook in the field requiring simmering, frying, etc. your stove choice is more important and more limited. I'm not the best one to give advice on these choices. As Grandma L noted, Butthead is a stove Guru and will hopefully chime in.

Like Tman, I just boil water for dehydrated meals and coffee. I like my old JetBoil Sol - it's small, light, compact, and efficient. It includes everything I need (you can look the JetBoil up).

Tman: "I didn't look back at the links to the old stove discussions, but "

"Stoves 2" isn't old. It was started last month and is active. Even "Stoves 1" was active until "2" was started just to consolidate and separate old discussion/info from recent/new stuff.

Grandma L: "Where is Butthead when he is needed?"

Watching the Admirals beat the Rampage in overtime. Besides MRied pretty much covered my additions.

butthead

Hawk ya need to be a bit more specific. What have you used? How do you cook in the field? Skill level (stoves can be dead simple to origami like things)? Year round use or seasonal or 2 weeks per year usage?

butthead

Also, what do you consider lightweight?

Love my Trangia.

(The one on the right)

If you're just boiling use a Pocket Rocket type stove. I have the Vargo version of that. With that being said I'm going to try out the Vargo Titanium folding twig stove this year.

I have a MSR Dragon Fly but also wanted something a bit lighter, quieter, and easy to use. I bought the Kovea Spider on Amazon for about $30. It works very well and I have used it several times. I am heading to the BWCA for the first time ever so I have been experimenting with a couple recipes. The Spider works very well and allows for a low simmer. I have a windscreen but will probably add a flame diffuser (lid from a can of beans) to help with hot spots when making fry bread.

I attached a couple pics of it with my Snow-peak and Open Country 2 quart pot. I will say the Open Country is a bit slippery on the pot supports but that is due to the slickness of the pot and not the stove itself.

**PS first attempt at posting pics. Hope all goes well.**

You will get a lot of good suggestions that depend on your camping style. I use an MSR Whisperlite which works for me.

I have a MSR Pocket Rocket 2. It's 2.6 oz and can actually simmer. If you need to cook for large groups you may need multiple or probably something larger.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-stove/msr-pocket-rocket-2

https://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-new-msr-pocket-rocket-2.html

Edit: made them active links, sorry didn't see that.

krole: "I have a MSR Pocket Rocket 2. It's 2.6 oz and can actually simmer. If you need to cook for large groups you may need multiple or probably something larger.


https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-stove/msr-pocket-rocket-2


https://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-new-msr-pocket-rocket-2.html"

As a courtesy to the board members learn to, add a link

Pocket Rocket Review 1
Adventures In Stoving
HikinJim's full review

butthead

solo stove

One thing to keep in mind as you research and look at stoves, Hawk, is whether or not they are permissible to use during fire bans.

boonie: "One thing to keep in mind as you research and look at stoves, Hawk, is whether or not they are permissible to use during fire bans. "

Most stoves are permissible to use during a fire ban as long as they have a shut off valve.
Stoves like esbit and alcohol and wood/biomass stoves are not allowed as they have no shut off valve to them. I have seen out West though in certain areas in a fire ban have also banned any type of stove no matter if it has a valve or not. Which is pretty rare but we may see more of out West.

I have fallen in love with my trangia, too.
lightweight, quiet, and so simple even I can operate it.. ;)

Hawk777: "I’m sure this has been asked few times or more, but what is a good light weight portable stove to bring to bwca? What comes with it? Any suggestions on brand names and models? Thanks. "

For Solo or Duo backpacking trips favorite is my MSR MicroRocket (Comparable to the PocketRocket 2). This works perfectly with my IMUSA 12cm cup w/lid.
PocketRocket 2

Small groups, when weight is less an issue or if temps are below freezing, I really like my MSR Whisperlite Universal. It is capabale of burning canister fuel, White gas or even gasoline should the need arise. I typcally burn canisters in the summer and White gas in the winter months.
MSR Whisperlite Universal

Both of these stove are powerful enough to bring water to a boil quickly but adjustable enough to simmer without scorching

butthead: "Hawk ya need to be a bit more specific. What have you used? How do you cook in the field? Skill level (stoves can be dead simple to origami like things)? Year round use or seasonal or 2 weeks per year usage?


butthead"

Like Butthead said, need more information to give an informed opinion about what might work best for you situation. Frenchy also asked what you consider "light", which is a very good question.

For solo trips without fire restrictions I usually use Esbit with a titanium Fissure Caldera Cone paired with a titanium 550 ml pot. Like several others I just boil water to rehydrate a meal and make a hot drink. The Brian Green design burner weighs less than 1 gram (.04 ounces) and I made it out of some titanium sheet following directions on his website. You do need to use a pot support and wind screen with this though. Total weight for the burner, Caldera cone and pot in my case is just under 6 ounces. I can also use a alky stove instead of esbit for not much of an increase in weight. Esbit is a not for everyone and I'm hesitant to recommend it. It is more expensive than most other fuel choices, leaves a messy residue on your pot, can be a little hard to light in a strong wind, and has an odor that some find objectionable. It is light though!

When traveling with another person (or solo when there are fire restrictions) in the spring through fall I like the MSR Micro Rocket and for winter generally use one of MSR's white gas stoves. A screw-on canister stove is probably the best light option for most people. Fast boil times, light enough for most reasonable people, pretty economical, and very convenient.

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. To elaborate, I’m looking more so for stove to use as a back up. If I’m not able to cook over fire for whatever reason. So yeah, a lightweight stove to accommodate 2-3 ppl.

Hawk777: "Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. To elaborate, I’m looking more so for stove to use as a back up. If I’m not able to cook over fire for whatever reason. So yeah, a lightweight stove to accommodate 2-3 ppl. "

A backup stove could be pretty light, especially if you may use the same fuel as you use on your primary stove, but remember long time storage with no use, may end up with a stove not working when you need it, so I will recommend to test it before every trip.

If you use canisters it has been reported that several stoves has problems with the valves on Coleman canisters, but not every Coleman canister. This is because the little pin going in to the Lindahl valve and opening for the butane-mix may be slightly shorter on other stoves.

If you are prepared, this is a problem you may deal with. You may find a real expert on this blog: http://hikinjim.blogspot.no/ He is trustable!

dsk

Best for almost all situations: Pocket Rocket
For a larger group: another Pocket Rocket
They are amazingly small, light and require no maintenance. For wind, carry a couple tri folded aluminum flange pieces, works like a charm!
The large group is taken care of by good meal planning and carrying a couple very light big pots.
I came from a family of 11....lots of big camping meals!

For a back up I second one of the Pocket Rocket variations. All you need, and near insignificant weight for a canoe trip.

For a backup, I take a the Pocket Rocket that a lot of others have mentioned as well as a couple of the ultralight stoves. Almost no weight and I feel better having options if one doesn't work.

FYI - They are back ordered, but the MSR Windpro II is on sale for $80 at BackCountryGear.com