Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Isobutane canister cost
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Outdoorsfan69 |
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tumblehome |
I use one and love it. It’s small, lightweight and gives instant heat on a rainy day. I use it daily to heat a cup of water for coffee and use it for small items to cook, not big dinners. I camp alone and a canister will last way more than a week. If you are with a group and use it for meals you will get a few days out of it. Tom |
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TrailZen |
TZ |
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HayRiverDrifter |
I can save some weight with this stove, but I will pay more for fuel ongoing. It's not like a one time investment for a lighter tent. Should I just buy the stove and some canisters and enjoy it. If it adds $10 or $15 to the cost of the trip, no big deal. Right? Also, where do you buy your canisters and does the brand of the canister matter. Will all canisters work with all stoves? Amazon has MSR and a number of off brands (Perune, GasOne, ...). |
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boonie |
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NEIowapaddler |
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Tomcat |
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RMinMN |
tumblehome: "Butane canister stoves are not a money saver item. No way around it. Especially if you are using it for daily cooking and with more than one person to feed. That said, if you look at the cost of a canister of fuel vs. the overall cost of your trip, it’s negligible. I have a really cheap burner for isobutane. On the rainy days it works much better than a match for lighting my campfire. Lots of heat that doesn't go out. Leave the pot supports all folded up and you have a blowtorch. The burner looks like this one. Ebay butane stove |
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rdgbwca |
HayRiverDrifter: " Yes. I would recommend buying the canister stove and giving it a try. I think you will find the convenience worth it. I've tried a canister stove that uses the green propane bottles because I thought the green propane would more widely available. I have also tried the trangia alcohol stoves because the quietness appealed to me. I take isobutane canister stoves on my trip. They are loud for a few minutes but they boil water quickly. The flame can also be adjusted down for other cooking. I have bought canisters at REI and Cabela's. I usually buy the MSR canisters or the JetBoil canisters. I think sticking to big brands would be fine. I have seen the Coleman canisters at Walmart but haven't actually bought a Coleman canister. |
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butthead |
Snow Peak Ti pot and lid, MSR windscreen, $29 Alocs stove with 8 ounce canister. $50 MSR Pocket Rocket with same gear. Used $40 MSR Simmerlight (no longer made but available used) with pump and 11 ounce fuel bottle containing 9 ounces of fuel. Gas stove right in the middle far as weight. I have used all the combos on week plus solo trips with fuel left over. Both weight and cost of fuel should not make much difference on a yearly trip. butthead |
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wxce1260 |
Outdoorsfan69: "I have had better luck, price wise, shopping for the fuel tanks in sporting goods stores. I lucked out and found three 8 oz. tanks at my local Menards on clearance for $4.95. Sportsmans Warehouse also has some 8 oz tanks for $5.95 I believe." Menard's often has deals on isobutane. I bought 10 8oz tanks with their bag sale, and they were on sale too and ended up paying like $3.50 a can. |
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wxce1260 |
HayRiverDrifter: "I have had my eye on an isobutane stove (Optimus Vega) for a while, but I am having a hard time with the cost of the canisters. Coleman fuel is about $17 for a gallon. A gallon equivalent of isobutane canisters may be as much as 10 times that. I have a vega that I use backpacking. Really like the way it performs on a windy day! |
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butthead |
boonie: "Butthead, from Adventures in Stoving about refilling canisters "The newer orange label Coleman canisters do not work with many brands of stoves. The older green label Coleman canisters seem to work fine." That's what I was remembering. I don't know if it still holds - it's an old post." Thanks for jogging the brain-cells and yes now I remember that from "Adventures In Stoving". Locally Coleman canisters have been hard to find and I mostly stayed with MSR Oilcamp Primus labeled cans. If memory serves Coleman had a deeper valve that some stoves did not connect to. Screw them in but no gas flow. butthead |
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mgraber |
Both times the parts were to replace damage from accidents. Wind Pro 2 is ultralight, has wind screen, simmers well, dead reliable. That said there is NOTHING wrong with liquid fuel stoves, I switched because I do not like to do maintenance, and I do not like fuel getting on me or my gear which has happened, and I want the best reliability and convenience. |
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foxfireniner |
HayRiverDrifter: "Thanks everyone for your input. I ordered the Optimus Vega stove today, and purchased 5 Coleman 15.5oz Butane/Propane Mix Fuel canisters from Walmart for $7.72 each. I went with the Optimus Vega because is sits low to the ground, has wide pot supports that have lots of teeth, and appears to simmer ok. I use a combination. I use a soto windmaster when i need a quick boil. I use my dragonfly for longer cooking times. I like the Coleman isobutane. It is cheaper and this video says its mix gives a few more boils. Also, it is always in stock at Walmart. My only other choice is an overpriced, trendy outdoor clothing store with crazy markups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7oi6Idc0Qg |
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HayRiverDrifter |
I have used a Coleman Peak 1 single burner stove for many years and it has served me well, but I had a incident a few years back where I was frying fish and I caught the edge of the small frying pan while taking fish out and flipped the pan off the stove dumping hot oil over my entire hand. I quickly shook off the oil, then wipe it with a paper towel, and headed for the lake to swish my hand in cold water for 20 minutes. Luckily I try to keep only a small amount of oil in the pan when frying. I ended up with no blisters and just some redness between a couple of fingers. Ever since then, I always keep one hand on the pan handle at all times, but still have some anxiety when cooking. I am hoping that the Vega will hold the pan much better. I am also looking forward to just turn the knob and light. The Coleman, while bullet proof, can be a bit finicky. |
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Blackdogyak |
Related: For years I think most of us have been frustrated with partially using up various canisters of iso. You end up with three different sizes, with differing fuel levels. A new product solves this. It's called Flip_Fuel. It's a tiny aluminum block, threaded on both ends for cylinders and a valve between. It allows you to transfer partial contents of one canister into partial contents of another. I like the tiny ones for Thermacell and sometimes lantern. I use the big one for cooking usually. Now, I can take a couple of almost empty cylinders (which I never would have brought on another trip) and get that fuel into another canister full up. The donor canister has to be higher pressure than the receiver. Put the donor in the sun or someplace warm. Put the receiver in the freezer. Then hook them together turn on the valve. Bingo. FlipFuel |
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AlexanderSupertramp |
Blackdogyak: "I use an older, out of production, fold-up Brunton. Works great. I will say I ahve bought and used a few of the extremely cheap Chinese stoves off Amazon and they work well. I just bought one called Heypork (how do they come up with these names?) but they are all almost identical. Includes a piezo igniter which frequently break or don't work. Good quality cylinder attachment and hose and valve. Very light and fold up well. $13-20. This is fantastic, I am ordering one. I have probably half a dozen partially used canisters and not a clue what's in each of them. |
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butthead |
butthead |
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Kendis |
I only use iso canisters for my Thermacell bug repeller. I buy mine at REI and get Jetboil brand. 2022 was the first year we took the Thermacell and the Jetboil canister worked well with it. |
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TrailZen |
Disclaimer: We're always a two-person group. We do hot water for breakfast (coffee, oatmeal, etc) and rehydrate/heat dinner meals that we have dehydrated at home. YMMV. TZ |
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boonie |
Here's what I learned to do: weigh the canister before you use it and mark the weight on it. Weigh it after the trip and subtract from that weight. The difference is how much fuel you used. Subtract that from net weight of fuel to get how much is left. If you keep track of what you use it for on the trip, you'll begin to get a good idea of your average fuel usage which you can use to determine your fuel needs for a trip. It will also be useful for transferring to other canisters. |
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portagedog09 |
I do cook complex meals for groups, normally of 4 and on 10 day trips. I'll take 4 of the 8oz. canisters and usually have most of one left over at the end. My stoves are the MSR WindPro II and the MSR Reactor and I take both for the type of cooking I do. I would stick with name brand fuel canisters like MSR, Jetboil, SnowPeak. I know some folks that bought the Walmart generic brand and had problems with the valve sticking and leaking - basically had to leave the stove attached and hope you didn't open the valve accidentally. Generally speaking, any similar canister works with any canister stove. Occassionally there is some oddball stuff out there but most of that is older types and the newer stuff is pretty standardized. Remember- you get what you pay for. pd |
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boonie |
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tumblehome |
RMinMN: "tumblehome: " About that link for the butane stove.- I bought a Pocket Rocket for maybe $50 some years ago. Not long after I received that exact stove in the link as a gift. It costs about $10. It is superior to the Pocket Rocket. Obviously made in a factory that makes this sort of stuff. High quality machined aluminum. The biggest plus is that is comes with a piezeo igniter! That little stove is the shnizzle. No need to buy an expensive Pocket Rocket or equivalent. Tom |
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lindylair |
Anyways the point is you could save $70 to $90 on the stove which would go a long ways in covering the cost of the canisters for many trips to come. It's not quite as light or compact as some stoves out there but functionally and economically it's a great stove and still plenty small and light. On Amazon it is rated 4.7 stars by 562 reviews. Here is the cheapest price I found on it: Primus Classic Trail Stove We have used many different sizes and brands of canisters with no problem. We now usually buy this size because they are a better value, provide a little more stability to the stove and eliminate the need to change canisters very often when basecamping. If you get the Vega I hope it works great for you. IMO the canister stoves are the way to go and if you trip once or twice a year the canister cost is negligible. |
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NEIowapaddler |
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HayRiverDrifter |
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TomP |
I recall from previous threads on this topic some folks claimed all of the canisters came from the same factory in China. I have no clue if that is true. Thoughts? |
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blackdawg9 |
i think iso 110 is $6 220 is 8 something. iso isnt about $ savings, its about weight and space savings. if its really about weight savings, get a msr pocket rocket. |
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butthead |
boonie: "Make sure the Coleman canisters work with your stove; I vaguely remember something about their canisters have different thread or valve or something. " You are thinking the old PowerMax fuel that had a bayonet connection. Current Coleman Canister is all Lindal valve and interchangeable. All current canisters use Lindal valve attachments with the only exception being the butane cartridge "tall cans" with bayonet fitting. All Lindal canisters interchange and only vary by fuel mix, iso-butane, butane/propane in percentages from 100% iso to 75% butane/25% propane to 60% butane 40% propane. Higher propane mix is better in cold but can separate from the butane in the canister (propane is heavier) varying the output. Iso is better cold than straight butane. Above 35 degrees there is hardly any difference. Lindal valves are industry standard but made disposable so quality varies can to can. butthead |
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boonie |
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PineKnot |
lindylair: "I priced the Optimus Vega and it appears to range from around $90 to $110? Both I and my camping buddy bought the Primus Classic Trail Stove years ago and it is a great stove, sturdy and with a wider head for a better flame pattern. Bulletproof. We have brought 2 a few times and use a griddle spread over both of them for a big breakfast for a group - worked great. +1 again. I've been using Primus stove tops for well over a decade. They are small, and the burner being wider doesn't tend to create small hotspots on your pot or pan....using them on simmer can allow a cannister to last a couple hours or more.... |
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PineKnot |
boonie: "I look at it like Tom - I don't use it every day and don't buy many, so overall cost isn't much. I can do a 2-week solo trip with one 8-oz. canister, but I'm only boiling water not cooking elaborate meals. My JetBoil is quick and simple to use, and virtually maintenance free. No fuel to spill, no pressurizing. You can carry a spare burner for an ounce or two. " +1 |
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Erk |
As for the fuel, I don’t think I read anybody truly touch on it. And I could be off a little here. From what I remember, as long as it’s a butane/propane fuel mixture, it should work with a wide array of canister stoves. And I have used super cheap no name to known name brands and personally I’ve never had an issue with several stove types and brands. Personally, no problems. I really enjoyed that short article talking about where the canisters are made. I’ve had that discussion with buddies in stores or at camp about how they “have” to all be made in the same place. So that was interesting. The stove closest is the wind burner with MSR’s branded fuel, using a heat deflector and windscreen in roughly 20° weather with winds coming off of Lake Superior. The upside down option is very beneficial |