Canister stove + pot recommendations?

[DavidBW]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy (1) a canister stove that is under $100 and is light enough to be used for multi-day walks, and (2) an inexpensive, not-too-large pot which I can cook and eat instant rice, oats, etc. with.

For stoves, I've been recommended the (a) MSR MicroRocket, (b) Kovea Spider, and (c) Fire maple 117t/118.

For pots, I've been recommended the brands (a) Snow Peak and (b) Toaks. What size pot would be appropriate for my purposes?

It would be great if I could get some of your opinions on light weight canister stoves and pots. Feel free to recommend other brands.

I was also wondering if anyone knows where I can buy small (110g, 220g) canisters. They seem to be hard to find in Sydney/Australia.

Thanks,
David

[north-north-west]

Anaconda usually stock a reasonable range of canisters. I'd have thought most outdoor shops would have them.

I use a Fire Maple 117T and can recommend it. Light, reliable, stable, cheap.
Pot size depends on how much you eat at a sitting. I use a 1L Primus ETA pot (like you, cook in and eat from the pot) but that's probably overkill for most solo walkers - although for the meals I prefer it works well.

[DavidBW]

Thanks for your comment NNW.

Do you have any suggestions for (inexpensive) smaller pots?

I heard a disadvantage with the FM 117 is that it doesn't have a pre-heat tube.

I couldn't find small canisters on the e-catalog of outdoor shops like Acaconda. I'll have a look in person. Do you know how much they roughly go for?

[Alittleruff]

I think my pot was around $8 from Aussie Disposals. Fits my needs. Fits a double insulated cup in there, and in the cup I store the 360 degree Furno stove. A microfibre cloth between the pot and the cup... a couple of packets of matches in the pot, a cloth, and a sharp knife & my fork/spoon eating utensils.

Just a suggestion- When buying a pot, make sure that it is large enough to store all your cooking gear into it, so that you decrease the amount of space your cooking gear takes up in your pack.

[paul_gee]

I think my pot was around $8 from Aussie Disposals. Fits my needs. Fits a double insulated cup in there, and in the cup I store the 360 degree Furno stove. A microfibre cloth between the pot and the cup... a couple of packets of matches in the pot, a cloth, and a sharp knife & my fork/spoon eating utensils.

Just a suggestion- When buying a pot, make sure that it is large enough to store all your cooking gear into it, so that you decrease the amount of space your cooking gear takes up in your pack.

360 Degrees also do a neat little stove / pot set.

I'm biased and a fanboy. I recommend a Trangia Mini. It's not the lightest stove, it's not the 'best', but damn they're tough. I've been using one for 10 years and it is still as good as the day I christened it. If a little charred. But I don't mind that, it makes me look like a serious camper.

[Moondog55]

Wait until ALDI have the summer camping sale and buy the pot and kettle set; then just pick and choose what you need when packing
Will you be camping in the snow? if not the pre-heat tube isn't really needed, also I've never had a problem lighting or cooking on either the MSR pocket rocket of the little Wasp; neither of which has preheat and i practically live above the snowline in winter

[RonK]

Kovea Spider is hard to beat - light and compact, preheat tube for inverted canister operation in cold weather and a low trivet height for safety.

A squat pot is generally preferred over tall for better heat transfer.

Some freeze-dried meals require as much as 700 ml of water for rehydration. I suggest a minimum 1 litre capacity pot to avoid overspills.

[DavidBW]

Thanks for all your comments.

Do you know when ALDI has its summer camping sale? Sounds exciting.

I've seen people talk about the FM 117, 117t, 118, 118t. What are the differences between FMs with 'ts' and ones without? And how is the FM 117 different to the 118?

[kitty]

FMS-118 & FMS-117T are the same series
The main structure of FMS-118 is made of stainless steel and this one has a preheat tube
FMS117T is same as above but in titanium and no preheat tube
FMS118T does not exist (unless you buy both the above and DIY).

I have the exact same setup as NNW - FM117T with EtaPot1L
I like the FM117T because of lower center of gravity (stability), can use a windshield, and lightweight (I do not need a preheat tube) and wider burner head.
I like the ETAPot1L due to nonstick and also has a heat exchanger which distributes the heat.

My old setup - MicroRocket and titanium pots which I replaced with the above.
I happily take the slight weight penalty for a more stable, non-stick setup which has better heat distribution and requires less pot scrubbing.
Titanium pots are great for boiling water though

[north-north-west]

Are pre-heat tubes all that important in Aust? I've been snow camping both here and on the mainland - from the Baw Baw to the Main Range - and never had trouble using a stove without one. it.

[Gadgetgeek]

I don't know that pre-heat tubes are critical, but I think its worth knowing the potential limits of your equipment.

Cannisters are likely not listed on sites as they need to be treated differently for shipping, so just check instore.

For pots 800-1L is a good single size. I've got a snowpeak trek800 Ti set which works well, and its matched to an MSR Microrocket. I like the micro, but not enough to reccomend it at aussie retail. If you can get one on a deal I'd say go for it, somewhere in the 60-70 range.

I wouldn't say that the average person needs to lash out on that price of gear though, but if you are going to be using it often, its worth looking at.

[Moondog55]

I'll always go for a larger pot rather than a small one; everything else being equal but then my coffee cup holds ~900ml [ MSR Titan] or the army kidney cup

[Mark F]

For stoves consider the BRS 3000-T at 25 grams and around $25 from various overseas online sources. No pre-heat loop but for a 3 seasons gas stove it gets good reviews from people like Roger Caffin and I am happy with mine. There is a thread about them on here somewhere. I would only consider a pre-heat tube necessary if you plan on snow camping in Australia but it becomes more important if doing winter trips OS with colder temperatures. If you want a pre heat tube you add 100+ grams and the Kovea Spider already mentioned is a very good stove. At $25 you can afford to later buy an expensive stove with pre-heat tube if you start doing those sorts of trips.

Pots - you need to consider whether you want to pay extra for titanium or accept a weight penalty and go for hard anodised aluminium. For one person 800ml to 1 litre capacity, for two 1.3 litres are standard sorts of sizes, but this varies according to the type of food preparation you plan on. For fuel efficiency you want a squat pot, not a tall narrow one as already stated and making a cozy for the pot pays good dividends in cutting gas use.

[corvus]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy (1) a canister stove that is under $100 and is light enough to be used for multi-day walks, and (2) an inexpensive, not-too-large pot which I can cook and eat instant rice, oats, etc. with.

For stoves, I've been recommended the (a) MSR MicroRocket, (b) Kovea Spider, and (c) Fire maple 117t/118.

For pots, I've been recommended the brands (a) Snow Peak and (b) Toaks. What size pot would be appropriate for my purposes?

It would be great if I could get some of your opinions on light weight canister stoves and pots. Feel free to recommend other brands.

I was also wondering if anyone knows where I can buy small (110g, 220g) canisters. They seem to be hard to find in Sydney/Australia.

Thanks,
David

Try Rays Outdoors or Paddie Pallen they normally carry both sizes.

[Eljimberino]

+1 BRS 3000-T and titanium pot/mug to your preferred size. Make a wind shield out of a pie tray.

[corvus]

All depends on you budget ,as a collector "gear tragic" I have many options the least expensive being BRS 3000T stove 25g coupled with Bulin BL200-c7 pot and mug 213g in hard Adonised finish,most expensive( with this stove) MSR 900ml Titan Kettle 126gm plus a 550ml Titan Mug 74g,mostly just boil water however when I do "cook"the Adonised finish is the winner

[n5750547]

I've got the optimus terra solo cook set which is great but at 500ml it is a bit small. My next one will be the GSI Soloist which a lot of Thru hikers use so it must be reasonably tough despite being aluminium.

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

[Gadgetgeek]

Aluminum is good, hard anno will be a bit more non-stick that straight alloy, but as long as you cook carefully, you'll be okay. Aluminum can change the flavor of acidic foods, and some people are concerned about health risks, although none of that research is conclusive. its hard to wreak a pot unless you melt it, or punch a hole in it. Worst usually is the little dimples make it sit funny hand harder to clean. The good stainless stuff is thin enough to reduce weight, and is a little less "sticky" but not by much, and thinning it out reduces the heat conduction advantage.

[icefest]

Another +1 for the BRS 3000t.

Light. Cheap. Compact.

[DavidBW]

Thanks for all your comments. I bought the BRS 3000t for a bit under $17 on Ebay and will keep the Kovea Spider in mind if I want to upgrade.

As for pots, all the branded ones mentioned are quite expensive ($50+). I might wait for the ALDI summer camping sale or have a look around outdoor stores.

[whitefang]

Thanks for all your comments. I bought the BRS 3000t for a bit under $17 on Ebay and will keep the Kovea Spider in mind if I want to upgrade.

As for pots, all the branded ones mentioned are quite expensive ($50+). I might wait for the ALDI summer camping sale or have a look around outdoor stores.

Even if you do have to pay $50+ in the end for a pot that's not so bad considering your stove comes in under your budget for it.

[DavidBW]

Thanks for all your comments. I bought the BRS 3000t for a bit under $17 on Ebay and will keep the Kovea Spider in mind if I want to upgrade.

As for pots, all the branded ones mentioned are quite expensive ($50+). I might wait for the ALDI summer camping sale or have a look around outdoor stores.

Even if you do have to pay $50+ in the end for a pot that's not so bad considering your stove comes in under your budget for it.

It just seems crazy to pay, say, $60 for a pot?

[Moondog55]

It just seems crazy to pay, say, $60 for a pot?

See the comments on the ultra lite section about how many dollars per gram saved is reasonable
I admit that $60- sounds like a lot but spread that purchase over the lifetime of the pot and it will begin to look cheap
I'm a cook, I can pay more than that for little vegie paring knives and have you priced Scanpan recently?
If cost is your main concern than using an A10 tin over a wood fire is hard to beat, bushwalking is about more than the cost tho; important tho cost is.
Titanium is important when every gram counts but aluminium isn't all that much heavier tho it doesn't last as long and being softer gets dinted more quickly.
This is why I said wait for the ALDI sale

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17246

But I also own Seagull/MSR and TOAKS and use them interchangeably depending on circumstances. When weight is my most important objective yes it is worth paying $60-[ and more] to save 100 grams

[Tony]

Hi David,

With Bushwalking stoves and pots it is a subject that a lot of bushwalkers have very strong opinions on, choosing a stove and pot or pots depends on what sort of bushwalking you are doing and is a personal choice.

I have lots and lots of bushwalking stoves of all types and major brands (a long story), alcohol, Shellite and canister gas, and dozens of pots of all materials and sizes, (another long story) Titanium, Stainless Steel, Hard Anodized Aluminium, plain Aluminium pots and finned pots, my favourite stoves are a Kovea Supalite (which I have found to be very reliable) and a JetBoil Sol Al and with the Kovea stove my favourite pots are some $10 ally pots from the local Camping World store, my ally pots have been used for around 10 years and are still in good condition and will probably see me out, though I do not use them on open camp fires and I only use the JetBoil Sol to boil water, it is very fast and very efficient, much more efficient than the Kovea.

Using upright canister stoves in colder climates takes a bit of expertise but with some practice are OK, but an inverted canister stove is an advantage in the snow.

Ther is a lot of very good information on Roger Caffin's Bushwalking FAQ page.

I hope this helps.

Tony

[kitty]

As per Tonys post...Roger Caffins Bushwalking website stove page...
http://bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubsites/ ... Stoves.htm
(edit gas stove page)

Also lots of information here too, Adventures in Stoving...
http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com.au/

[Tintin]

I am new to hiking stoves and am trying to decide what is best for me. I have ruled out alcohol stoves for now purely because of the weight and am opting for a gas canister stove which I can fit snuggly in a ~1L pot with spork and gas canister.

From what I understand there are 2 types of gas stoves - the top mounted ones and the remote canisters with the hose. Although the top mounted ones are lighter, they are more unstable right? Are the connections between different branded canisters and stoves universal? Can you use any gas canister with them?

Right now I have the Fire Maple and Kovea Spider as my best options. I understand the Kovea has a preheat tube which would allow it to work better in the cold, plus the canister can be inverted (although I think the FMS 100 has a preheat tube). Would they both need a wind shield? I plan on doing the OLT next March/April and am scoping my options. Any help would be appreciated!

[Moondog55]

Hi Tintin
Most of them are good enough, most of the discussion is about nuances.
Stability would tent to send me in one direction but if you are careful all of them seem to work well enough
I use a windshield with both of my top mounted stoves and I'm careful but all camping stoves are Darwin Award devices and need to be used with care

[Strider]

Yes you definitely need a wind shield. Aluminium builders flashing is perfect.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Chris-Toms Outdoors]

As a canister top stove my current fav is the Soto Windmaster, (i've stopped using my snow peak), the windmaster's micro regulator makes it an awesome cold weather canister top stove. Bear in mind that any inverted canister stove won't be available locally on the aussie market. The AGA doesn't like approving inverted canister stove for sale on the aussie market, same as the true multifuel stoves that will do gas and liquid. I'm currently waiting on the AGA to approve the MSR windburner as I have customer preorders and the wholesaler is still waiting for them the AGA to sign off on it. The Kovea inverted canister stoves look great and I wish we could sell them locally.
Fo pots Titanium anything if you can afford it. You'll only have to buy it once
Chris

[benjabimon]

Yes you definitely need a wind shield. Aluminium builders flashing is perfect.

If anyone needs any I have a roll at home that I got from Bunnings to make windscreens for my MSR white gas stoves. A whole buttload of it, so I'd be happy to cut off pieces as necessary. I got stuff that was a bit thicker though, so heavier, but it will definitely last longer than the thin foil that MSR supplies with their stoves.