Recommendations: Compact, cheap camp stove?

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Kirk_Ferentz

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Feb 16, 2010
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I was thinking of picking up a very cheap single burner camp stove that takes the aresol style butane cannisters. The stove looks like a great deal, but it looks like I will have to pay to ship in the butane cannisters, which are quite rare and not cheap, so I am wondering if, all-in-all, it isn't that cheap of a deal. I also like that it is a compact single burner that will pack up very sturdily and compactly.

Anyway, anyone have opinions on the cheapest way to have a compact camp stove with affordable fuel?

Also, if anyone knows a place in southern California that sells the butane aresol cannisters, that would help also.
 
Perhaps you might reconsider... If you want cheap and compact, have a look here:

http://www.jureystudio.com/pennystove/index.html

These things work GREAT and aren't just for boiling water -- fiddling with the height of the simmer ring can yield some slow, lower-heat burns for cooking rice and such.

And, you know, if you needed another excuse to buy beer...
 
Trangia burner and SLX, Crown, or Wally World denatured alcohol is quiet, foolproof, cost-effective

canister stoves are *expensive* to use...

here's a stove you can make in 10 minutes that will boil 16 oz of dihydrogen oxide in a few minutes:

homebrew stove
 
My lightweight backpacking choice is the MSR pocket rocket, which serves well for use in 72hr pack as well:

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/fast-and-light-stoves/pocketrocket/product

The stove is tiny and comes in a very handy little container which has just enough room to store a small lighter/matches. Whilst I have friends who have managed to get theirs to work with non-MSR canisters this is NOT recommended.

Depending on conditions you can boil 0.5l of water within 4-5 minutes, the stove is also a champion at cooking real food without nuking it due to the excellent control. It has served me well on 3 continents up to 6500 meters. Depending on conditions, and food you are preparing the large canister will last for around 1 week, canisters do not weigh very much and are cheap too, I would recommend buying a wind shield to use with it.

The only drawback is of course that you need to establish a good base since the higher centre of gravity makes such stoves a little more unstable.
 
I'd definitely recommend an alcohol stove, possibly coupled with a wood burner. I have a Brasslite stove and a Little Bug Jr. On a 4 day long weekend outing last weekend I used about 5 ounces of alcohol. . . Mostly to make my coffee and breakfast in the morning. I use the Little Bug Jr to make dinner, and as a wind screen/reflector for the Brasslite. It's a great combo for me, and may be worth a look for you.
 
Compressed gas canisters (butane, isobutane, etc.) have improved a lot in the last few years, but they are still expensive compared to liquid fuels (kerosene, white gas, alcohol) and then you have to dispose of the empties. The stoves that use them are convenient, and some perform well in below freezing conditions. I tote a MSR Whisperlite which burns white gas. It compensates for the somewhat cumbersome set-up with light weight and terrific reliability, no matter what the temperature. I've used it down to -40, with no problems.
 
I have used the MSR Pocket Rocket for 3 season excursions for over 10 years and have never had one problem. i use white gas in winter. The super fly has a larger pot support and broader flame. It would be better if you are not going solo. Cheers, Kris
 
As far as inexpencive canister stoves go, check out the Optimus Crux Lite. I have 2 of them, one for my 72 hour/backpacking kit and one for my Day hike kit. Coleman Also makes some that look pretty good that are $30 or less.

If you live in an area where twigs and sticks are abundant, you can gut an old computer Power Supply and turn it onto a twig stove. I did that recently with an old 250w supply I had in the closet. Hope to test it out after I move this weekend.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Compressed gas canisters (butane, isobutane, etc.) have improved a lot in the last few years, but they are still expensive compared to liquid fuels (kerosene, white gas, alcohol) and then you have to dispose of the empties. The stoves that use them are convenient, and some perform well in below freezing conditions. I tote a MSR Whisperlite which burns white gas. It compensates for the somewhat cumbersome set-up with light weight and terrific reliability, no matter what the temperature. I've used it down to -40, with no problems.
Click to expand...

I can second this recomendation, I have used mine to nearly as cold with very positive results !

I have the International Model which will burn other petros

They may be more money then then others but they are proven !
 
If you get some guys together and do a group buy these adapters only come out to about $7 per unit. If you contact the guy he will sell them to you in smaller lots like 5-10 units:
http://ryderoutdoor.en.alibaba.com/product/268573129-212345692/Camping_Butane_Propane_Stove_Converter.html

Then you can use the butane canisters that are sold the cheepest at Asian markets for about $1.25
http://www.amazon.com/Butane-GasOne-Canisters-Portable-Camping/dp/B001D7FYCI

Pick up any backpacking stove that would normally rely on those expensive proprietary iso-propane canisters.
http://www.rei.com/webservices/rei/DisplayStyle/660163?source=gpla&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-660163&mr:trackingCode=EF734FFE-FB85-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Even the Jetboil will work just fine with this conversion.

Word of caution, this cheepy butane option doesn't do so well at high elevation.
 
spareparts said:
If you get some guys together and do a group buy these adapters only come out to about $7 per unit. If you contact the guy he will sell them to you in smaller lots like 5-10 units:
http://ryderoutdoor.en.alibaba.com/product/268573129-212345692/Camping_Butane_Propane_Stove_Converter.html

Then you can use the butane canisters that are sold the cheepest at Asian markets for about $1.25
http://www.amazon.com/Butane-GasOne-Canisters-Portable-Camping/dp/B001D7FYCI

Pick up any backpacking stove that would normally rely on those expensive proprietary iso-propane canisters.
http://www.rei.com/webservices/rei/DisplayStyle/660163?source=gpla&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-660163&mr:trackingCode=EF734FFE-FB85-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Even the Jetboil will work just fine with this conversion.

Word of caution, this cheepy butane option doesn't do so well at high elevation.
Click to expand...

I have used my Wisperlite at 13K............

There's alot of ways to skin this cat, I have tried alot of them, but at the end of the day you will come back to a white gas petro stove !
 
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To the original poster, I think I know what you are talking about. Go to your local Chinatown and hit a housewares store.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
I was thinking of picking up a very cheap single burner camp stove that takes the aresol style butane cannisters.

Also, if anyone knows a place in southern California that sells the butane aresol cannisters, that would help also.
Click to expand...

I have a woodgas stove and several alcohol stoves (2 bought, several others that I made) and a cheap gas canister stove.

The easiest to use is the gas canister stove.
The best performing is the gas canister stove.
The cleanest burning is the gas canister stove.
My favourite is the gas canister stove.

They really do work well and for cylinders I can go into any store that sells camping equipment and buy them. It surely can't be hard to find a camping store that stocks them in CA.

For any camping trip short enough so that I only need 1 cylinder I always take the gas canister stove. For a longer trip that might need 2 cylinders I'd probably still go with the gas canister stove.

For a very long trip where the size & weight of the gas cylinders would become a problem then I'd probably take the woodgas stove and take an alcohol stove and some denatured alcohol for a backup.
If I was using the stove a LOT and the cost of the cylinders was getting to be a bit much then I'd probably go with the alcohol stove (my most efficient can boil 2 cups of water with 1/2 oz of alcohol).
For high altitude - well it depends on the altitude, you choose whatever will work the best.

The gas canister stoves can boil water VERY quick, they can also simmer and you can turn the heat up or down as needed. You can turn the heat off at any time and then turn it on and light it later. I can boil up some water a dozen times and the kettle isn't even blackened.
 
Rprecision said:
I have used my Wisperlite at 13K............

There's alot of ways to skin this cat, I have tried alot of them, but at the end of the day you will gome back to a white gas petro stove !
Click to expand...

I love my Whisperlite. My only gripe is the amount of fuel wasted for priming it. Only took it up to about 10K but it worked flawlessly.

I also enjoy using my Sierra stove http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.html Plans for homemade ones can be found online and you can make them pretty cheep yourself. All things considered it weighs less than any of my liquid fuel stoves (with liquid fuel bottles topped off) and one AA battery will last longer than 20 oz of fuel. If the motor fails you can still cook with it as a twig stove. Plus I have a solar charger that clips on my hat to keep the battery topped off when the sun is out.

I have a thing for camping stoves. Maybe if I get time I'll post pics, reviews, and some mods in a separate thread.
 
I have been using a whisperlite for 17 years up to 11,000 ft and would and have trusted my life to it.

can be fully disassembled and cleaned with a screwdriver/leatherman and some fuel.

the aluminum windguard kit for it is awesome, good for any other stoves as well.
 
Anybody try or use the Kelly Kettle? It looks quite interesting.
Here's one review I found.
http://www.wildernessaccess.com/kelly-kettle-review.htm
I realize that this kit is quite a bit bigger than most back packing stoves, but the upside is the water boiling chamber is included. You've gotta carry a pot or flask to boil your water in anyway, haven't you?
I think what intrigues me the most about this stove is that you don't have to carry fuel for it.
I'd like to hear some serious feedback, or Pro's & Con's about this, as I'm considering adding it to my 3 day gear bag. :)
-Bruce
 
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