Pathfinder Stainless Steel Bottle Stove

Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
1,767
I had been hoping for a product like this for years now...and unfortunately they won't work as intended. They do not fit GSI cups as confirmed by calling Pathfinder directly, they get stuck half way up. They will only fit their proprietary cup size and a 450 ml Ti cup they sell which they could not confirm fit over a Stainless Steel 38oz Guyot/Nalgene. Oh well. Proprietary is unnecessary I believe and only costs business. Their SS canteen has proprietary threads and cup it nests in as well. Also the cap cannot be attached to the bottle so it does not get lost. Maybe they are making bank, but something tells me that had they done a better job standardizing, they would be making much more.
 
Last edited:
That's a shame.

Maybe good if yo don't have an SS bottle, and are going to buy the rest of their system. However, I use the 38 oz. Guyot bottle, so.....

Thanks for letting us know, so we didn't spend the $$ on something we can't use.

I do understand why they did it, though, since Nalgene seemingly won't produce the 38 oz bottle, Pathfinder standardized on the Kleen Kanteen. If they made it to fit the Guyot/Nalgene, it would rattle on the KK, and then people would complain about that.

As for his wide-mouth canteen, yeah, they botched that. If the threads won't fit standard filters, what good is it? Plus the handle seems to bend a lot when the cup is full of water in the YT videos I've seen.
 
I think they should have thought to at least work to fit the many cups out there like GSI and Vargo. Items people may already have. If they fit a little lose I would have at least purchased 4,but since they don't fit it has to be one of my biggest let downs in years. Fold a bandana and put it in there. At least a little larger can be dealt with. :(
 
I'll give an update when I have one. But the CanteenShop is posting that it does fit the GSI. Left a voice message for Rob. But I could not see why Pathfinder would say it does not fit if in fact it did. We'll see.
 
UPDATE - well, 4 hours later Rob called from Canteenshop and left me a voice message to call him back with no details. I will call him tomorrow.

NOTE - it now no longer states it fits any other cup than the Pathfinder setup on Canteenshop's website as they edited it since my phone call this morning.
 
Not sure. I don't use Kleen. No update. Still waiting on a call back from Rob.
 
Rob from Canteenshop said he would check once his shipment arrives, but intended to have these universally fit GSI, Vargo and such. He will inform me once he has them and tests.
 
Last edited:
Well, it does not fit the GSI cup nor the Vargo. Not sure if they plan on doing so and it seems like they may have taken pathfinder's measurements and neglected to check them themselves. So if you have the pathfinder setup or don't plan on using a mug, it will work for you. Otherwise, not happening.
 
Well, looks like the next run in about 6 months will be of Ti and made to fit more mugs. That is what I hear from Rob. Not sure I can justify the price/weight ratio these will most likely cost. Surprised they just don't run them in SS.
 
the pathfinder bottle stove i received direct from self reliance outfitters in november fit perfectly on the olicamp stainless mug which in turn fits perfectly on the klean kanteen 40oz., & they all fit perfectly into my condor 10"x4" water bottle pouch, just love how it all goes together! unfortunately my bottle stove arrived damaged & had a large dent on the top...
i also had ordered the pathfinder 32oz. stainless water bottle & 25oz. stainless mug... the bottle was ok, but didn't seem the same quality standard as the klean kanteen to me... the cup was a total bust imho, the handles didn't collapse completely & sit flush with the mug, & they protruded even further when nested into the bottle stove because the handles didn't clear the stove, also there were sharpish jagged points on the top & bottom of the mounts for the handles which i worried would catch & tear the inside of the pouch when inserting or removing the kit...
so i had to return the whole set to self reliance outfitters, i emailed them to request the return & they gave me a full refund & reimbursed the return shipping charges since the items were damaged/defective, nice folks there...
i then left for an extended trip far away, bummed too because i wanted to take that stove with me but didn't have time to get it exchanged, so i will pick up another bottle stove upon my return home in the new year, but will avoid the bottle & cup set from them because of the aforementioned issues...
bottom line is i didn't get a chance to test the stove which i plan on using with wood or as a windscreen/pot stand for my vargo triad stove or trangia spirit burner, however as i said it nested perfectly with the olicamp mug & kk40, & goes into the water bottle pouch like a dream, which is exactly what i wanted & that makes me a very happy camper!
 
update:
well i have 2 of the bottle stoves now & have used them extensively, mostly with vargo triad or trangia alcohol stoves, a few times with twigs which of course creates a lot of soot, but they perform well with both methods, haven't used directly in fire with hot coals yet, but there is always that option eh...
one of the stoves is dedicated to a condor water bottle pouch mess kit nested with kleen kanteen 40oz. & pathfinder stainless cup & lid, the other is a backup i keep with my base camp kitchen kit... they have refined the pathfinder cup, no more sharp edges, still not as perfect a fit as the olicamp stainless space saver mug, but it has several advantages including greater capacity, the predrilled holes for spreader hook, & newly included lid which has really slick design features i won't get into here since we're talking about stove...
the only issue, can't really call it a problem since it doesn't seem to affect performance as much as anticipated, is that there is a lot of steel material at the top of this stove, which collects a lot of heat & turns bright orange, especially over the hot blue flame of alcohol stove, not so much with twigs since flame isn't as directed, but anyway that super heating of the metal there could possibly cause warping over time, but it doesn't seem to deflect so much heat as to reduce efficiency & boil times significantly as far as i can tell...
for the condor pouch kit i have also added the pathfinder pack stove ring to share duties with the bottle stove, the stove ring is a perfect size pot stand for the vargo triad & increases direct flame contact on bottom of cup or canteen, the ring fits well in pouch over top of kanteen, so i can have many options for single or multiple container boiling/cooking with this setup...
the bottle stove is versatile in that it is of course the perfect size for the cup or stainless water bottle, the solid construction & wide base means it's also a sturdy stand for larger diameter pots or pans... while it's not a fancy gasifying twig stove, it definitely serves it's purpose as a lightweight & compact twig stove, fire cooker, & pot stand for alcohol stove that nests perfectly with right size cups & bottles, i mean if you're gonna be carrying a bottle & cup that size why not have the bottle stove? doesn't make as much sense if you don't have the cup & bottle i guess eh...
holds it's own against vargo hexagon or emberlit twig stoves as well, smaller yes, but the aforementioned benefits of weight & nesting makes up for it's size, & anyways it's purpose for me is more of light use like day hikes or backpacking, smaller boiling/cooking tasks around camp, or emergency use with the condor pouch mess kit...
wouldn't want to use this as my only stove for an extended time, but still really like it for what it is, & both of mine are holding up well to use in the field
 
I know this is kind of a necro thread but I have some in use pictures and experience with the pathfinder stove.
ced665163f667a2667df02a92b051e9a.jpg

I use this stove because it has no moving or additional parts to lose and it nests with my GSI cup and Blackthorn USA bottle.
70e0333068f8d9e68f1a8202fcc924df.jpg

7178f1b2eafae726b276c27c5822b92e.jpg

This picture shows the size of fuel I was using for the stove. Pencil thickness seems to work best but you have to be careful not to overload the stove as it will not get enough air and will extinguish itself.
c3d332de772dfd1253aa1da181ddf9a6.jpg

After it gets going you can get some nice red hot coals going.
4a1ac948204b36b336c4e2f1d850b65e.jpg

This setup boiled water in under 14 minutes from lighting to actual rolling boil. It may no be the most efficient but it will also work with my Swiss military Trangia and fuel tablets. Also it is a benefit as I live in the desert and there is a lot of small dry fuel and oftentimes regular fires are not allowed. Also yes I know all this was garagecraft but it was a pretty windy day which actually seemed to help rather than hinder the setup.
 
Last edited:
yes
And the Olicamp SS and the larger Olicamp anodized aluminum

The Olicamp anodized aluminum is so much lighter but never talked about

I never talk about it because I had a blue anodized one that would turn the water blue when you put boiling water in it.

That can't be healthy. It went in the trash. I'm not sure if they still offer it in that blue or not.

At any rate, I don't use any aluminum cookware anymore.
 
Back
Top