Codger_64
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Having seen and read Mistwalkers review of the TOPS multi-fuel stove last November, Ive had an itch ever since to get one and compare it to my only other twig stove, the Emberlit. I finally acquired one earlier this week and after impatiently waiting several days for drier, less windy weather, took it out for a test run yesterday.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1224490-TOPS-Knives-Exposed
As with most new gadgets, it takes some familiarity to use them efficiently, so my first impression was not a great one. Pretty much the same as when I first tried the aforementioned Emberlit. I actually took that stove with me to the gravel bar on the Snake River intent on doing a head to head comparison and while I did burn it as well, I did not bother to time boils etc.
First, packaging. The TOPS stove came in a very heavy duty (cordura?) nylon zip bag with a gratis TOPS emergency whistle bead-chained to the zipper. This was enclosed in a heavy duty heat-sealed clear bag along with a TOPS branded wax and cedar fuel puck. Opening the vinyl bag, I compared the puck with a Zippo branded one that I had bought from a local sporting goods store and they seemed to be produced by the same manufacturer. The Zippo branded one cost +/- $1.00 so while one can buy replacement pucks in most locals, using them as a sole fuel source would be prohibitively expensive. I did not ask TOPS what they sell replacement pucks for, if they do.
The zip bag, with a good heavy duty zipper, was very difficult to open. In fact I was afraid that I would destroy the zipper trying to open it. When I finally had it partway open I saw the reason. The bag was only very slightly larger than the stove in its vinyl sleeve and the sleeve was caught in the zipper pull.
After more wrangling, I finally got it open, removed the stove panels from the vinyl sleeve and read the brief instruction sheet. First impression on handling the stacked panels was that they were heavy (One pound). I am not a backpacker, so the weight was not a real concern, it was just a sharp contrast to the titanium Emberlit with which I had become familiar (5.5 ounces). Unfair comparison, I realize. But in stainless, the Emberlit is 11.3 ounces. Likely thinner panel sheets.
The TOPS stove goes together exactly like the Emberlit with one exception. The base plate of the TOPS has a front tab that goes in a corresponding slot in the front plate. Emberlit omits this front tab in favor of ease of assembly and disassembly with no apparent effect on the rigidity of the assembled stove. On the TOPS, I had to bow the front panel out while trying to slide the panel corner tabs and slots, not an easy task due to the very rigid stainless panels. And likewise bow the panel out to disengage the tab to disassemble. I may yet try removing the front tab, or at least trim it to see if it eases assembly without affecting the rigidity of the stove.
Once assembled, the stove is stout. I didnt try it, but I got the impression that it would withstand my weight, certainly the heaviest full cook pot one might put on top. The stove forms a rectangular cube with vertical walls as opposed to the Emberlits tapered trapezoid shape. And designed for multiple fuels rather than as a straight twig stove, has three levels at which the base plate can be installed, with corresponding vent holes at each level. Bottom level, which I used first, was for wood fuel giving maximum clearance for a sizable load of fuel. The slightly larger fuel feed opening is in back on this one, allowing feeding of finger-sized twigs. Alternately pencil-sized twigs can be fed through the multitude of vent holes at every level. I tried this at first but it resulted in burning twig ends falling from the stove sides negating the contained fire feature I want in a twig stove, one of its salient features over an open wood fire.
This stove would benefit from the use of a windscreen, as the slightest breeze had flame coming out the multiple holes on the downwind side, along with sparks and ash. And of course attendant heat loss. When I moved the base panel up to the center level to burn the puck, it was much better at directing the heat upward.
I dont carry and use gloves when outdoors as my hands are toughened from years of construction work and I find they get in the way more than help, excepting during cold weather when I wear them for warmth. So it was very notable when handling the stove after a burn to disassemble or move the base plate, that there was no way to avoid sooty hands. Of course the same is true of the Emberlit except that the base plate and panels can be handled from the bottom edges where no soot accumulates. Not a big deal but a notable difference, mostly caused by the need to flex the front plate to disengage the tab from the slot. Again, not a big deal for me as I usually water-camp so had the river, sand and gravel to do a quick hand wash. It might be a problem for those who usually dry camp.
I burned both stoves with found wood, driftwood twigs thumb-sized and smaller. I have no idea of the species, but all was softwood of some sort likely aspen and willow, both of which are relatively low in BTU content compared to my hickory back in Tennessee. Still, I did not have to spend much time tending the fires once lit as the initial load was enough with both stoves to bring a quart of river water to a boil. I didnt bother to time the boils, but the Emberlit was unsurprisingly a bit faster with the same fuel load.
As to the startup, I used birch bark for tender (sent to me by a member in the Northeastern U.S. where it is common) with hand broken pencil-sized twigs, a bit of found bark, and a few thumb-sized pieces of driftwood. Once established (a matter of a minute or two), I fed in a full load of larger twigs, all hand broken to size, no sawing or batoning needed, just as selected from the high-water driftwood piles on the bank. In fact, the only knife I took besides my EDC stockman was a Sharpfinger. I could have wedge-split larger wood with it has I needed to, but one advantage of river camping is the stockpiles of driftwood found almost everywhere.
I could have used most anything for tender lacking the birchbark. In fact I do carry a gallon zoplock bag of assorted tender including waxy firestarter blocks (Colemans, Coghlans) and some small pieces of BBQ grill hickory chunks. I realize this seems to negate the idea of using strictly found tender, but then I also lit the stoves with a Bic from the tender bag, not my bison rib firebow and a mullin shaft, or a firesteel and flint. Good skills and abilities to have, but I prefer to smooth it when I can.
As I mentioned, I did a burn in the TOPS using the supplied puck. The BTU content was not as high as I had imagined, but sufficient to achieve a boil considering the stoves multi-fuel baseplate configuration. I didnt try an additional burn using Esbit, Trioxane or Wetfire tabs. Or Sterno or alcohol. All of which this stove adapts for, unlike the Emberlit. I can certainly see where in many locations that adaptability would be useful for lack of found fuel or fire bans which preclude even contained wood fires.
Both stoves have a use not always recognized by new owners. Assembling the four wall panels but leaving out the base plate and leaving one corner open, they make good windscreens for the mini-gas stoves. I usually still carry my Coleman Micro gas canister stove on trips (remember I canoe, not hike) as a backup for rain days and to be able to cook more at once, like a multi-course breakfast or supper.
Maintenance? Pretty much the same on both stoves. Both will become sooty with use and need to be accompanied with a heavy duty plastic storage bag always, but both are easily cleaned at home using a scrub pad and either dish washing liquid or my favorite, Fast Orange mechanics hand cleaner found cheap in every auto parts store. Alternately neither one will suffer from streamside submersion and sand/gravel scrubbing if one wishes to clean them better during a trip. With only five small panel pieces, this only takes a couple of minutes.
My overall impression on this first trial? I like the TOPS multi-fuel stove. It will take some use and trial to appreciate its design flexability and work around what at first use appear to be drawbacks, but it shows a lot of promise. And I consider it to be a good value for the price, MSRP of around $50, pretty much the same as the Emberlit. And like its competitor, there is no need to constantly buy fuel canisters which are bulky and difficult to find and recycle.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1224490-TOPS-Knives-Exposed
As with most new gadgets, it takes some familiarity to use them efficiently, so my first impression was not a great one. Pretty much the same as when I first tried the aforementioned Emberlit. I actually took that stove with me to the gravel bar on the Snake River intent on doing a head to head comparison and while I did burn it as well, I did not bother to time boils etc.
First, packaging. The TOPS stove came in a very heavy duty (cordura?) nylon zip bag with a gratis TOPS emergency whistle bead-chained to the zipper. This was enclosed in a heavy duty heat-sealed clear bag along with a TOPS branded wax and cedar fuel puck. Opening the vinyl bag, I compared the puck with a Zippo branded one that I had bought from a local sporting goods store and they seemed to be produced by the same manufacturer. The Zippo branded one cost +/- $1.00 so while one can buy replacement pucks in most locals, using them as a sole fuel source would be prohibitively expensive. I did not ask TOPS what they sell replacement pucks for, if they do.
The zip bag, with a good heavy duty zipper, was very difficult to open. In fact I was afraid that I would destroy the zipper trying to open it. When I finally had it partway open I saw the reason. The bag was only very slightly larger than the stove in its vinyl sleeve and the sleeve was caught in the zipper pull.
After more wrangling, I finally got it open, removed the stove panels from the vinyl sleeve and read the brief instruction sheet. First impression on handling the stacked panels was that they were heavy (One pound). I am not a backpacker, so the weight was not a real concern, it was just a sharp contrast to the titanium Emberlit with which I had become familiar (5.5 ounces). Unfair comparison, I realize. But in stainless, the Emberlit is 11.3 ounces. Likely thinner panel sheets.
The TOPS stove goes together exactly like the Emberlit with one exception. The base plate of the TOPS has a front tab that goes in a corresponding slot in the front plate. Emberlit omits this front tab in favor of ease of assembly and disassembly with no apparent effect on the rigidity of the assembled stove. On the TOPS, I had to bow the front panel out while trying to slide the panel corner tabs and slots, not an easy task due to the very rigid stainless panels. And likewise bow the panel out to disengage the tab to disassemble. I may yet try removing the front tab, or at least trim it to see if it eases assembly without affecting the rigidity of the stove.
Once assembled, the stove is stout. I didnt try it, but I got the impression that it would withstand my weight, certainly the heaviest full cook pot one might put on top. The stove forms a rectangular cube with vertical walls as opposed to the Emberlits tapered trapezoid shape. And designed for multiple fuels rather than as a straight twig stove, has three levels at which the base plate can be installed, with corresponding vent holes at each level. Bottom level, which I used first, was for wood fuel giving maximum clearance for a sizable load of fuel. The slightly larger fuel feed opening is in back on this one, allowing feeding of finger-sized twigs. Alternately pencil-sized twigs can be fed through the multitude of vent holes at every level. I tried this at first but it resulted in burning twig ends falling from the stove sides negating the contained fire feature I want in a twig stove, one of its salient features over an open wood fire.
This stove would benefit from the use of a windscreen, as the slightest breeze had flame coming out the multiple holes on the downwind side, along with sparks and ash. And of course attendant heat loss. When I moved the base panel up to the center level to burn the puck, it was much better at directing the heat upward.
I dont carry and use gloves when outdoors as my hands are toughened from years of construction work and I find they get in the way more than help, excepting during cold weather when I wear them for warmth. So it was very notable when handling the stove after a burn to disassemble or move the base plate, that there was no way to avoid sooty hands. Of course the same is true of the Emberlit except that the base plate and panels can be handled from the bottom edges where no soot accumulates. Not a big deal but a notable difference, mostly caused by the need to flex the front plate to disengage the tab from the slot. Again, not a big deal for me as I usually water-camp so had the river, sand and gravel to do a quick hand wash. It might be a problem for those who usually dry camp.
I burned both stoves with found wood, driftwood twigs thumb-sized and smaller. I have no idea of the species, but all was softwood of some sort likely aspen and willow, both of which are relatively low in BTU content compared to my hickory back in Tennessee. Still, I did not have to spend much time tending the fires once lit as the initial load was enough with both stoves to bring a quart of river water to a boil. I didnt bother to time the boils, but the Emberlit was unsurprisingly a bit faster with the same fuel load.
As to the startup, I used birch bark for tender (sent to me by a member in the Northeastern U.S. where it is common) with hand broken pencil-sized twigs, a bit of found bark, and a few thumb-sized pieces of driftwood. Once established (a matter of a minute or two), I fed in a full load of larger twigs, all hand broken to size, no sawing or batoning needed, just as selected from the high-water driftwood piles on the bank. In fact, the only knife I took besides my EDC stockman was a Sharpfinger. I could have wedge-split larger wood with it has I needed to, but one advantage of river camping is the stockpiles of driftwood found almost everywhere.
I could have used most anything for tender lacking the birchbark. In fact I do carry a gallon zoplock bag of assorted tender including waxy firestarter blocks (Colemans, Coghlans) and some small pieces of BBQ grill hickory chunks. I realize this seems to negate the idea of using strictly found tender, but then I also lit the stoves with a Bic from the tender bag, not my bison rib firebow and a mullin shaft, or a firesteel and flint. Good skills and abilities to have, but I prefer to smooth it when I can.
As I mentioned, I did a burn in the TOPS using the supplied puck. The BTU content was not as high as I had imagined, but sufficient to achieve a boil considering the stoves multi-fuel baseplate configuration. I didnt try an additional burn using Esbit, Trioxane or Wetfire tabs. Or Sterno or alcohol. All of which this stove adapts for, unlike the Emberlit. I can certainly see where in many locations that adaptability would be useful for lack of found fuel or fire bans which preclude even contained wood fires.
Both stoves have a use not always recognized by new owners. Assembling the four wall panels but leaving out the base plate and leaving one corner open, they make good windscreens for the mini-gas stoves. I usually still carry my Coleman Micro gas canister stove on trips (remember I canoe, not hike) as a backup for rain days and to be able to cook more at once, like a multi-course breakfast or supper.
Maintenance? Pretty much the same on both stoves. Both will become sooty with use and need to be accompanied with a heavy duty plastic storage bag always, but both are easily cleaned at home using a scrub pad and either dish washing liquid or my favorite, Fast Orange mechanics hand cleaner found cheap in every auto parts store. Alternately neither one will suffer from streamside submersion and sand/gravel scrubbing if one wishes to clean them better during a trip. With only five small panel pieces, this only takes a couple of minutes.
My overall impression on this first trial? I like the TOPS multi-fuel stove. It will take some use and trial to appreciate its design flexability and work around what at first use appear to be drawbacks, but it shows a lot of promise. And I consider it to be a good value for the price, MSRP of around $50, pretty much the same as the Emberlit. And like its competitor, there is no need to constantly buy fuel canisters which are bulky and difficult to find and recycle.
