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- Jan 24, 2011
- Messages
- 8,906
When Flyin Brian Robinson became the first to do all three long trails in the US in one calendar year, he had to have the most high tech gear on the planet. With sponsor supported research and development teams working around the clock to keep his equipment needs met. Right?
Nope, not even close. He used an alcohol stove that his dad made for him out of a cat food can. It was the lightest and most reliable way to boil water in all temperatures, conditions and altitudes. After Brian completed his amazing feat, cat food stoves and other variations started popping up everywhere. The one I found most interesting was the pepsi can stove. I made dozens of them and still carry one when I want to go light or want a hot meal on a day hike. Could anything be simpler or better ? Well
yes it could. Here comes the second generation of ultra light alky stoves. One that I got to try recently was not only very impressive, it just kicked the pepsi can right out of my pack.
Compact Package. Fits in a jacket pocket.
It is the White Box stove, and consists of a one ounce bombproof piece of aluminum with no moving parts and nothing to replace, wear out or break. Brilliant in its rugged simplicity. But the thing that really sets this little stove apart from the others is this: Most all other alcohol stoves have a separate pot stand, support, rack or gizmo that you need to set up just right, tinker with and keep track of. The White Box eliminates the stand entirely. By locating the burner holes down and away from the rim, you just set the pot on top of the stove itself. This I like. KISS is a good principle when youre a long way from the car, tired and hungry .
The stove comes with a fuel bottle that holds enough for a weekend trip for two, an aluminum wind screen and stove base. They even include a paper clip for the windscreen. Fits together in a nifty little package that will slide right inside a mug or good sized pot. But will it boil water?
Notice the flame pattern on the White Box. Very efficient.
Two and a half cups of water for each.
Following the supplied instructions, I sat the stove on the base, made sure it was stable with the pot in place and filled it to just below the ring for a test burn. An alcohol flame is hard to see in bright light so be careful when you light it. If you use a match, you can hear it light and feel a little heat coming up. With the stove lit, I sat back and waited for the burner holes to kick in like a pepsi stove. Nothing.
I let it burn almost all of the fuel in the stove and the burner holes never caught. This is the only quirky thing about this little stove. I had to let the alcohol heat up a minute or so and then light the burner holes with another match. The instructions say to use HEET as fuel and all I had on hand was the straight denatured in my alcohol fuel bottle. I suspect HEET may fire the burners right up because there is no mention of having to light the burner holes separately in the instructions. Ill pick some up and try it.
The winner. Four and half minutes we've got a rolling boil. It maintained it for nearly 15 minutes.
With the burner holes lit it looks like a gas stove. Set a pot of water on it and watch this dude do what it does best. The best flame pattern and spacing on any alky stove out there. Started seeing bubbles on the bottom in seconds. Rolling boil in nothing flat and maintained it for nearly fifteen minutes. You can find the precise data and the bar graphs for coefficient of thermal exchange properties somewhere Im sure, but heres where its at for me: Were talking hard boiled eggs, hot oatmeal and steaming coffee on one burn. Pasta cooked to perfection. All the hot water you could want for re-hydrating meals and a nice cup of tea to boot. The fantastic performance of this little tank far outweighs the lighting issue (if there even is one). A stove made in the USA with a lifetime guarantee for the cost of a meal at Cracker Barrel. And crank out a meal just as good or better. I like it. A shoutout to Guyon for giving such a nifty prize and White Box for the effort they put into this outstanding product.
randy
Compact Package. Fits in a jacket pocket.
It is the White Box stove, and consists of a one ounce bombproof piece of aluminum with no moving parts and nothing to replace, wear out or break. Brilliant in its rugged simplicity. But the thing that really sets this little stove apart from the others is this: Most all other alcohol stoves have a separate pot stand, support, rack or gizmo that you need to set up just right, tinker with and keep track of. The White Box eliminates the stand entirely. By locating the burner holes down and away from the rim, you just set the pot on top of the stove itself. This I like. KISS is a good principle when youre a long way from the car, tired and hungry .
The stove comes with a fuel bottle that holds enough for a weekend trip for two, an aluminum wind screen and stove base. They even include a paper clip for the windscreen. Fits together in a nifty little package that will slide right inside a mug or good sized pot. But will it boil water?
Notice the flame pattern on the White Box. Very efficient.
Two and a half cups of water for each.
Following the supplied instructions, I sat the stove on the base, made sure it was stable with the pot in place and filled it to just below the ring for a test burn. An alcohol flame is hard to see in bright light so be careful when you light it. If you use a match, you can hear it light and feel a little heat coming up. With the stove lit, I sat back and waited for the burner holes to kick in like a pepsi stove. Nothing.
I let it burn almost all of the fuel in the stove and the burner holes never caught. This is the only quirky thing about this little stove. I had to let the alcohol heat up a minute or so and then light the burner holes with another match. The instructions say to use HEET as fuel and all I had on hand was the straight denatured in my alcohol fuel bottle. I suspect HEET may fire the burners right up because there is no mention of having to light the burner holes separately in the instructions. Ill pick some up and try it.
The winner. Four and half minutes we've got a rolling boil. It maintained it for nearly 15 minutes.
With the burner holes lit it looks like a gas stove. Set a pot of water on it and watch this dude do what it does best. The best flame pattern and spacing on any alky stove out there. Started seeing bubbles on the bottom in seconds. Rolling boil in nothing flat and maintained it for nearly fifteen minutes. You can find the precise data and the bar graphs for coefficient of thermal exchange properties somewhere Im sure, but heres where its at for me: Were talking hard boiled eggs, hot oatmeal and steaming coffee on one burn. Pasta cooked to perfection. All the hot water you could want for re-hydrating meals and a nice cup of tea to boot. The fantastic performance of this little tank far outweighs the lighting issue (if there even is one). A stove made in the USA with a lifetime guarantee for the cost of a meal at Cracker Barrel. And crank out a meal just as good or better. I like it. A shoutout to Guyon for giving such a nifty prize and White Box for the effort they put into this outstanding product.
randy
The gasket adds a little weight to the overall package but this is a very reliable way to get the stove up and running under the most adverse conditions.
