Ultralight Stove Setup

Ultralight Stove Kit

I'm not an ultralight aficionado, but this a great little setup.

133g total weight including:

• pot

• lid

• stove

• pot stand

• spondonicles

• fuel bottle

• windscreen

• lighter

• rubber band

(186g including ~65mL/53g of fuel. Enough to boil 250-300mL of water, 4 times.)

All contained within the 450mL pot.

Weights

• Toaks Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove: 19g

• Toaks Stove Frame (stainless steel mesh): 18g

• Toaks Ultralight Titanium 450ml Cup with Lid: 62g (48g pot, 14g lid) 

• Suluk46 Miksa Pot Lifter (small aluminium): 5g (the carbon one is 2 grams lighter, but $10AUD more expensive. I'm happy with the extra weight...)

• Nalgene 60mL Wide Mouth HDPE Container: 15g

  • Fuel capacity ~65ml = ~53g

• Vargo 250mL HDPE Plastic Bottle: 30g (optional for longer trips)

  • Fuel capacity ~260ml = ~197g

• Foil windscreen: ~1g

• Bic mini Lighter: ~10g 

• Rubber band ~1g

• Total Weight 

  • 133g (including fuel bottle, excluding fuel)

  • 186g including fuel

(For comparison, an MSR PocketRocket2 weighs 73g, and the smallest 110g fuel canister weighs 210g; a starting weight of 283g, and that does not include the pot lifter, pot/lid, or lighter!) 

Fuel and Boiling Times

The stove isn't particularly fast.

• Time to rolling boil 1L =14min (Stainless Steel Pot)

• Time to rolling boil 300ml = 4min (Titanium Pot as pictured)

(For comparison, an MSR PocketRocket2 time to boil 1L of water is about 4 to 4.5 minutes)

Efficiency is acceptable but not exceptional. 

• 15g will bring 300ml of water to boil

• 75g will bring 1L of water to boil

(For comparison, an MSR PocketRocket2 uses about 17g of isopropane/isobutane fuel to boil 1 litre of water)

Discussion

My recreational activity of choice is canyoning (primarily in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia), and most of the time I'm doing single day trips with a friend. I was increasingly choosing not to carry a stove because what I had was too heavy, but was increasingly feeling uncomfortable about not having a stove in these locations/on these trips. This stove kit is my solution. This reults in a complete stove kit that can make 4 "cuppas" for a total weight of 186g including fuel.

(For comparison, to achieve the same output [i.e. boil 250mL of water four times] with an MSR PocketRocket2 and a small Isobutane container with ~50g of fuel remaining [and assuming the same pot/lid, spondonicles, and lighter], the weight would be 300g - 61% heavier - and it wouldn't be anywhere as compact or 'neat'.)

This same kit is what I now carry on simple overnight trips. I usually don't boil more than 4 cups of water (see my "sample meal plan" below for how I utilise the set up) and for trips of up to 3 nights I simply trade out the 60mL Nalgene for the 250mL Vargo fuel bottle and only get a 15g weight penalty for the larger container. (Of course, beyond about 3 days, the fuel economy becomes a consideration and the efficiency of isobutane fuel creates a sufficient offset against the base weight of the gas stove and [empty] gas canister).

Obviously, this setup would be quite limited outside of my intended use. For example, in snow, on a portaledge, where speed of boil time was critical, etc: I would choose a different set up altogether. (And if I was cooking for more than one person I would carry something bigger than a 450mL pot).

In addition to my stove kit above, I also carry the following to complete my 'kitchen' kit:

• Nalgene PP Straight Sided Jar 500mL (108g)

• Toaks Titanium Long Handle Spoon (19g) 

• Victorinox Swiss Classic Foldable Paring Knife - Straight Edge (42g): 

The Nalgene jar allows me to enjoy meals that have multiple components.

This results in a total kitchen weight (including stove kit, spoon, knife, jar AND fuel) weighs just 355g. (And there are obviously much lighter knife options, and different containers instead of the Nalgene jar, which would easily bring the weight below 300g.)

Sample Meal Plan

On a simple overnight trip the kit (including just ~65mL of fuel) allows for cooking the following:

• Day 1

  • Lunch

    • Sandwich

    • Salad (pre packed from home in Nalgene jar)

  • Dinner

    • entree: packet soup. Boiled 250mL of water and stirred in the pack.

    • main: radix 600 meal. Boiled 250mL of water and poured it in the bag.

    • dessert: stewed fruit and custard. Boiled 250mL of water with the fruit in. Poured the water into the jar, whisked the powdered custard, then added the stewed fruit.

  • Breakfast

    • Stewed fruit, muesli and milk powder. Boiled 250mL of water with the fruit in. Poured the whole lot in to my jar with milk powder and muesli.

  • Lunch

    • Crackers (usually mostly crushed by day 2...), tuna, mayo, cucumber, cheese. All mixed up in the jar, eaten with a spoon.

Links

• Toaks Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove: https://www.toaksoutdoor.com/products/stv-01

• Toaks Stove Frame: https://www.toaksoutdoor.com/products/frm-01

• Toaks Ultralight Titanium 450ml Cup with Lid: https://www.toaksoutdoor.com/products/cup-450-l-c 

• Suluk46 Miksa Pot Lifter (small aluminium): https://suluk46.com/product/miksa-pot-lifter/ 

• Nalgene 60mL Wide Mouth HDPE Container: https://www.paddypallin.com.au/nalgene-wide-mouth-hdpe-containers.html 

• Vargo 250mL HDPE Plastic Bottle: https://vargooutdoors.com/products/alcohol-fuel-bottle

• Nalgene PP Straight Sided Jar 500mL: https://www.bogong.com.au/nalgene-pp-straight-sided-jar-500ml.html 

• Toaks Titanium Long Handle Spoon: https://www.toaksoutdoor.com/products/slv-03 

• Victorinox Swiss Classic Foldable Paring Knife - Straight Edge: https://victorinox.com.au/products/swiss-classic-foldable-paring-knife