My First DIY Alcohol Stove

MY FIRST DIY ALCOHOL STOVE

I've been reading about the advantages of alcohol stoves, especially for three season backpacking.  So I thought I would give it a try.  My initial ideal was to make a Fancy Feast Stove, but from what I've read, these work best with wide, flat pots.  I was curious if I could make it work with my Jetboil pot.  This might sound a little ridiculous but I wanted to do this for a few reasons:

1. The Jetboil pot really isn't that heavy, it's the fuel canister and the burner that add the real weight.
2. Even if you do carry the burner and the fuel canister, it might run out, get lost, or punctured or the burner might malfunction, and it would be nice to have a backup without adding much weight/bulk.
3. I don't feel like shelling out $60 for a new ti ultralight pot until I'm sure I'm going to like the alcohol stove system.

I started with a $0.59 Fancy Feast can, a hole punch and a Sharpie.

I fed the glob of what I assume used to be tuna to Lucy, my dog.  (She'll eat anything)

I marked it with 16 equidistant dots with the Sharpie where I wanted my holes.  (You could easily eyeball the holes and skip this step)

I punched out 16 holes.

First I thought I would see how it worked if I just set the Jetboil directly on stove.

It worked, but it burned hotter than I wanted and a lot of the flame escaped and went up the side.  It took 30 milliliters and about twenty minutes to get it to a boil.

So I decided to build a small riser/wind screen to get the Jetboil up off the stove a little, contain the flames a bit and block some of the wind.

I cut the top and bottom off of a soda can.

I split the resulting sheet of aluminum in half long ways and taped them together in a circle with foil tape.

I cut some air intake flaps, but I left the flaps still attached.  This way if the wind is coming from a certain direction, I could still close the flap on that side.

As you can see, with the riser/wind screen attached, the flames are coming in contact with the heat exchange fins, but not escaping up the sides as much.

It took ten minutes with fifteen milliliters of denatured alcohol, but it came to a full rolling boil.  It was about fifty degrees with no wind when I tested it.

The riser/wind screen fits nicely inside the pot itself and you can still fit the canister and the burner.  I'll have to test this out when three season conditions return and post how it worked in the "field".

Thanks for reading.

Rick

Review of The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide

Last week I told you that I attended a Winter Backpacking Clinic hosted by Andrew Skurka.  At the clinic, he was nice enough to personalize, and autograph, a copy of his new book, The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide, for me.  If you are interested in the book or outdoor gear in general, this review may be helpful to you.

First off I'll explain a potential misconception with the title.  Andrew isn't claiming that he has created the "Ultimate", definitive book on the subject.  He says that backpacker styles can be measured along a spectrum.  On one side you have people who really like the camping aspect, called "Ultimate Campers".  These are folks that like to pack in and setup a base camp, get comfortable, sit around the fire, relax and enjoy their time in the backcountry with their friends.  At the opposite end are backpackers that are really into the hiking part, called "Ultimate Hikers".  These folks are all about covering lots of ground, seeing lots of country, challenging themselves physically and mentally and are more likely to be through hikers.

I should probably point out that my style differs considerably from the author.  I'm what you might call a "peak packer".  I love the sense of accomplishment of reaching the summit and the views from the top, so most of my backpacking excursions are planned with those objectives in mind, not covering thousands of miles.  I also enjoy spending time with people who share my passion for the outdoors and increasingly, photographing my experiences.  I'm also not in a position to take months off, away from home, at a time.  I would encourage readers to ask themselves where they lie along this spectrum and how they are different from Andrew.  Very few people take hiking to the extremes that he does and I found it helpful to keep this in mind as I absorbed his experiences and opinions.

Andrew starts off the book with an introduction where he writes about his trip planning process.  He says that he answers three questions before he loads any gear.

1. "What are my objectives?"
2. "What are the route conditions that I will likely encounter during my trip...?"
3. "What gear, supplies and skills will best help me achieve my objectives and keep me safe and comfortable in those conditions?"

I have to admit to doing the first two, and then I just throw all my stuff in my pack and head out.  Since the third question is what the bulk of the book refers to, I read on.

He spends a great deal of time talking about layering systems and all the different fabric types, the importance of, advantages and disadvantages, of each.  It was very informative.  The one thing that was new to me was vapor barrier liners.  In extreme cold, he wears a layer that actually holds moisture in, to avoid his insulation layer from absorbing his sweat.  At the end of each section, he even details exactly the item that he currently likes best for each situation.  Another gear piece I wasn't familiar with until reading this book is quilts.  A little over a third of the heat retaining ability of a sleeping back is kind of just wasted, by laying on it.  Solution, put down your ground pad and then put a down filled quilt over the top of you.  It's much lighter and just as warm, says Mr. Skurka.  Another idea that was new to me is the idea of using multiple lighting tools at the same time, from alternate angles.  He says this dramatically improves your depth of vision when hiking in low light.  Makes sense.

He doesn't just talk about gear the whole time.  Much time is devoted to how to use the gear and other skills like foot care and camp site selection.  The foot care section was actually really interesting.  Several times he offers brief stories about how he learned certain lessons the hard way.  These quick breaks are refreshing, entertaining, interesting, and they kept the content from being so dry and technical.

One interesting thing about the book, that reveals just how quickly technology is improving, is that the book was published earlier this year and there are already some things that are out of date.  For example, he doesn't mention touch screen capable glove liners despite a section specifically dedicated to glove liners.  Have you ever tried to take a picture with your smart phone, at the top of a peak, with 75 mile per hour wind gusts, in December?

At the end he has a section where he describes several different hiking scenarios and the exact gear systems he would take with him and their collective weight.  While everything he carries is among the lightest version currently on the market, he doesn't talk at all about gear selection with total weight in mind.  At the clinic, he made it very clear that you should pack all the gear you need to keep you safe and comfortable, and nothing else.  How ever much weight that adds up to, is how much your pack weighs.

I give the book five stars!  An excellent read for anyone interested in making hiking/backpacking more fun!

Winter Backpacking Clinic

Winter Backpacking Clinic

I had the opportunity to meet one of my personal heroes last night.  I attended a Winter Backpacking Clinic hosted by Andrew Skurka, at the Colorado Mountain Club headquarters in Golden.  Andrew has been described by National Geographic as "a superman among trekkers" and Outside magazine named him Adventurer of the Year in 2010.  He's become famous for his extraordinary long-distance through hikes, including the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails as well as a 4,700-mile Alaska-Yukon expedition.  He is also the author of National Geographic's The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide.

The clinic was excellent.  Especially for someone that is fairly new to winter backpacking.  I usually take my backpacking trips in the summer and reserve winter for skiing/snowboarding.   His presentation was extremely informative and very insightful.  Andrew walked through his methodical trip planning process in detail and explained all the gear systems that we would need to make winter time backpacking more comfortable and safe. He went over all of the various systems that he uses explaining when you would use each piece and when you should leave it at home.  He went over several gear options and explained the advantages and disadvantages of each.

I left the clinic with more confidence to do more human powered back-country recreation during the winter months and maybe not so much riding the lifts at the expensive resorts.  I also left with a personalized, autographed copy of Andrew's book.

Thanks Andrew, it was very nice meeting you.