Date: 2007-12-22
To: Stoves in cold weather
Miles today: 0.0

Ever since I started backpacking it seems there has always been some version of a MSR white-gas fuel stove. The one I have the most experience with was/is the Whisperlite, with its "shakerjet" innards for keeping the fuel line clean.A couple of years ago I was fascinated with (what I then thought of as a novelty) the JetBoil stove. It weighed quite a bit, was top-heavy, not that cheap, and the pot wasn't all that big. More importantly, just two years ago it was a lot more common to find coleman gas and/or alcohol fuels along the trail (still somewhat true today).But I went out anyway and spent my bucks on a JetBoil. Began playing with it on weekend trips. I began to realize some pretty significant (to me) advantages of the stove: its ease-of-use, fuel efficiency, and ability to quickly heat water.When I hiked parts of the Trail for a month or two at a time, the Jetboil came along. Truth be known, these were 3-season trips with moderate temps. I had to make more room in my pack for the stove and I had to factor in the additional weight. But at the end of a hiking day, there was a wonderful convenience about using the stove in a timely manner. In other words, not having to wait five or more minutes for an alcohol stove to heat its water.Then I did a couple of winter (that means below freezing evenings/nights) trips. I had always considered canister stoves to be unsuited for cold weather. Something about their prssure level going down and the inability of the fuel to burn well in the stove. So I left the Jetboil at home and switched back to Mr. Reliable - the MSR Whisperlite. I knew the Whisperlite would work well in the cold - that wasn't the point. I also realized that I missed the convenience of the Jetboil. With the Whisperlite you have the stove itself, a separate fuel bottle that requires pumping, a foil windshield, and a foil base for the stove. That may not seem like much - but it is still "stuff" you have to carry and mess with. Perhaps most significantly, the Whisperlite doesn't "pack down" to a convenient size - unless you have a larger size, it won't fit in your pot.So here I am on my winter trip, using the Whisperlite. Having to "prime" the stove, light that fuel and let it heat the stove, then let the burner ignite. Position the foil windscreen around the stove (and perhaps keeping the wind from blowing the screen away). Monitor the flame and be prepared to pump more pressure into the fuel bottle. What a pain (yes, it's my pain - I understand that).So - could there be a way to use the Jetboil in colder climates? What about the problem with the pressure in the canister? Since you can't use a windscreen with fuel canisters (unless you want to risk them blowing up), could the canister be kept warm?I did some research and practiced on some cold-weather trips. Here is what I came up with - what I think will work. By the way, I don't see why these suggestion won't work for other canister stoves - you be the judge.Perhaps most importantly, buy the fuel canisters that are designed for cold weather use. They should have a label as such, but also check the canister's ingredients. They should have a mix of propane and butane. This mixture helps the fuel burn more efficently and also keeps the gas under greater pressure in the cold - allowing you to get more use out of the canister. Check the canister you are buying to see if it has this fuel mixture.Unlike white gas or alcohol, pressurized gas is negatively impacted by cold weather. But there is something very simple you can do about that. Carry your canister inside your clothing while you are hiking - keep it warm in preparation for cooking your dinner. At night, put that same canister inside your sleeping bag. In the morning it will be ready to power your stove.Simple things go a long way - when cooking, have a small piece of closed cell foam that the canister can sit on. Keeps away the cold from the ground. Some folks I have read suggest that it is safe to use a windscreen with a canister stove in the winter. They claim that it is too cold for the stove heat to blow up a canister. I don't buy that logic - or I'm not willing to risk it. But here is something safe that I discovered: you know those foam "coozies" that keep beer cans cold? I made one, a bit larger, that fits around my Jetboil canister. I just slip the foam container around the canister and set the stove on the closed cell ground pad. Keeps the cold and wind off of the canister - yet the canister is not impacted by the stove's heat.In all honesty, I've only tested this configuration down to around 18-20 degrees. I'm guessing it would work (perhaps less efficiently?) into the lower teens, but I don't know for certain. Maybe some of you have experienced using canister stoves in colder temps. I'd like to hear what you thought.So I will carry my Jetboil. My only cause for concern is how much fuel I will get out of each canister in the colder weather. I'm going to carry two canisters to try and cover the bases on that.I have a lot of respect for those hikers using alcohol stoves. I think an alcohol stove gets you closest to "nature" on the Trail - unless you use no stove at all. But when it is ten degrees below freezing (or colder) I just don't want to wait those minutes for that alcohol stove to get the water hot.