Kiwi Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 Any experience? Has anyone used this in winter? Quote
marylou Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 Me, only down to about 20 deg F, but with no problems. I'd also be curious to know if anyone's had experiences with them in colder temps and/or stoutish wind. Quote
scott_harpell Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 The cold doesn't bother it, but a stout wind certainly does. If you are going lightweight, I would reccomend it. You might have to rig a sort of wind break for it in windy conditions. That sucker can boil water pretty fast too, but wind certainly seems to be its downfall. For reference, I had it at -25*C and it started to get 'spurty' but I would think that most 'non-expedition stoves' would do this as well. If i were in any colder conditions, I would want something more substantial as it is a pretty important piece of gear. My 2 Cents. Quote
scott_harpell Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 Oh, and the trick to using canister stoves is keeping the canister warm. If you are using it in cold conditions, use and insulating layer between the snow. Quote
cj001f Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 I haven't used a white gas stove in the past 2 years. It's only been the pocket rocket. It doesn't do well in wind, by keeping the canister warm it'll work in the cold. Awesome stove. Quote
backcountrydog Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 good stove. if your using a titanium pot they dont recommend those however as it's flame concentration is very small and very hot. i used one on my Ti pot for about 3 mins and it burned a spot on the inside of the pot. i have a superfly now which is also very light but has a wider flame. Quote
cracked Posted March 13, 2004 Posted March 13, 2004 I've heard of too many bad experiences with canister stoves in the cold; I bought a whisperlite. I like knowing that my stove will work no matter what. Quote
carolyn Posted March 14, 2004 Posted March 14, 2004 Ive used the pocket rocket exclusively for about 3 yrs now. The coldest temps were -15f and had no problems. Like others said, put something between the canister and the snow to help it along. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted March 14, 2004 Posted March 14, 2004 The cold doesn't bother it, but a stout wind certainly does. snow peak gigapower is a great little stove and has an awesome windscreen that you can buy for it. heavy if you're counting grams, but imho it's worth its weight if you're fighting wind. Quote
layton Posted March 14, 2004 Posted March 14, 2004 if its butt ass cold out or very windy you'd be much much much better off with a wisperlight. otherwise it's pretty sweet above or around freezing. interesting tidbit about the titanium. i'll continue to use my ti pot regardless. it works fine in snowcave temps which is nice for alpine routes Quote
Ryan Posted March 14, 2004 Posted March 14, 2004 I've used mine in a variety of conditions, and as long as you keep the canister protected from the cold in some form and use some type of windscreen, it works well- unfortunately, the canisters don't last too long if you're using it quite a bit (in cold weather, for example). Quote
cj001f Posted March 14, 2004 Posted March 14, 2004 the canisters don't last too long if you're using it quite a bit (in cold weather, for example). No they don't last too long in the cold. That said I've never ran out on trips shorter than 3 days - 1 canister has always been enough (which leads to a plethora of half used canisters - Solution - Markhill Gas Lantern $30 bucks) Quote
fenderfour Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 FYI - You can buy the Whisperlite aluminum windscreen for a couple o bucks at Second Ascent. They also have the Markill cannister stoves there. They are about half the price of the MSR (devil = $20) and only weigh a little bit more. Quote
Ade Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 I have one. I've made a windscreen for it out of the bottom of a roasting tray and a thermal insulator for the stove out of closed cell foam and duct tape. I also have a heat conductor made from 1/4" copper tube. I'll try and post a pitcture of it at some point. Â Work pretty well in Cascades type winter temps. Very light and compact compared to an XGK. Quote
Marko Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 Yeah, the MSR windscreen works great for the Pocket Rocket with the added bonus of helping to keep the canister warm (dangerous, but what isn't?). A windscreen made of 4 layers of aluminum foil works almost as good and is much lighter. Â One problem with the little stove is its tippiness when cooking in a tent( dangerous, etc.) on a foam pad . A solution for this problem is setting the stove on a ziplock baggie 1/4 full of instant rice. Push the stove down onto the rice bag to create an indentation for the canister. This works great until you've eaten all the rice. Â Definitely a good stove. Quote
Ade Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 Almost all gas stoves are a little tippy just because putting the fuel cell under the burner makes them too tall. I've used a gas stove with the fuel off to the side on a tube but this is even worse in the cold as you get no reheating from the flame. Â Adding a foam insulating jacket makes tipping worse. The bag 'o rice idea is a good one. Â Obviously adding a copper heat conductor is a very stupid thing to do. Don't do it, watch TV instead. Quote
eternalX Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 eh? Somebody asked about the pocket rocket and I replied that I liked it. Did I miss something? Quote
Dru Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 the primus cartridge stove i have comes with a set of removable, collpsable plastic feet that snap on to the cartridge to make it less tippy. Quote
Ade Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 Are they specific to the Primus or could you use them on pretty much any stove? If they're the ones I think I've seen then they're fit pretty much and cartridge. Quote
Dru Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 i believe they would fit any cartridge unless it was some weird basal diameter. i don't know if you can buy them separately but unlike rice, you dont eat them as the trip goes on either. Quote
Kiwi Posted March 15, 2004 Author Posted March 15, 2004 FYI - You can buy the Whisperlite aluminum windscreen for a couple o bucks at Second Ascent. They also have the Markill cannister stoves there. They are about half the price of the MSR (devil = $20) and only weigh a little bit more. Cool. Looks like I'll have to check out Second Ascent. Â WhisperLite is white gas, right? I've never used white gas before. I don't even know what priming means. Quote
JoshK Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 The cold doesn't bother it, but a stout wind certainly does. snow peak gigapower is a great little stove and has an awesome windscreen that you can buy for it. heavy if you're counting grams, but imho it's worth its weight if you're fighting wind. Â I second this. I tested the coleman F1, the MSR and one other superlight canister stove against the gigapower in wind (ok, blowing on them hard) and the gigapower was FAR superior to the rest. It wasn't even close. It's worth the extra $ as far as I am concerned. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 i don't know if you can buy them separately i believe you can buy them separately; finding a place that has some might be the difficult part, though. ??? Quote
Thinker Posted March 15, 2004 Posted March 15, 2004 they weren't THAT tough to find... web page1 web page2 Quote
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