Definitely
need to let it burn for about 1 minute before putting the pot on it or it sometimes helps to have a pot stand. The one I made with too large of holes has more trouble with going out when the pot goes on it. I can get it to work if I lower the pot really slowly. The last stove with smaller holes worked better.
No wood! It never occurred to me . . .
That there are rivers like that. You’re right: we need to do our research. (And carry stove alcohol.)
I’m a redundacy person…
In addition to my Jetboil, I also carry a Cruz as back-up.
Or my Optimus 8R plus a Windpro.
or…
The idea is that things break! things fail. Things get lost.
Exactly which two I take depends on the trip though I tryto take one decent size and one micro.
I also take my water filter & pills.
Always have a back-up plan!
I learned that in the Military doing how-many overseas tours???
But also be ready to do without.
besides that…
…there is room for such redundancy in a kayak or canoe. It’s not like we’re backpacking.
A near miss
I usually do trips with multiple companions, so if one piece of gear fails, there is usually a back-up solution amongst the other trippers.
A year ago, though, on a week long trip in the West Branch Penobscot area, on our way out of Lobster Lake on the second day, I went to pump water through my filter, and discovered that the housing was broken, and could not be reliably repaired with duct tape. We had no back-up system and still were planning on being out 5 more days.
Fortunately, the folks with whom we had made arrangements to shuttle our vehicles had not yet picked them up from the Lobster Lake take-out, so I took a drive up to Raymond’s Country Store to see if he carried water purification pills. No luck, but he did have propane, so I bought some spare cannisters and we boiled water.
In the future, I’ll either have another filter or iodine pills or some other back-up system.
-rs
No wood is rare.
I have traveled in areas one might expect would have no wood at all, (barrenlands in northwest territories above arctic circle), and I have always been able to find wood. On the other hand, the wood in that particular area can be hard to come by and it is often bad wood in the sense that it does not produce much heat. So yes, you do need to do your homework.
i do
I take the every faithful Coleman two burner with a single burner whisper lite as a back up. If they all go out, i cook on the fire.
If you are figuring in on the price
the West systems epoxy and pumps will set you back a little under a hundred bucks, and you’ll get two coats out of it. Figure your labor in on top of that
If the boat is a steal, go for it.
Jack L
I always back when paddling.
When paddle camping weight is generally not an issue so I bring a backup. Heck sometimes I even bring the two burner Coleman and a portable gas grill and my MSR Whisperlite or Pocket Rocket as a backup.
If I’m carrying it on my back I go as light as possible.
I won’t ride w/someone with one stove
and I have never carried a two burner
Coleman for canoe trips… Just the WindPro and SuperFly.
Not much difference to me canoeing vs backpacking. (or I)usually carry gear for a few miles on most canoe trips.
Portage country.
stoves
You know its funny. In some 40 years of backcountry experience in all seasons, in which the topic of how many stoves always comes up, I never had a failure until a trip this last week when 2 out of 4 failed. Go figure.
Camping Gaz Bleuet stove
Countless stove models have come and gone since 1972 when I bought my first backpacking stove, a butane Camping Gaz Bleuet 200S, for $10 from the Gendarme climbing shop at Seneca Rocks, WV. I’ve owned at least 8 other stoves since and been on outings with people that used every other type imaginable. I still have that same Bleuet and still have no trouble finding fuel cylinders wherever I travel. Simple, indestructible and fast to use.
It’s the one I always have with me (except on sub-freezing winter trips since butane freezes at a fairly high temp, though I have slept with it in my sleeping bag to keep the fuel warm). And when you have to quickly heat up some liquid to rewarm somebody who is showing early signs of hypothermia, or heat food and drink quickly in bad weather or cramped circumstances or when you are exhausted, it’s hard to beat just turning the valve and lighting it. No fussing with priming, fuel loading, preheating, flare-ups, mechanical glitches or having to scrounge for burnables. Only drawback is that you can’t remove the gas cylinder once it is punctured and sealed to the cooking device (I’ve had to do the spin-off-and-toss routine in airport parking lots more than once before flying home from trips). I replaced the crummy and unstable 4 tabbed base (which Gaz still uses with their current 206 Plus model) with the wider foldable tripod from an old propane lantern long ago and it is far more sturdy.
This is the one stove I have owned that has never failed me or caused any delay in igniting to cook my food. Often I am already chowing down while trip companions are still fussing with their high-tech micro mini jet fuel cooking systems or trying to coax sodden kindling to catch. I admit I have added insult to injury by offering them hot drinks while they are struggling.