Backpacking Stoves

Lightest stoves for backpacking

Backpacking stoves emphasize reliability, light weight and compact size. Of course any backpacking stove can also be used as a regular campground stove, but most backpacking stoves are better for just one or two people, with single burners that don't put out as much heat as the camping stoves discussed above.

The favorite fuel for backpacking stoves, in professional reviews and user reviews alike, is canister gas, sometimes called cartridge gas. The basic fuel is butane or LPG gas, which can be contained in lightweight aluminum canisters. (Propane requires steel cylinders, so it's too heavy for backpacking.) An average canister in the smallest 110 to 113g size weighs 7 or 8 ounces, but it's more efficient to size the canisters according to the length of your trip, since one big canister weighs less than two small ones. Sizes range up to 500 grams.

Stoves using these canisters come in two versions. The lightest, most compact style mounts the burner directly atop the canister. This type is good for small cooking pots, but can be unstable with larger pots. Some stove makers have begun addressing this problem by adding detachable bases designed for larger cookware. Using a windscreen is dangerous with this type of stove because the canister can overheat and explode. The other type of stove -- often called a remote-cable stove -- links the canister to the burner with a flexible hose, so the burner sits on more stable legs and can be surrounded with wind protection. Reviews say this makes a huge difference in fuel efficiency in windy conditions, since otherwise fuel consumption can double or even triple.

Though butane canisters work in temperatures as low as 32 degrees F, they perform best at temperatures above 50 degrees. Isobutane and blended propane/butane canisters are recommended down to 40 degrees. Below that, you're probably better off with a white gas stove, which works better in cold conditions. One good workaround, however, is to use a remote-cabled canister stove that lets you turn the canister upside down. (Only canister stoves that use a generator to vaporize the fuel can do this safely.) This keeps the propane from burning off first.

The lightest remote-cabled canister stove, the 6.8-ounce MSR WindPro (*Est. $75) , does let you turn the canister upside down in colder weather. It comes with a windscreen and has a wide flame output for "real cooking" and big pots. It packs down to about the size of a softball, fitting into a one-liter pot. Backpacker Magazine names it a best buy, saying it's tough but has great flame control and excellent stability for pots up to 3-liters. The MSR WindPro is an Editor's Choice at Rock and Ice, where it's recommended for pots up to 4 liters, and it earns top scores for simmering, stability, quiet operation and wind resistance. Since the WindPro weighs only about half as much as most remote-cabled canister stoves, it's easily the best choice of this type.

If light weight and quick setup are more important, a direct-mount canister stove is better. For beginners and hiking experts alike, the Jetboil Personal Cooking System, also called the Jetboil PCS (*Est. $80) , is the canister stove most often recommended in reviews and was the first "integrated" stove, meaning it comes with a pot and attachments (sold separately) designed to snap onto the stove frame. Sized for a solo hiker or a couple, the Jetboil PCS integrates a one-liter cooking cup with the stove. Made of anodized aluminum for a nonstick surface, the cook pot has an insulating neoprene cover that allows you to handle it with bare hands.

It's ideal for simple one-pot meals, though Jetboil recommends boiling no more than two cups of water at a time. (Reviews say that if water boils over, the Jetboil stove is very hard to turn off.) A small 110g fuel canister can nest right inside it, and the slim design makes it easier to carry the stove in a backpack's outside pocket. Options include an extra cook pot, a pot stabilizer and a coffee press.

Shortly after the Jetboil PCS first came out in 2003, Backpacker Magazine gave it an Editor's Choice award and Time Magazine named it one of the best inventions of the year. Its built-in wind protection and heat exchanger conserve fuel and speed heating. Tests show the fuel efficiency to be about 1.5 times that of most canister stoves. Since the Jetboil PCS hit the scene, other manufacturers have begun making integrated stoves, but the best testing reveals the Jetboil still leads the pack. In an article for The Seattle Times, freelance writer Dan Nelson tested the Jetboil and two other integrated stoves. In boiling tests, the Jetboil boiled the most water - 23 liters - with one gas canister, beating out the more expensive MSR Reactor (*Est. $140) and the Primus Eta Power (*Est. $125) . Some reviews of the Jetboil PCS have, however, brought out minor complaints. User reviews and testers at Backpacker Magazine find the lid sometimes hard to remove. At HitTheTrail, a review says the igniter doesn't always work and you may need to buy longer utensils since the pot is so deep. Outside Magazine's 2004 Gear Guide says it doesn't simmer that well. And even though it does include the cooking pot, at 12-ounces, the Jetboil PCS is a bit heavy for backpacking. As with most integrated stoves, the Jetboil PCS is best for solo hiking or for couples. A newer integrated model, the Jetboil GCS, or Group Cooking System (est. $110), combines the efficiency of the earlier Jetboil backpacking stove with a larger, 1.5-liter pot.

Another integrated stove that's received a fair amount of attention is the MSR Reactor (*Est. $140) . This stove uses a glowing mesh to radiate heat into the anodized aluminum pot, a design which allows for greater wind shielding. It's heavier than the Jetboil PCS, weighing in at 19 ounces, but it can boil one liter instead of the Jetboil's two cups. In a boil test by Trailspace.com, the Reactor took first place, boiling a liter of water in just over three minutes. Trailspace.com testers, however, didn't like the Reactor's pot design. They say the handle is poorly placed, and caution that condensation forms on the lid, suctioning it to the pot and making the lid difficult to remove. In addition, the pot is more difficult to separate from the stove.

Although it doesn't come with a cook pot, the 2.7-ounce Coleman F1 UltralLight (*Est. $40) receives top ranking from BackpackingLight.com because it is the only other canister-stove they tested that performed well in both 12-mph winds and in calm conditions. The Coleman F1 also comes with a lifetime warranty, while the Jetboil warranty is for only a year.

Comparison reviews at Rock and Ice (a climbing magazine that no longer makes this review available online) and at Backpacker Magazine agree that the Coleman F1 UltraLight heats fast and simmers well, but say it's "fiddly" to set up. Like most direct-mount canister stoves, it's also not very stable, despite serrated pot supports. (If you're willing to carry another ounce of weight, the Coleman Fuel Canister Support (*est. $20) can solve this problem.) The F1 UltraLight is a little noisy, however. It simmers well, but reviews say the small burner concentrates the flame in one spot, making it better for cooking with very small pots or just heating water.

For spreading the flame better in order to cook with larger pots, reviews at both BackpackingLight.com and Rock and Ice.com recommend the 3.1-ounce Brunton Crux (*Est. $70) . The burner actually folds in half, so the collapsed unit tucks into a neoprene stuff sack that straps into the hollow in the bottom of an 8-ounce fuel canister. Since it's no more stable than the F1 Ultralight, an in-depth review by Andy Kirkpatrick recommends adding canister support legs. Like the Coleman F1, the Brunton Crux has a control knob that's easy to use even when wearing gloves, and it carries a lifetime warranty.

For nearly half the price and the same 3.1-ounce weight, the MSR PocketRocket (*Est. $40) is a similar light burner that mounts directly on the fuel canister and, like the stoves above, it could benefit from a canister stand. Its burner is designed for wind protection, and reviews say it does perform a little better in wind than the Brunton Crux, though it doesn't spread the flame as well. The Pocket Rocket's big drawback, noted in reviews at both BackpackingLight.com and Rock and Ice, is that its pot supports are too flexible.