Stoves for Outdoor Exploration
In the early days, campfire cooking or socializing was done over open flames, but the ashes or traces left behind by campfires can pollute the environment. Hikers are better off using stoves for cooking. Even if you do make a campfire, keep it small—just enough to make your fellow hikers around you feel comfortable. You must ensure the fire is completely extinguished and the ashes are fully cooled before leaving. Use dead wood or fallen timber, and avoid chopping down live trees or stumps. Stoves do not pollute campsites or spoil the landscape.
The most important considerations when choosing a stove are: 1. Weight, 2. Height, 3. Temperature, 4. Fuel combustion capability. Choose a stove with a reliable reputation. It should be easy to ignite, easy to operate, and capable of sustained heat even in cold, wet, or windy conditions. Before taking it on a trip, test it at home first to ensure you know how it works. A good stove can last for several years, but its nozzle often gets dirty and accumulates carbon deposits, so it needs regular cleaning. For mountaineering, the ideal stove weighs about 1.5 pounds, using roughly 0.25 liters of fuel per hour. At sea level, such a stove should boil one liter of water in 4 to 8 minutes. In high altitudes without a windbreak, boiling water in strong winds may take at least 25 minutes or longer. The stove should also have flame control settings to prevent food from burning.
Mountaineering stoves can be divided into three main types based on the fuel they use, with the most common being gas stoves and vaporizing stoves.
1. Liquid Gas: Including methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc.
Among all types of stoves, gas stoves are the most convenient and easiest to use. In Taiwan, the gas stoves available can be broadly categorized as follows, but be aware that some gas stoves use fuel canisters that are not interchangeable, so choose carefully when purchasing.
A. EPI (UK-made): Fuel canisters come in four weights, and the canisters are green in color.
B. PRIMUS (Sweden-made): Fuel canisters come in two weights, but some older PRIMUS stoves use a pierced-type canister system, which is identical to the old CAMPING GAZ system and uses the same canisters. The larger canisters are yellow, and the smaller ones are iron-gray.
C. CAMPING GAZ (France-made): Fuels are divided by function into (1) high-altitude type and (2) lowland type, each available in two weight categories. There are also older models that use pierced-type canisters. Both old and new models have blue canisters.
D. ALPS (South Korea-made): One type of fuel canister, blue in color.
E. MARKILL (Germany-made): This brand is not imported into Taiwan.
F. MSR REPID FIRE (USA-made): This brand is not imported into Taiwan.
G. COLEMAN (USA-made): Canisters are iron-gray in color.
H. GOGAS (USA-made): Fuel canisters are silver in color.
I. Canister stoves: Fuel canisters may be domestically produced or imported.
2. Fuel Oil: Including White Gasoline, Coleman Fuel, unleaded gasoline, kerosene... Well-known brands of vaporizing stoves include A. COLEMAN PEAK-1 (USA-made), B. MSR (USA-made), C. OPTIMUS (Sweden-made).
A. Cold-type: The main feature is that the fuel inside the stove body is pressurized to vaporize. This design is relatively advanced, reducing the risk of explosion due to excessive pressure. The fuel in the pressurized tank does not heat up, so the main body of the stove remains cooler. However, some heat conduction still occurs, so it is still warm but not excessively hot.
B. Hot-type: Uses the principle of fuel vaporization caused by heating and sublimation (somewhat similar to a siphon), which is an earlier design. The principle is simple, but there is a concern about pressure build-up leading to explosions, although such incidents are rarely reported. The downside is that the fuel in the pressurized tank continues to heat up until it becomes very hot to the touch.
C. Hybrid (Cold + Hot): Combines both principles. Typically, these designs share a common trait—the fuel bottle is large and requires pressurization for sufficient firepower; otherwise, the stove won’t burn strongly, and the stove itself will get hot.
3. Alcohol: Alcohols
Conclusion:
For first-time stove buyers, I personally recommend a gas stove because it is compact, safe, easy to maintain, and can be used as a personal stove or as an emergency stove for group gear. The only downside is that its firepower is slightly weaker than that of a vaporizing stove, and the fuel costs are significantly higher. Vaporizing stoves have stronger firepower but require manual fuel filling, more skill to use, and are more difficult to maintain and repair.
Ideally, a stove should be used for cooking by groups of 4 to 6 people.