For a hiker, the importance of a hiking stove cannot be overlooked. Let’s start with the fuel:
1. Fuel
Stove fuel can be mainly divided into three categories based on chemical composition: A: Liquid gas: including methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc. B: Fuel oil: including White Gasoline, Coleman Fuel, Unleaded Gasoline, Kerosene. C: Alcohol: alcoholic compounds.
2. Stoves
A stove is one of the essential tools for a hiker, but the variety of stoves available on the market is vast. How do you choose the right one? Below are some of the most commonly used or previously used brands among hikers, though I can’t guarantee their availability—they’re just for reference. Let’s start with gas stoves.
3. Gas Stoves
Among all types of stoves, gas stoves are the most convenient and easiest to operate. In general, there are several types, but some gas stoves use incompatible gas canisters, so we’ll also introduce the canisters:
A: EPI (UK-made): Gas canisters come in four types by weight, and the canisters are green.
B: PRIMUS (Sweden-made): Gas canisters come in two types by weight, but some older PRIMUS stoves use a pierced gas canister, the same as older CAMPINGGAZ stoves, using the same canisters. The larger canisters are yellow, and the smaller ones are iron-gray.
C: CAMPINGGAZ (France-made): Gas is divided by function into two types (1) high-altitude use (2) lowland use, and by weight into two types each. There are also older models that use pierced gas canisters. Both old and new models have blue canisters.
D: ALPS (South Korea-made): One type of gas canister, which is blue.
E. MARKILL (Germany-made): No imported brand gas.
F. MSR REPIDFIRE (USA-made): This brand’s gas is not imported.
G. COLEMAN (USA-made): One type of gas canister, which is iron-gray.
For first-time buyers, I recommend a gas stove because it can be used as a personal stove or as an emergency stove for group gear. Most importantly, it’s more convenient to use and maintain. In terms of brand, PI is the best, followed by PRIMUS, then COLEMAN, and CAMPINGGAZ as the last choice. Gas stoves are more convenient to use, but the fuel cost is much higher than that of vaporizing stoves.
4. Vaporizing Stoves
We’ve introduced gas stoves, which are convenient but costly in fuel. If your hiking experience is more mature and extensive, I recommend using a vaporizing stove—it saves money and improves your ability to handle hiking equipment.
COLMAN PEAK-1 (USA-made): Common models include 508, 440, 4000A. This is one of the most common brands.
MSR (USA-made): Common models include XGK-2, INTERNATIONAL WHISPERLITE-600. This is one of the other most common brands.
OPTIMUS (Sweden-made): Common models include 123, 8R, 111, 00. This is one of the third most common brands.
PHOEBUS (Austria-made): 725, 625.
747 (Taiwan-made): A copy of 725.
HIPOLITO (Portugal-made): Similar in shape to the 00 stove.
South Korea-made: Mostly kerosene stoves.
Mainland-made: Kerosene stoves are the most common.
According to the vaporization principle of gas stoves, their construction can be roughly divided into three major systems: Cold-type: The main characteristic is that the fuel inside the stove body is vaporized under pressure. In terms of design, this is a relatively advanced approach. It is less likely to explode due to excessive pressure during combustion, and the temperature of the fuel in the pressurized bottle does not rise, so the main body of the stove remains relatively cool. However, some heat conduction is inevitable, so it still gets warm, but not too hot. Hot-type: Utilizes the sublimation of fuel under heat to generate pressure, which causes the fuel to vaporize (somewhat similar to the principle of a siphon). In terms of design, this is an earlier design with a simple principle, but there is a risk of explosion due to excessive pressure, although explosions are rarely reported. The only downside is that the temperature of the fuel in the pressurized bottle continues to rise until it becomes uncomfortably hot. Cold-Hot Hybrid: Combines the principles of the above two types. Typically, such designs share one common feature: the fuel bottle is quite large and requires pressurization; otherwise, the flame is weak. The stove also gets hot.