I got to use my new Caldera Cone Stove on a few trips this summer. It has been my first time relying on an alcohol stove in the wild.

Here are my thoughts so far:

Cons:

• It's somewhat fragile and needs to be well looked after. The cone section is very thin and dents easily. The best option I came up with is to wedge it in my sleeping pad for protection.
• The flame is very hard to see in daylight.
• The stove lights best if you put a few ml of fuel in the outside primer ring and light that first. Feel like it wastes fuel, but maybe I need to get better at using less.

Pros:

• Ultralight – duh.
• Can take only as much fuel as I need, further reducing weight. This helps in my mind compensate for liquid weights vs. compressed gas weights.
• Bomber windproof!
• Easy to conserve fuel by using less to make hot drinks etc – no need to bring the water to boiling point.
• The biggest unexpected pro for me is that, it's a set it and forget it  stove. With my canister stove – I used to have to wait for the water to boil and then shut it off. With this, I can measure the exact amount of fuel I need to get a boil. I light it and walk-away, when the water is boiled the fuel burns out and it turns off. I can come back later and simply pour the water into my dehydrated meal and I'm off. Nice way to multi-task at dinner time.

So far – the pros far exceed the cons, and I'm really happy with it.