I've been considering the plunge into alcohol stoves for a few years now. My brother made me a pepsi can stove a few years back. I haven't quite struck up the courage to rely on it yet.
Several people have recently mentioned to me how impressed they are with the Caldera Cone ™ System.
OK.. I'll bite, so what would it take to make me switch?
First lets review my current gear list. My current cooking system comprises of 3 components:
 |
Snow Peak Giga Power Stove |
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|
 |
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12.7 oz Total |
The windshield is the biggest offender, and I often tell myself to leave it home, but I rarely do.
As I already have a BPL 550 pot, they make a cone custom to for this pot – which seems like the way to go.
The cone & stove weigh just 1.7 oz. Given that the cone is a natural windshield this saves me a whopping 4 oz! I suspect I could get more mileage on a 7 oz bottle of alcohol than I could in the 7 oz fuel canister.
For just $30, this might be an experiment I'm willing to tinker with.
Brett –
I think you will be very pleased with your Caldera Cone system. It will be slightly slower than your Snowpeak and it will be more fragile than your Snowpeak as well. However, when it comes down to it the benefits will be great. The stove and windscreen will save four ounces and the fuel weight will be less as well because you can fine tune how much you need to bring. Over the life of the stove the cost of fuel will be significantly less for alcohol than isobutane and the environmental footprint from alcohol will be less as well.
– Sam
Brett,
I also figured to give it a chance for $30. Can’t wait to start playing with it.
Well, what do you think? Is it worth getting?
JDT,
Yeah – I’m a huge fan. Read my experiences with it here:
http://www.brettonstuff.com/index.php/backpacking/caldera-cone-stove-observations/
Thx,
-Brett