Pack Stove

[CastleRocker]

My son and I made a couple of the little aluminum can alcohol stoves.  They work pretty well.  It takes about 2 Tablespoons of alcohol and about 3 minutes to boil water.  We made several different variations of them from the plans on line, and there are still a few more that we haven't tried.  I started at "Zen stove" and went from there.  I've started to use Ever-Clear grain alcohol in ours.  It doesn't soot up as bad, and in a pinch I suppose a guy could have a snort you really wanted to.  They weigh next to nothing, are kind of fun to build, and they are real cheap! 

[ICEMAN]

Over the years I have made several alcohol burners... A bit hazardous for a summer stove, as you do not want to knock them over... 

[high country]

I have been using a primus with the piezo for at least 10 years now. I can shave 1 oz off by going to the snow peak, but the primus heats so fast its silly and ignites with the push of a button. a small iso can, the stove and a couple oatmeals fit inside my .5 litre stainless pot snugly. I spent 50 bux on a ti pot that is only a couple grams lighter then my 20yo stainless one, but it is not as good a design, it takes longer to boil. my little setup will smoke my pards jet boil by a good bit, and takes up less then half the size.

IMO go piezo what ever you do. if you plan on cooking anything but water, look for the biggest most controlable burner you can get. little burners with big holes make a lot of concentrated heat.

[Dansk]

MSR Whisperlite International.  Bullet proof and burns pretty much any form of gas.  In use problem free for 15 + yrs.

I hate paying for the pre-canned stuff.

[KillBilly]

I use the Primus ETA Express, BTKR and his brother Keith use the Jet Boil. All of us have very good luck with our stoves and get long life from the gas cannisters. I would not change.