[salish]

If any of you are looking for the esbit "Wing" stove, I found some today at Walmart in Lynnwood. They're in the sporting goods dept. These are kind of hard to find - I bought mine from Ayce off thruhiker.com. They work very well for me and are even lighter (and smaller) than the Esbit stove. Just thought someone might want to know.

[Backpacker Joe]

Hey there, Dante might be interested in that one. He likes those stoves. I'll let him know. TB

[Dante]

I already own it Got mine from AYCE, too. It's a lot like the old military wing stoves for the hexamine tabs that came in a little OD cardboard tube. Works great with an MSR Titan kettle once you file or cut the rounded tops of the wings so they are flat.

[Tom]

What are the advantages of the wing stove over an alcohol pop can stove?

[salish]

I have no idea, Tom; I've never used an alcohol stove. -C

[Dean]

I think its pretty much a toss up between the two stoves. Both have advantages. Esbit is a solid fuel so it never leaks or spills. I think it heats things a little slower/ I've got the wing'd fuel tab holder but you can improvise the Esbit tabs to burn on most anything as long as you have a good windscreen. A lightweight enthusiast named Sgt. Rock has a lot of good info on the alcohol 'pop' can stoves. I made a stove from cat food cans and it worked very well but the main concern I always have is spilling the fuel. Either way, Esbit or alcolhol, both work and help to save a lot of weight. If you're cookng for more than one or two, then a canister stove (MSR pocket rocket is neat) or Svea123 type is what I take.

[Dante]

The wing stove weighs 1.3 oz--right down there with the pop-can stove--and AYCE offers plans and materials for a .3 oz Ti version (three tenths of an ounce ). The main reason I chose the wing stove over a pop-can stove, though, is convenience. I don't have to carry a fuel bottle or worry about leaks or spills. I just grab as many fuel tabs as I will need and go. AYCE has also published stove-weight versus time tests on his site (See Stoveweight vs. Time #1 and #2 under Hiking Articles) and the wing stove comes out way ahead for the kind of hiking I do. (Note: He tested the cat stove but not the pop-can stove. Depending on the design the pop can stove can be an ounce lighter and boil water faster than the cat stove) The main down-side to the wing stove is the fuel is a lot more expensive than alcohol. Looks like CascadeHiker and I were posting more or less the same thing at the same time. I second the opinion regarding a Pocket Rocket or the like if you are cooking for more than two. I usually only bring the Esbit if I only plan to boil/simmer water.

[Tom]

I actually ordered a pepsi can stove from a guy who was selling them for a penny (plus $5 s&h). Just arrived today and it weighs in at 0.3 oz. I would have made one myself but I'm too lazy to build stuff. I haven't had a chance to test it out. Need to go buy some booze for my stove. http://www.geartrade.com/item/18259

[LQ Halle]

Have used both alcohol (pop can) and Esbit stoves quite a bit. I used the Esbit on a 12-day trip, and the alcohol the past two summers. Thumbs up for the pop can stove for several reasons. Easier to light, less smelly, cheaper fuel that is a little easier to find, no soot. Possibly a little quicker. In a pinch, you can use "Heet" as fuel in your pop can stove. But the Esbit fuel can be mailed (if you are a thruhiker type). The stove is more rubust (but put the pop can stove inside the pot... just don't step on it!) Both stoves really need a wind screen!! Can't emphasize this too much.

[Dante]

One idea I'm kicking around is a "ring stove." It's basically a strip of aluminum flashing with four small holes about 1 1/2" from the bottom and air holes around the bottom. The strip is long enough to go around my MSR Titan kettle with about 1/4" between the strip and the kettle. The strip is as wide as the kettle is high. I can roll the strip up and store it inside the kettle. To use it, I take it our, conform it around the kettle and put 2 Ti tent stakes through the four small holes to support the kettle. The ring acts as a wind screen, pot support and (to some degree) heat exchanger for an Esbit tab burning on a small sheet of the same flashing. I found a supplier of thin Ti sheet. I need to compute what the weight would be if I use that material and if it is any lighter than my current wing stove/perforated foil wind screen combination.

[LQ Halle]

Ti is .16 lb/cu in. Al is .10 lb/cu in. The stiffness is about the same ratio. Yield strength depends on the alloy, of course. Not sure if you can roll up (which is yielding the material) the Ti/Al or not (and still make it strong enough to support a pot of your favorite soup). Or whether you can bend it over and over without cracking it. Let us know!

[Dante]

The flashing material I've used for my "prototype" is more than strong enough to hold the kettle it's designed for when the kettle is full. It feels about twice as thick as the heavy foil they make those disposable Al pie pans and cookie sheets out of. For that matter the disposable cookie sheet foil would probably hold up the full pot, but I don't think it would last very long. Sounds like I should forget about buying the Ti and just play with the Al version of my "ring stove" this summer to see how it compares to the wing stove. Honestly, though, we're talking about stoves that weigh a few ounces with fuel here I should probably just keep using the wing stove--at best I'll shave off a tiny fraction of an ounce or a couple seconds of time to boil