Using A Canister Stove In The Cold

An often asked question is whether or not a canister stove can be used in the winter. Well, the answer is, "it depends." The fundamental problem is that the fuel in canister stoves needs to be warm in order for the stove to operate. For more information about canister stoves and how they work, take a look at this. To be completely safe, you probably shouldn't use a canister stove in the winter, or if you do, definitely to make sure to test out your stove and fuel before you use it as your sole source of cooking heat. I was able to use my stove (SnowPeak LiteMax using the JetBoil 4 season mix) when the ambient temperature was about 27F (-3C) at about 1500 ft (500m) elevation. Also, you should be able to use the stove at a lower temperature at a higher elevation (since there is less atmospheric pressure keeping the gas in the canister).

So, what can you do to use your stove in the winter? Well, first, make sure that you are using a "4 season" fuel mix. This basically means that the fuel is some sort of isobutane mix (isobutane has a lower boiling temperature then butane). Second, use a full canister. Third, you have to keep the fuel canister warm -- if the canister is cold, your food will stay cold as well.

Although it is probably self evident as to how to keep the canister warm, I went ahead and explicitly wrote it out below.

DIY Lip Cozy

Have you ever taken your piping hot cup, pot, or whatever cooking vessel you happen to be using, brought it to your mouth to drink some nice warm tea or coffee and completely burned your lips? Well, I can assure you, that I have done it more than once… But, fortunately for me, those dark, lip burned days are behind me.

Ignoring the most obvious solution of waiting until the pot cools down, another solution to this problem is to bring a seperate (non-metal) cup to use for drinking. But, being the kind of guy I am, I don't really want to lug an extra cup around just for drinking some tea. So, what's the alternate solution? Well, I affectionately call it my "lip cozy." Instead of the usual cup cozy that goes on the outside of a cup, this is a little attachment that goes inside the top of cup so that you can drink from the cool plastic as opposed to the scathing metal. Oh, and for you gram counters, this barely weights anything.

Although the image above should be pretty self explanatory, for those of you who would like complete step-by-step instructions, of how to make this wonderful attachment, read on!

DIY $1 Pot Cozy

Making gourmet meals on the trail is hard. At home one usually brings water to a boil, adds the pasta or rice, and cooks it for 10 to 30 minutes on the stove. However, the amount of fuel needed to do this on a hiking trip makes this sort of cooking impractical. So, instead of cooking things on the stove for a long time, it is more practical to first soak the food to be cooked in water for a while, bring the water (and food) to a boil on a stove, and then let it sit for some time more. To make sure that the water that was heated stays warm for as long as possible, a pot cozy can be used. So, here are some instructions for making a $1 pot cozy using a thermal bag and some duct tape.