ALCOHOL STOVE v. WHISPERLITE UNIVERSAL

imported
#1

I can do a DIY ETOH stove or I can spend $112 for a Whisperlite Universal. Must use for two people for a week, coffee/breakfast and then dinner use.

We will self-support, so no town visits in the week.

Does the cost & weight make sense for just using a DIY ETOH stove? Or do you spend the money and weight on the Whisperlite? It seems to me that the difference is largely peace of mind. But I’ve only boiled water for coffee/tea on a small ETOH stove. Are they just too much of a pain in the butt to use for dinner and oatmeal? Mahalo for your advice.

Yorick

#2

Besides price the alcohol stove is slower. I used one for 1300 miles on the AT starting the end of Feb. With a wind screen 1 oz. of fuel boiled two cups of water in about 5 minutes, enough for freeze dried meals, rammon or hot drinks.

grrrr

#3

You know, I’ve never used the Universal but it does look nice. Wide flame output and total control will allow you to get fancy if you wanted. Like cooking on your home stove! Probably overkill for hiking though where your mostly boiling water.

That being said, I’ve used a lot of other stoves and my two favorites are the Trangia Bpirit Burner with Clikstand and the Snow Peak Giga, a canister stove. I’ve come to prefer the Trangia, an alcohol stove, for it’s simplicity. There is nothing to break and fuel is readily available. I can also cook anything on it with the simmer ring. I’ve made everything from eggs, to egg plant parmigiana on my Trangia.

But, it really depends on what you want. The Universal, or it’s $40 cousin the Snow Peak Giga, are really simple to use. If you want no fuss simple and fast cooking choose a canister stove.

Alcohol stoves will be lighter, but this also depends on the amount of fuel carried. Alcohol is heavier than gas. I doubt you’ll cross that limit in a week but you could if your cooking a lot and carrying more than you need.

The Wanderer