Im planing my first for spring 2013, my question is i have a whisper ite international stove with a small fuel bottle is this sufficent with weight and usage or would it be smarter to get a jetboil setup for my trip.
Tank
Stove question - Appalachian Trail
system
#2
Jet Boil would be the smart way to go if you don’t mind spending money on gear you already own. Personaly I have 3 diferent stoves. Had a whisper lite once and I set a carpet on fire. Just a small area but you get my point. Happy Trails.
Lumber
system
#3
If you only plan on using Mountain House like meals, then you can use the Jetboil’s famous quick boiling time for those. If however, you plan on actually cooking, the Jetboil will burn any of your food that is touching the bottom of the pot. And boy will it stink. So, if cooking is in your future or want the option of hitting a grocery store for some cheaper Lipton Noodle or Rice side dishes along the AT corridor, then you need a simply stove that can simmer, not just be 100% full blast or 100% off such as the lightning fast Jetboil. Look at the SnowPeak Giga Power Starter Kit or other canister fuel lighter options than the WhisperLite. Unless of course you’ll be hiking in the dead of winter where the Whisper is quite good. You said “planning your first”…first what? Thru-hike? Section? Alcohol stoves are the lightest, the Vargo titanium gives you fuel tab and alcohol option and is light. The gear world is your oyster. ~ Postcard
Postcard
system
#4
White Box alcohol stove and HEET available in towns. That’s all you need out there during thru-hiking season. Don’t burden yourself with the weight and fiddle-factor of a Whisperlite. And stay away from Vargo - they look very nice but are not fast boilers at all.
fern
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#5
I used a Pepsi can alcohol stove in 2000 but since I have been using a MSR Pocket Rocket cannister stove for its light weight and ease of use. Alcohol stove is lighter but has a relatively slow boils time.
Big B
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#6
Save time and effort. Go stoveless. You won’t miss the hot food. Leave your dependencies at home. In 2009, I went stovelss at Harpers Ferry. Did not miss hot food the rest of the way. Save hot food for the town stops because there are so many of them. Just my two cents!
NedtheFed
Ned
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#7
“You won’t miss the hot food.”
Well, Ned doesn’t miss the hot food. That’s all we really know for sure right?! But recommending that to a first time hiker is like telling the new wife she’ll be working the bow drill on her first camping trip. Matches are a dependency after all lol. No, that would be grounds for a divorce. Ah but this is cyberspace and no one is committing to anyone here.
fern
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#8
A good alcy stove is not much slower to boil water than a canister stove. Yes, there are plenty of duds out there too especially the homemade ones. Avoid those unless the stovecraft aspect is more appealing to you than the idea of quick meal prep after a long day on the trail.
fern
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#9
I second vote the Jetboil. just because postcard can’t cook w/o burning his food shouldn’t stop you from using the best cooker on the trail. (tip: buy the extra long plastic spoon at REI, they can reach the bottom of a JB and only cost about a $1) AS for the neanderthal who suggest you go w/o a stove… next he will suggest that you go ultralight and just wear a loin cloth, heck you’re only going to get pants dirty when you have to rut around for the roots he’s going to suggest next. Enjoy your Food!
hellkat
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#10
Alcohol vs. butane. first, Alcohol has 1/2 the BTU (energy output) that Butane has, hence twice the fuel to create the same amount of heat, that’s the technical talk. Yes you can get a little lighter with alcohol and you should learn how to use an alcohol stove to get a better understanding of the modern hiker, but I say butane is the easiest. for example, you can burn hard or just simmer with the butane. That will make a difference if you want to master trail cookery.
also, get a good wind screen.
hellkat
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#11
I will add my voice to Ned’s. Stoveless is lighter, more simple. I will never go back to carrying a stove. It might be a bit of a shock to a newbie but think about it. Why carry more just because you are new to backpacking? If you are not addicted to coffee, there is really nothing you really need a stove for. IMHO
Medicare Pastor
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#12
Not to be a complete jackass but using the pastor’s own logic:
Why carry… footwear… just because you are new to backpacking? Barefoot is lighter, more simple.
Why carry… a rain jacket… just because you are new to backpacking? Wet is lighter, more simple.
Why carry… a sleeping bag… just because you are new to backpacking? Cold is lighter, more simple.
I rest my case. You can’t project your proud brand of suffering onto a newbie. Not when it means eliminating an entire category of equipment. I know it feels really good for the ego, but doing that is just confusing the original subject. He wants to know which stove to carry, not why or why not of cooking.
fern
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#14
Ned, your friend the pastor is on Medicare, the age-old government program benefiting the 47%. Go easy on him. Take him out to dinner some time, have some hot food. It’ll cheer you both up. 
fern