TRAIL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

Unless you plan on taking bagels right out of the package and dipping them into cream cheese or lathering them with peanut butter, you probably want to cook your food. Though going stoveless is quick and convenient, nothing beats a hot meal, especially when the weather is cold.

STOVES

Backpacking doesn’t have to be synonymous with macaroni and cheese or whatever you can throw into boiling water. With the advances in stove technology allowing you to simmer or bake food, your diet is limited only by your imagination and willingness to cook.

It’s true that using a camp stove while backpacking is necessary in part due to the fact that in many areas fires are prohibited. Gone are the days of gobs of dough roasted on a stick over a blazing campfire. In areas where fires are permitted, the woods around shelters and campsites have often been picked clean of downed wood by other hikers. Foraging for firewood also damages plant life and removes an important part of the forest ecosystem, because the downed wood provides both food and shelter for forest insects and animals. For all these reasons, leave-no-trace guidelines recommend against campfires when possible. Fortunately, stoves are now lightweight and efficient as well as inexpensive. Regardless of what stove you take, test it at home before relying on it for a hike.

Backpacking stoves tend to be categorized depending on the type of fuel they burn. Broadly speaking, the two most common types of stoves used on the Trail today are white-gas and alcohol stoves. While stoves using other fuel sources, including kerosene and canister, remain in use, their fuel is not commonly found along the Trail and most A.T. hikers avoid them for longer hikes. One stove type worthy of a footnote burns fuel tablets such as the Esbit brand. While the fuel is not always readily available, these tabs can be shipped to you on the Trail, and overall fuel costs can be lowered by buying the fuel tabs in bulk.

WHITE-GAS STOVES

This has long been the liquid fuel of choice. Usually found under the name of “Coleman,” the fuel comes in quart- or gallon-sized cans and can be found just about anywhere in North America. The flame it produces is hot, reliable, and relatively clean in almost all weather conditions, but only if you keep your stove properly primed and the fuel tank well pressurized. White gas evaporates quickly and the spilled fuel is very flammable. Stoves using white gas must be insulated from snow or frozen ground because the heat of the stove could thaw the ground and make your stove unstable.

White-gas stoves offer a number of features that you may want to consider before making a purchase. Depending upon the type of backpacking trips you intend to make, one option is to purchase a stove with a double burner. This allows you to cook two items simultaneously. The major drawback with the two-burner is that it adds a significant amount of weight to your pack. If you are traveling in larger groups, this could be a viable option, as equipment can be spread evenly throughout the group.

Push-button ignition or “piezo-ignition” is another stove feature, which means you can light your stove with the push of a button. Keep in mind, though, that the piezo can short out in the rain and that too much heat can actually melt the button. As long as you have a back-up plan—matches or a lighter—you won’t have to worry too much if that happens.

Some stoves come with a repair kit, and for others you must purchase it separately. Either way, it is always a good idea to carry along a repair kit no matter how trustworthy you feel your stove is.

Most stoves come with a windscreen, either a stand-alone, wrap-around aluminum barrier that keeps the wind from whipping the flames on your stove or a small, half-inch band of metal that circles the stove’s burner. The latter is less effective in high winds.

Fuel Bottles

A 16- to 22-ounce container of white gas generally lasts 7 to 12 days. In cold weather, because fuel consumption is slightly higher, you can count on no more than a week’s worth of fuel from any 22-ounce container. In warmer weather, one container may last as long as two weeks.

There are a number of manufacturers of fuel bottles, but the most commonly used bottles are the MSR, Sigg, and Nalgene. The MSR fuel bottles can be purchased in three sizes: 11-ounce, 22-ounce, and 33-ounce, though the latter are probably not necessary for most hikes. Sigg offers a liter-size fuel bottle as well as sizes ranging from 8 ounces to 48 ounces. Both brands are made of noncorrosive aluminum and are relatively inexpensive. Fuel faucets are available for both the MSR and Sigg bottles. The screw-on cap allows you to turn the top to pour and turn again to seal without a leak. Nalgene bottles, which do not fit the MSR stoves, can also be purchased—pint size and quart size.

Operating and Maintaining Your Stove

• Carry a repair kit from your manufacturer and know how to use it. Practice taking your stove apart before you hike.
• Use a heat deflector and a windscreen to reduce fuel consumption. The windscreen also helps keep your flame steady. If you don’t have a windscreen, use a piece of doubled aluminum foil.
• If you can’t prime your stove directly, carry an eyedropper. You can extract the fuel from your fuel bottle with the dropper—much safer than pouring fuel from the bottle into the priming well.
• Don’t fill white-gas stoves more than three-fourths full. The extra air space will help generate pressure.
• After each trip, empty the fuel from your stove. What you can’t pour out, burn. Fuel left in stoves leaves residues that will clog your fuel jets and filters.
• Burning a cap of Gumout Carburetor Cleaner along with a half tank or half-a-pint of gas will help dissolve residues. Do this once a year to keep your stove clean.
• Residues also build up in your fuel source (Coleman fuel can) if you don’t use it within a year. If your fuel is getting old, dispose of it. Don’t put it in your stove. Call your local dump or landfill and ask them how to dispose of old fuel.
• You can hold on to your Coleman fuel longer if you store it in individual fuel bottles rather than the original gallon container. The fuel will stay cleaner longer and burn hotter and leave less soot on your pots. Keep your stove in a dust-free environment (such as a fabric sack) when it is not in use.
• By pre-filtering any low-grade fuel you might be using, you can avoid clogs and repairs later. Most manufacturers offer filters for their stoves, and Coleman sells an all-purpose, 1.5-ounce aluminum filtering funnel. This will filter fuel before it is stored in your fuel bottle. To conserve fuel, keep a lid on your pot whenever possible.
• When cooking on snow, make sure there is some sort of insulation beneath your stove so it doesn’t sink.

ALCOHOL STOVES

More than 40 percent of long-distance hikers on the A.T. use alcohol stoves. Nearly impossible to find along the Trail prior to 1999, denatured alcohol is now ubiquitous. Alcohol, which is made from plant cellulose rather than petroleum, burns cleanly and is a nonvolatile fuel. Alcohol stoves have no moving parts, which eliminates the maintenance issues associated with white-gas stoves. Stove operation is much quieter, if less hot, than with white-gas stoves.

Trangia alcohol stove

Cook times are similar to those of gas stoves––an alcohol stove can bring two cups of cold water to boil in just five-and-a-half minutes. However, burn times are shorter (about nine minutes with two tablespoons of fuel), and hikers who opt for ultralightweight alcohol stoves stick with simpler boil-water-and-eat meals. Simmering is also an issue, being more difficult to control.

Using an Alcohol Stove

Alcohol stoves must be placed on a sturdy, noncombustible surface. Fill the stove with denatured alcohol to the desired level (often just a couple of tablespoons will do). Like other stoves, alcohol stoves function more effectively when used with a windscreen, and with lower burning temperatures this is even more important with them. The stove is lit by holding a match near the top center of the stove.

Alcohol stoves take about a minute to reach full cooking temperature. It may not look like the stove is lit until a pot is placed on it, but do not set the pot until you have allowed the stove to reach its full force. Do not attempt to put out the stove. Let the stove burn out the fuel on its own.

Allow the stove to cool completely before refueling. If you cannot hold the stove comfortably in your hands for at least ten seconds, it is still too hot to refuel. Only refuel from a small measuring cup to avoid exposing the full fuel bottle to a source of ignition.

Some hikers use methanol, found in hardware store paint departments as paint thinner. At gas stations and other stores methanol is sometimes sold with the brand name HEET as a gas-line antifreeze. The vaporization pressures are higher than those of ethanol so you should make sure that using this fuel source is recommended by your stove manufacturer before trying it out. Methanol is also very poisonous and should be handled with caution.

Do not use isopropyl alcohol as a fuel source. Though readily available as rubbing alcohol, isopropyl alcohol contains about 30 percent water. Though flammable, it burns less hotly than denatured alcohol and will blacken your pots with smoke.

Making Your Own Stove

While a variety of well-built, lightweight alcohol stoves are available through outdoor retailers, many hikers have opted to make their own “soda-can stove.” Directions widely available online show how to turn aluminum cans (Pepsi and Budweiser brands work best) into an ultralightweight backpacking stove. Some basic tools and a bit of patience are all that is required to create your own alcohol stove. For less handy hikers, these stoves are also available for purchase.

The Logues’ homemade-style alcohol stove

STOVE SAFETY

It’s not a good idea to cook inside your tent or in any other unventilated space. Tents melt very easily, but even more dangerous is the fact that stoves use up oxygen and produce carbon monoxide, a sure way to a quick death. If you must cook in your tent, make sure it is well ventilated, or try cooking under the vestibule to avoid becoming ill (if not worse) from the fumes generated by the stove.

Since most stoves get very hot once lit, never set the stove directly on the floor of your tent. Instead, place it on a nonburnable pad such as a ceramic tile or a flat rock. Also, to avoid a tip-over, make sure your stove is firmly set before lighting. Do not move any type of stove while lit.

Never light a liquid-burning stove inside your tent. Flare-ups are very common and tent/sleeping bag materials are susceptible to flames as are your hair, eyebrows, beard, etc.

For alcohol stoves use only denatured alcohol.

Allow alcohol stoves to fully cool before refueling.

Accessories

Rather than relying on the heavier white-gas-style fuel bottles, alcohol may be carried in Nalgene containers. Sixteen ounces of alcohol will typically provide enough fuel for one hiker for five days on the Trail.

A pot cozy made of Styrofoam or other insulated materials can be fitted over the lidded cook pot after it has been removed from the stove. This keeps the food hot and allows the cooking to continue, while saving fuel. It also avoids risking burning food at the bottom of the pot.

BAKING ON THE TRAIL

It used to be that if you wanted to bake something while backpacking, you were going to have to carry along several pounds of stove. Traveling Light has made baking while backpacking an actual option with its Outback Oven. With the Ultralight, which uses your own cookpot for baking, you need only add seven ounces to your pack weight.

The Outback Oven uses the circulation of hot air in a convection dome to concentrate heat around the baking pan. Hot air vents out a hole in the top and a thermometer can be viewed through the hole to monitor the baking temperature. A riser bar separates the pan from the heat to prevent scorching and a stainless steel diffuser plate disperses heat from the stove. Finally, a reflector collar directs heat upward to boost the stove’s efficiency.

Does it work? Yes, actually. We’ve used it with great success, adding a gourmet touch to our hikes. Should you take it on a backpacking trip? Sure, if the trip is short. However, on an extended trip, it’s be too much trouble to lug and the ingredients to cook with just a tad too expensive.

ON GOING STOVELESS

Another not-quite-so-popular option is to eat only cold foods. I’ve met only a few hikers that depend on cold meals during their backpacking trips. It is not an impossible option, although most hikers can’t live without their morning coffee, which, along with other hot beverages, is vital in cold, wet weather. Hikers who opt to go stoveless subsist for the most part on sandwiches—both cheese and peanut butter—along with toaster pastries, tuna, and cereal.

COOKWARE AND UTENSILS

The cooking pot may seem innocent, but it is one of the hiker’s most important tools. It is a multiuse vessel used to boil water for drinks and meals, to gather water from a nearby source, to use as a bowl, and to hold your stove while hiking.

There are several options when it comes to choosing which material your cookware is made of:

ALUMINUM: Lightweight and generally inexpensive, aluminum is more prone to denting and scorching than steel. If you want to purchase aluminum, buy pots with a nonstick coating.

STAINLESS STEEL: These are more durable than aluminum but also heavier. Because of their slick surface, it is easier to keep them clean.

TITANIUM: This amazingly lightweight and strong metal may cut ounces but it is also expensive and prone to scorching.

COMPOSITE: These pots are usually made of fused aluminum and stainless steel, with the stainless steel on the inside to minimize sticking. While they offer a nice balance of weight and durability, they are more expensive than plain aluminum or stainless steel.

Cooking set (Snow Peak Titanium Mini Solo)

Among the features you might find when searching for the perfect cookset are the bail handle or swing handle, the black exterior finish, nonstick finish, a lipped rim, and rounded bottom edge.

The bail handle works fine on large pots but be careful if it falls against the side of the pot because the handle will conduct heat pretty quickly and unless you have a pot holder, you could be in for a nasty burn. Oddly enough, the swing handles, designed to eliminate that very problem, can get hot too. They swing out from the sides of the pot, but even the rubber-coated handles get pretty warm. Swing handles also make it hard to use a windscreen or to nest your pots. Your best bet: don’t buy pots with handles at all. Instead, buy a handleless pot and use a pot grabber. If your set does not come with one, an inexpensive pot grabber can be purchased separately. Pot grabbers will keep you from burning your fingers and spilling your meal.

Pots that have been given a black exterior finish tend to absorb heat faster and decrease the boiling time in your pot. Another option is to spray a pot you already own with flat black paint. You will achieve the same effect. As with your home cookware, camping pots with a nonstick finish make cooking and cleaning much easier. A nonstick finish is a must if you intend to bake.

A lipped rim is essential if you intend to use a pot grabber. Not only does it give the pot grabber something to hold onto, but it makes your pot stronger and less prone to warping. Pots with rounded bottom edges encourage the even distribution of heat up the sides of the pot and make cleaning a bit easier with no goopy corners to clean.

Although hikers use varying sizes of pots, you should choose your pot depending on your menu and the number of people in your group. The main thing is that you want to carry pots that are neither too small nor too big. I’ve met many hikers who found that one-liter pots tend to overflow during cooking, making cleanup a real chore. Improperly cleaned pots can lead to an uncomfortable hike: they increase your chance of food poisoning and serve as an irresistible lure to hungry animal neighbors in the night.

Still, if you hike solo and eat small meals, the smallest, one-liter, pot is probably fine for you, although only the smallest of stoves will nest in the pot. Probably the ideal size for solo hikers and the smallest pot feasible for couples is the one-and-a-half-liter pot. Most stoves will nest in this pot, and it can accommodate enough pasta for two (or one really hungry hiker!).

Most couples we know carry nesting pots, the one-and-a-half- and two-liter pots nestle perfectly, and you can carry your stove in the one-and-a-half-liter pot. If your stove doesn’t fit in the two-liter pot, it is too big. For our family of three, we use one pot to cook our dinner in and the other to mix drink (or to warm the drink when it’s cold outside). A three-liter pot is really only necessary if you are cooking for a group of four or more. Many stove manufacturers offer special cooking pots to go with stoves.

COOKWARE TIPS

Before you head out into the woods with your new pots (or old ones), you might want to make some modifications to make cooking in the backcountry easier. If you have pots without a nonstick finish, try notching the inside walls of your pot at commonly used intervals such as one cup, two cups, three cups, and so on. This will help you measure the correct amount of water for rice or other meals that can be ruined by approximation. If you have a nonstick finish on your cookware, try painting a line on the outside of your pot.

If you use a frying pan and it doesn’t double as a lid, you may want to solder a heat diffuser to the bottom of the pan. This will spread the heat more evenly across the bottom of the pan. Heat diffusers can be bought at most outdoor retailers.

UTENSILS

When it comes to carrying implements, hikers opinions are split. I usually carry a spoon, a bowl, and a pocketknife. A three-inch lock-blade pocket knife or a Swiss Army knife will prove adequate for most hikes, though hikers usually say they don’t use these knives often. Some hikers prefer a fork, a spoon, and a pocketknife, and they use their cooking pot as a bowl. A spork (fork/spoon combination) is another option worth considering. Couples usually carry bowls, and few carry plates.

Cups are a matter of preference. We previously carried the Sierra-style cup that features indentations showing measurements, but we didn’t really like them. Now we have switched to the increasingly popular thermal travel mug.

Extras, such as grills and coffee pots, are rarely used on longer hikes but may be worth their weight and bulkiness on short trips—if you drink a lot of coffee or intend to grill the fish you catch or the steaks you brought. And the coffee press is rapidly replacing the old-style percolator. For extended trips, most hikers stick to instant coffee and eat their steaks when in town to resupply.