Gear Games: Backpacking Stove

I am determined to keep my pack off of Jenny Craig.  Or Weight Watchers.  My goal is to keep my pack weight a low as possible while making certain concessions to comfort and the trail lifestyle to which I intend to become accustomed. A reasonable pack weight for me is 25 percent of my body weight, which works out to be 43.5 pounds.  Given the gravity of the situation, this means I’m pretty obsessed over gear selection.

Obsessed and tortured, almost.

And with good reason – the choices I make now will be riding my back for nearly a month as I eat, sleep walk in the woods, through the rain, in mud, through storms and basic I’m-not-at-home-in-front-of-the-TV-watching-Frasier conditions.

In choosing gear, I’ve made a few general decisions:  I don’t want to go ultralight; rather, I will try to strike a balance between what I consider comfort and gear weight.  I’ve also tried to factor in what I’m familiar with using while exploring new options.  Thus far, the weight of my pack (including water, but not yet food) is 32 pounds 7 ounces.  I figure food for five to six days will add about 10 pounds, so I’m in the ballpark, but close enough I’m sweating every ounce.  And, if I can go lighter, I will.

One of the most difficult decisions I made was choice of camp stove.

For previous hikes I’ve used the MSR Rocket.  I love this little guy; canister cooking is light, reliable, easy –and totally unsuited for a Long Trail through-hike.  I don’t want to carry a bunch of empty canisters, nor do I know if I could get new ones along the way.

This led me to considering alcohol stoves vs. white gas.  I ultimately decided on white gas.  Although gas stoves themselves are heavier than alcohol stoves, for longer trips the fuel weight tips the balance in favor of gas.  It requires more alcohol fuel for the amount of heat needed.  Or so I’ve read.

I ended up choosing an MSR Simmerlite, primarily for the low weight of the stove but also because it offers a hint of hope that it can simmer — a problem for gas stoves.  Even so, the reviews on this little guy are decidedly mixed about its simmer capabilities but I decided that since I’m mostly using it to boil water anyway it didn’t matter.  I’ll follow WoodTrekker’s tip to keep the fuel bottle pressure lower to better control the flame (He has a great tutorial on gas stoves.)

Being inexperienced with gas stoves, though, my biggest worry is how much fuel to carry.  I bought a 20 ounce fuel bottle and according to the Simmerlite’s specs and the amount of cooking I intend to do daily that should last me the 4-5 days between the resupply points that are in my plan.  Doubts persist, though, and it’s one of the endless things I’m second-guessing myself on in the run-up to the hike.

I’ve also obsessed over whether to bring a camera with me.  I do plan to bring my iPhone, for use in town and as a source for music.  It will of course take photos, but I can’t zoom.  I missed a great photo of a black bear on the AT because of the low quality of picture on an iPhone.  I couldn’t zoom in close enough for a clear shot, and I wasn’t going to stand any closer, thank you very much.  The weight of the camera, extra battery and charger is 11.2 ounces.  With my pack weight creeping close to my target 40 pounds (with food and water) I’m very conscious of that optional 11 ounces.

My tent is a MSR Hubba one-person tent.  I like this tent and have been using it for the past year on my solo hikes.  It weighs, with poles, footprint and two stakes, three pounds and eight ounces and is one of the heaviest single items in the pack.  A tarp tent, which I could set up using hiking poles, is an attractive lower-weight option, but I’ve no experience using one.  If I had more time pre-hike I might try one out, but I don’t, so at this point I’m going with what I know.  But I’ll probably be second-guessing this decision even as I step down the trail.

My Deuter Act Lite 65+ pack itself weighs four pounds three ounces empty and seems heavy.  I had already traded it with a heavier Gregory pack I was using and I may make another last-minute switch to a lighter pack before I head to Vermont.

I’m 10 days out from stepping on the trail.  I’ll continue to fret and adjust my gear list until then.  It’s never too late to go on a diet.