cyccommute 

TimothyH

I don't know.

Testing a critical piece of gear before one heads out seems like common sense.


-Tim-

Lovegasoline

cyccommute,
I have to agree with Timothy here.
Frustrating though it may be, the filter failure sounds like a case of what an old climbing partner of mine would call 'operator error'.
I've not tested my Sawyer Mini yet and it's still new in the box. I just now read through the instructions for the first time. They include this:

"Backwash the filter more often and with more force. Bring the light weight cleaning plunger on your trip, especially if it's a multi-day trip. It is important that the first backwash is strong so that it cleans out all the fibers rather than creating paths of least resistance.
If your filter is slow or plugged, try backwashing rigorously with hot water (no hotter than 140F/60C)"

It sounds like this filter requires routine back flushing as well as other periodic maintenance. There's a hierarchy of trouble shooting procedures to restore full functionality (plunging with the right technique, hot water plunging, removing calcium buildup with a vinegar soak).
The instructions explicitly state to bring the plunger along on multi-day trips. Had you followed that advice as well as the other usage instructions and the filter still failed, then a case can be made for a defective unit.

Tempting(!) as it must be to omit the plunger from one's kit (especially if one is a gram counter ultralight backpacker type) doing so seems like rolling the dice: one may get lucky and everything works perfectly with no snafus ... or one may be unlucky and get completely shut down. Operator error with this filter is likely an epidemic: I've read many reviews that heap praise on the Sawyer Mini as being trouble free and reliable, but just as many reviews which curse the filter. This filter obviously has it's own unique quirks which must be respected, accommodated, and planned for to avoid undesirable outcomes. The upside is an extremely lightweight and compact filtration unit.

The reminder to test out critical gear before departure (pre-flight inspection) even if it's inconvenient, is also very good advice.

TimothyH

Back to camp stoves, practice makes perfect and I'm starting to enjoy cooking on this little SnowPeak LiteMax.

Last night I sauteed garlic in olive oil, added some dehydrated tomatoes, Israeli couscous and water, cooked for eight minutes and voila!

Last night I slept in the tent and this morning I made oatmeal with orange slices and Copper Cow coffee as I watched the sun rise.

https://coppercowcoffee.com/

(much cheaper at Walmart)


-Tim-

cyccommute 

Bassmanbob

As a result of reading this thread, other sources and my desire for something reliable and easy, I'm going to purchase the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe Stove. It's more expensive than many other stoves, but it seems like a good durable and reliable purchase.

greatscott

My $13 dollar stove still works great after 2 years.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revie...ity-ultralight There's only a 2 ounce difference in weight between the two. Without a BTU output on both stoves it's difficult to put any facts about how much better the MSR performed. And mine has never once sputtered as the review mentioned, not sure if that's because I use jetboil fuel vs MSR fuel they used in the test.

The MSR stove is a good stove no doubt, but at the cost they charge it isn't $55 better.

autonomy

Bump! Lots of good discussion in this thread.
It looks like the Etekcity stove is no longer available, but judging from the pictures/design and the number of reviews, it's been rebranded as AOTU, one of those no-name, Chinese-manufacturer-direct Amazon brands.

I was going to add that as a backup lighting mechanism one could carry a piezo igniter from a grill, but looks like MSR makes a camping-specific item, though reviews aren't great: https://www.rei.com/product/849683/m...-piezo-igniter

CliffordK

I've used my Whisperlite for backpacking in the past. I like the stove, although the one complaint is that it seems to start with flames all over a bit.

More recently, most of my trips have been without a stove.

For a short trip, a couple of days, one can carry a little extra gas. For a longer trip, my concern might be that I think I've only bought fuel by the gallon. That would be a lot of fuel to pack around.

There are some new solid fuel wood and paper stoves which would be worth looking into.

Tourist in MSN

Now that someone resurrected this four year old thread, I looked through at my previous posts in it, I still agree with all my prior comments.

tcs

Optimus makes one as well, also with not great reviews.

I carry an old Zippo lighter for backup.

tcs

Since that was written in 2017, we have a new fuel entry: 80%+ alcohol hand sanitizer. Not my first choice, as you might guess, but it'll work.

Fun fact: TSA will let you fly with 12oz of hand sanitizer (there are caveats, read their fine print).

GhostRider62

I toured with the MSR whisperlite for years, it was pretty good but getting white gas was a pain. I have the MSR PocketRocket with just the Evernew titanium 0.9L pot now although I rarely take a stove or cooking stuff anymore. A mini bic lighter to light

tcs

So, posts mentioning 40~50 y.o. Svea 123s and Coleman 400As got me to pondering: how will we camp cook in a carbon-free future?

GhostRider62

soylent green is green, ready to eat

Tourist in MSN

BikeLite

J.Higgins 

I gave up cooking while touring, and I love it. Some people need that feeling of settling in, and cooking a meal. Some people really enjoy that as part of their touring experience, and I did enjoy it for a while, but I grew to hate the fact that I was spending more time and fuss just to make a meal. I began exploring other options, and found out that unless I was in the back country for days on end, cooking wasnt really needed.

staehpj1

There was a restriction on the alcohol percentage where i first read about this. I don't recall the percentage, but it was manageable, but less than ideal (better that 70% isopropyl, but not as good as 190 proof ever clear). I can't seem to find any limit on the percentage listed now. Have they lifted it?

Tourist in MSN

Here:
https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2019/06/21/...veling-alcohol

The caption below their photo suggests that they have a sense of humor which I was completely unaware of.

Good thing I finished this (see photo) off before I flew home.

staehpj1

I am pretty certain that the percentage I saw quoted by the TSA earlier was higher than what they quote for alcoholic beverages because I consider 70% barely useable for my stove if at all and thought what they mentioned for hand sanitizer was substantially better. I want to say it was 80%, but my memory is hazy on the number (it could conceivably been 85%). I have an 8 ounce bottle from a local distillery and recall that it met the requirement that I saw (I set it aside for that reason). It is labeled 80%.

Tourist in MSN

From a security perspective, I would be surprised if they said that a bottle of liquid labeled for one purpose would have different allowable ratio of a flammable component than a liquid labeled for a different purpose. And TSA is supposed to only be concerned about security.

But their position on if a stove has any smell to it, that means they will confiscate it is a bit absurd when if your bottle of hand sanitizer or a bottle of booze is allowable when it is a flammable liquid, maybe they are just bending their rules to suit a particular purpose.

staehpj1

After much searching, I can find no mention of alcohol percentage on TSA site and you may indeed be correct, but I suspect that they just opened a blanket exception for hand sanitizer.

I found the old thread where it was mentioned and the percentage mentioned was 80, but it looks like maybe I just assumed that a bottle of factory sealed unopened hand sanitizer would be okay if it was <12 ounces and there was no TSA mentioned percentage specific to sanitizer. Actually I still think that may be the case and have my doubts that they will have a problem with my sealed 80% bottle. I could be wrong though and they may apply the same standard as with drinking alcohol. They make no mention of that limitation anywhere I can find in connection with hand sanitizer though. I figure they just made a temporary blanket exception for hand sanitizer and didn't bother getting into specifics about alcohol content. As a result it may be a case where it may or may not go through. I am betting that they see sealed hand sanitizer and it goes right through.

There are lots of 80% sanitizers out there. I think they'ed have specifically mentioned it somewhere in the sanitizer requirements if 80% wasn't okay. I could be wrong though.

Tourist in MSN

You certainly could be correct. And what is in a carry on bag is scrutinized much more than a checked bag. Your bottle if in a checked bag would probably sail through.

A few years ago I saw a small article in the business news that TSA would start allowing knives with blades 2 inches or less in the near future. A year later I remembered that article, had my small swiss army knife on my key chain, thought nothing of it on my way to the airport. TSA confiscated it. I asked and asked further up the chain why they said in the news that it would be ok. Answer was that they wanted to allow them, but the flight attendant assoc was opposed so they chose to pander to the flight assoc instead. And I lost my knife. And we are not any safer. That size knife is legal in Canada and they are not any less safe there than we are.

I am ranting again. Sorry. I will be quiet now.

tcs

The TSA alcohol (booze) link above dates from 8 months before the start of the pandemic. Just sayin'.

^ This, with the understanding that if you need to make a flight, the TSA agent is god.

Hand sanitizer is well down my list of preferred fuels, but I did some test cooking with the ol' Trangia + 80% hand sanitizer, and, I dunno, it was okay.