The stove my son used for his experiment was an MSR Whisperlite. Most people recognize that it puts out a lot of heat - as much as just about any other backpacking stove. Its commonly referred to as a "blast furnace".

Unfortunately that phrase is used when mentioning that it has only two settings - off and blast furnace. I've used ceramic gauze flame spreaders to add to the versatility.

Like I had said, both my son and I expected to see an improvement when the windscreen was used, but we were surprised by how difficult/impossible it was to get a boil without it. The one combination he didn't try - and I wish he had - was without the windscreen but with a lid.

Most all of our winter camping (under 40F) has been with my son's Scout troop using suitcase style propane stoves with 20# LP tanks. The stoves have pretty nice large windscreens that work pretty well. The boys quickly learn to rotate the stove to block the wind in order to be able to cook.

In this discussion I'm assuming that by "survival stove" the stove's primary survival function is boiling water to make it potable. In general I tend not to view meal preparation as a survival activity - though as recent posts show, skipping meals can certainly impact one's mental & physical condition, which can lead to matters getting worse.


Ken K.