Hi, Jerry,

Thanks for sharing your very practical experience. My trips, even to Canada, seldom get below -9.

By the way, you're talking about next week's stove, the XGK. The XGK (well, it's immediate anscestor the model 9) is the stove that started the great outdoor stove revolution of 1973. More on that in this week's blog post.

Your thoughts about fuel for the XGK point out a very important issue: The "pragmatics" of stoving. The best stove in the world won't work if you can't get fuel for it. Particularly in remote area or distant lands, something like an XGK that can burn darned near any petroleum product known to man -- and get away with it -- is something not to be dismissed.

There was another thread on the forums recently about what stove would be good for a serious disaster. My vote was the XGK. It's packable if roads are out. It's simple. It's tough. It's truly multi-fuel.

The late author, Colin Fletcher, relates a story where he grabbed the wrong fuel for his XGK. He grabbed a combination of automotive gasoline and oil intended for his lawnmower. He discovered his mistake miles from any trailhead. With trepidation, he ran his XGK on it. For a week. The XGK ran, not as cleanly as normal but without any serious problems. Fletcher writes that he doubts any other stove would have been able to do that.

HJ

Heh, that's one of the reasons I got an omnifuel. I run it on coleman fuel, but good to know it can burn almost anything when needed.

Makes you wonder though, which of the multi-fuel stove on the market can cope with the most variety, or the most ridiculous fuel?

Not to apply thread drift to freely, but on that subject, the MSR DragonFly is another good multi-fuel stove. Although it seems similar to the XGK there must be some difference besides looks -- simmering maybe?

My money is on the XGK. Technically, yes, the Omnifuel can burn more fuels since it can burn canister gas, but try running the crud you can run through an XGK, and an Omnifuel will choke. Nothing against the Omnifuel. I've got one, and it's built like a precision Swiss watch.

The XGK has a steel cable already threaded all the way through the fuel line and into the pre-heat loop that can be pushed/pulled to decoke/scour the line.

The Omnifuel has a valve down by the burner. This gives one greater control over the flame, but it's harder to maintain than the valveless XGK type fuel line.

The XGK has a really large diameter pre-heat loop. It can take some pretty crude fuels: diesel, third-world kerosene, low refined fuel oil, etc.

In a disaster, every truck, motorcycle, and car fuel tank becomes a filling point.

HJ

Yes, the Dragonfly has a second valve down by the burner. It simmers like a dream. The XGK can be turned down, but it doesn't really simmer.

The trade off is though that the very simple XGK is very, very reliable. The Dragonfly requires more maintenance.

HJ

[quote=Hikin_Jim
In a disaster, every truck, motorcycle, and car fuel tank becomes a filling point.

[/quote]

If we are really up against it in a full blown disaster, all of these fuel containers dispense liquids that can be used to start a good old fashioned campfire - no need for our yuppified camp stoves whatever. Just stand well back when you put a match to the "Boy Scout Fire Starter."

There are disadvantages to a campfire - they are inefficient, etc., but they have provided heat and cooking for thousands of years.

Are you going to be reviewing the MSR pocket rocket? Id really like if you reviewed the MSR pocket rocket. Could you review the MSR pocket rocket? I hope you review the MSR pocket rocket.

Sounds like you already like the PR. No need to wait for my review. lol.

Yes, I will eventually get to the Pocket Rocket.


Upright canister stoves, of which the Pocket Rocket is one, are the most common type of pack stove sold today. The differences between one stove and another are typically subtle, although there are things to look for. I'll cover those when the time comes.

HJ

"Boy Scout Juice" dang sure does make a good fire starter. For those interested in preparedness, that is one aspect of liquid fueled stoves that shouldn't be overlooked. If you take a dunk in the drink during a winter stream crossing, that ol' Boy Scout Juice might just be your best friend.

Indeed, hence my preference for having some kind of stove. An XGK is a good one since it can burn so many things. Gas stations, hardware stores, sporting goods stores, garden stores, paint stores, vehicles, etc. are all field expedient fuel points.

Alcohol stoves are also good. In some states (that allow high proof liquor) every liquor store is a potential fuel point. In a pinch, you can burn isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), but it's a poor fuel and a sooty mess.

HJ

I use a copper pipe cap that holds about a ounce of liquid, its heavy but it wont crush like a soda can.