I've been looking at a pot to go with my pocket rocket, and the Primus eta pot and litech in 1L seems to be good options.

The eta pot is virtually identical to litech except addition of a heat fin on bottom, but cost almost twice as much. Does anyone have experience with these, and what do you think of them?

The setup also has a Primus clip on windshield to help with wind/heat if that makes any difference.

Caveat: I have not used the 1L Eta pot. I have used the 2L Eta pot and like it very much. I'm a big believer in hard anodized aluminum when it is affordable. Friends of mine who have the 1L Eta pot really like it. I've looked for one at a good price but have been frustrated.

My experience with heat exchangers is that they do definitely speed things up. They also make things more efficient. Do they ultimately result in a weight savings? My gut instinct is that they probably don't save enough fuel to wind up with a savings in weight UNLESS they allow you to go on an outing with one canister where you might otherwise have to take two.

If you're doing something time consuming like snow melting, particularly if you then need to boil the water, a heat exchanger might really pay off in terms of time savings.

I have two Primus LiTech kettles that do not have heat exchangers. They are good quality items. I do note though that for boiling 1.5 liters of water, my friend's 1.7L Primus heat exchanger pot is noticeably faster although I've not formally timed things.

HJ

How big a pot are you looking for. I have used a mini-Trangia (about 700 cc) with my PR and it is great for solo cooking.

Like Jim, I really like aluminum for lightweight, backpacking style cooking. It doesn't even have to be hard anodized.

The price is quite up there eh? I haven't found one cheap so far either.

Don't think I'll use it for snow, as you have mentioned the upright canister stoves doesn't do well in cold, so this set up will be limited to warmer days.



I'm looking for something that can fit a gas canister and the windshield inside (maybe stove too if doable), I've tried both eta and litech (sans stove) and 1L is probably the smallest I can go.

I personally would not pay double for an spot-welded-on heat exchanger. That may matter on the approach to Everest, but generally there are much better places for your hard-earned cash.

If you want to experiment with heat exchangers, buy a roll of heavyweight aluminum foil and experiment with the pots you have. You would be amazed at what you can do.

Respectfully, I'm saying that it's not what you buy, it's what you know. And there's only one way to earn that hard knowledge: go out into the field and actually use stuff -- even if it's $0.99 from the Sally Ann. Over time, you'll go through some gear that actually works (to your utter surprise), and some that is sexy in theory but just doesn't get the job done. That's the only way; there is no shortcut.

My $0.02.

I definitely agree with you on the testing part. Unfortunately right now I no longer have the time and resources to go out as much as I'd liked.

Yeah, I wouldn't use it in really cold weather either. But for spring use when the air temperature is suitably warm but the ground still has snow on it, an upright canister stove will do fine.

HJ

The Etapower pots are very efficient and will generally bring water to the boil about 30-40% quicker with the potential to save around the same amount of fuel over a conventional pot. The 1 Litre pot will take a full sized 220 gram gas cartridge and with an Optimus Crux folding stove will weigh in around a total of 760 grams. A weight comparison can be made with a Jet Boil PCS with the same 220gm cartridge.

Etapower Frypan 73 - gms
Optimus Crux stove including neoprene storage sack 118 gms
Etapower 1 litre pot including stuff sac - 229 gms

Total = 758 grams

Jet Boil PCS - 425 gms
220 gram cartridge (MSR) - 338 gms

Total = 763 grams

So there is very little in it for weight between the two. Efficiency will be very similar boiling around 18-20 litres of water for both system using a 220 gram cartridge.

Advantages for the Etapower Pot 1 Ltr over the Jet Boil PCS is that a full 220gm cartridge cannot be stored in a Jet Boil PSC and that the Etapower pot has also a very good non stick coating and frying an egg or some sausages is pretty tricky in a Jet Boil as it doesn't have a separate fry pan. You can also use the Etapower pot with a whole series of other stove as well including alcohol and cold weather use liquid stoves (again with the same improvement in boil times and efficiency). The Etapower pot is also slightly quicker than the Jetboil PCS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsa11_2k5To

The price of the Etapower pot seems to be much higher today compared to when I purchased one a few years ago for around $30-35 rather than the $50 they are asking for now. So the Etapower pot is expensive but it does give you the same or better performance than the Jetboil (which it self has excellent performance) but without some of disadvantages of a 'integrated system' stove. The slightly lighter Jetboil Flash still retails at around $99 just to put things into perspective. The MSR Reactor retails for $160.


The Etapower pot will allow further days in the field. Assuming you have a single 220 gms catridge and are using 40 grms per day (using a conventional pot) this would give you 5.5 days use. The Etapower pot should give around 30% fuel saving (minimum) so fuel consumption per day would fall to around 28 gms, which would last around 7.8 days use. Therefore typically this would allow another 2-3 days extra use from the single 220 gram cartridge using the Etapower pot. Using a larger 500gms cartrige this would allow an extra 5-6 days extra use.

Thanks, Am_Fear_Liath_Mor,

Those are interesting numbers. I wonder, though, if in practice you'd really realize a 30% fuel savings. It'd be interesting to do a series of tests. Unfortunately, such tests are very time and resource intensive.

Re the Jetboil PCS as compared to a Crux-Eta pot combination: In the field, wind is the great bane of upright canister stoves. In wind, the Jetboil PCS may have an advantage in that it's tightly coupled pot offers some wind proofing. In a serious wind, the Reactor, despite it's weight and bulk, might be a good stove to have; it's really windproof.

You raise a really good point about the Eta pot being more flexible. A Jetboil PCS pot basically only works with one stove. The Eta with many, many stoves. A popular combination is the 1.0 L Eta pot with a Svea 123 stove. The stove will nest inside the pot. It's sort of an ironic combination of high and low tech, but I have several friends that swear by it.

You also raise a good point about the size of fuel canister that can be carried with a Jetboil PCS. Only being able to carry 4oz/113g class gas canisters is a limitation. Having said that, I do have a Jetboil PCS, and I do like it. For what it is, it's a good stove system, BUT it does have it's limitations. You can pretty much forget "real" cooking in a Jetboil PCS.

HJ

I've casually read these reports, and 30-40% fuel savings sounds achievable with a skirt + heat exchanger(fins)
Heat Flux Report
Finned Pots as a Means of Increasing Efficiency
Pot Skirt Investigation, ETHOS 2010

Yeah, but camping just doesn't seem manly when I wear a skirt.

Thanks for some interesting links.

HJ