If your pot fits the big 450g (16 ounce) canisters and you consider that a "very small" pot, I'd hate to see what a big pot looks like.

HJ

Sorry... I mean the 225g canister size.

I see the Primus Express Spider on Amazon for around $50 which sounds like a pretty good price.

The only downside I see to the spider, and it's a pretty minor one, is that the control knob is very pointy which makes the canister harder to invert than something like a Rapidfire or Windpro which will invert with no additional equipment.


Not a big deal. I think a little plastic tub with a slot cut in it for the fuel hose would do nicely for inverted use.

HJ

But express spider is less than half the weight, and we all need that new gadget fix once in a while.

Okay it's mostly the second part.

And the Spider is a lot more compact. Looks like a nice stove, and it will support liquid feed mode. From what I've read, it has good carbon monoxide numbers -- after it warms up. Let us know how it goes after you get it.

The only advantage a Rapidfire would have over a Spider is price. A Spider is going to run you around $50 or more whereas I can get a Rapidfire for under $30. If it's light and compact you want, though, I wouldn't recommend the Rapidfire. Affordable? Yes. Light and compact? No.

HJ

HJ,

I got my first Esbit from a Brit officer while I was in the service - seemed more rugged and better made than the commercial ones. The ones I have (or think I have now) are the regular size, the pocket size and a "flat" one that I used to keep in a flight survival kit. Used the regular one (it seemed to be the best of the bunch) for some work in Wyoming during the dry season where open fires were a no - no. It was never a favorite because of the fuel, Esbit tabs or GI tabs. I went back to my 123 and put them away. I bought the Ti Wing from WetFire in hopes the fuel was better (and I love little light things that work). Tried it a couple of times at home and went back to my Pocket Rocket.

I guess that nothing is as good as some pine squaw wood for boiling the noon kettle, but there are lots of times and places it is not acceptable or practical. I keep thinking of trying a Vargo Hexagon -it might be a cleaner way to go.

Respectfully,

Jerry

The reviews haven't been kind to most of the Vargo alcohol stoves. I have no idea how a Vargo wood stove would compare. Wood fires are pretty restricted here in S. California because of fire danger.

If wood fires were more of an option, I would be sorely tempted to purchase a Backcountry Boiler which is essentially a Kelly Kettle type device that has been made compact and light enough to be practical for a hiker, hunter, or backpacker.

Wetfire, hasn't fared well in reviews as a stove fuel. Hexamine, such as Esbit, seems to be a much better fuel than the wetfire tinder. Esbit isn't my favorite fuel, but it can be made to work. The typical folding Esbit stove sold in most outdoors isn't very good in my opinion. The Ti-Wing is better, but you really need a windscreen. In my review on my blog of the Ti-Wing, I didn't really go into windscreens, a deficiency I shall have to rectify.

I'm not sure what you mean by regular size vs. pocket size. Do you have any photos you can post?

For me, my Svea 123 still rules the day for a quick brew up or hot soup under normal conditions. In some ways, I think a 123 is actually safer than some of the modern remote tank stoves. If the pump leaks on a remote tank stove, you could be in a world of hurt. Gas everywhere + flame = really really bad. A friend of mine was pumping up his remote tank stove when the one-way valve (NRV) in the pump failed. Fuel sprayed all over him while the stove was in operation. Fortunately, he was using kerosene that day. Had he been using white gasoline, he'd have probably been in the burn ward and would have been scarred for life. (shudder)

The Svea 123 is pretty rock solid, although you have to be super careful not to overheat them. If the safety release valve in the cap goes, you'll basically have a flamethrower on your hands. Be sure to point the cap away from your body.

HJ

Vargo hexagon is just a platform with holes plus windscreen, I can't imagine paying $50 for essentially a hobo stove.

Yes, but it's a titanium hobo stove.

There is a part of me that wonders why people carry small wood stoves. Why not just make a circle of rocks and light a fire?

I think the answer lies along the following lines: one is that a stove provides a platform on which to cook, two the fire (if the stove is designed well) burns better and more efficiently, and three there's a smaller "footprint," the fire is more contained in other words. But I'm hijacking my own thread here. Maybe it's worth a new thread...

HJ

Jim..i had the safety valve on a very old Primus 71 blow and it did not make much more than a candle type flame that i was able to blow out..it relit of course so i just let it go until the pressure was normal.i would think if the cap is in good shape with the proper setting built into it you should not get a flamethrower...but it was a once only thing for me so i can't say how another stove might act.