I thought I'd present a review that might be of interest here, a review of a remote canister stove that can handle running with the canister upside down.

Why might anyone care about which way the canister points? Well, running with the canister upside down gives one about a 20 Fahrenheit degree cold weather advantage over conventional upright canister stoves (when using an isobutane/propane mix).

So, if you like canister gas stoves but want something that can handle a little bit colder weather, the Kovea Spider is worth checking out.

Inverted canister stoves are a lightweight alternative to liquid fueled (gasoline or kerosene) stoves in cold weather. Not only are they lighter, but they're more mechanically reliable. In my latest blog post, I review a good one, the Kovea Spider.

I've found it to be a really nice, compact stove.

The Monatauk Gnat (left) and the Kovea Spider (right)

For the future, I'd like to see Kovea do more to lighten the 5.9oz/168g Spider stove. I'd like to see a good remote canister stove down in the four ounce range, but this is such a nice little stove that it's hard to complain.

The diminutive Kovea Spider

There is a lighter, by about 3/4 ounce, stove on the market, the FMS-118 Volcano, but there have been some complaints about the Volcano sputtering when in inverted canister mode, and I don't think the Volcano packs down anywhere near as small. I can get the Kovea Spider and a 110g canister of gas into either my 780ml Snow Peak pot or my MSR Titan kettle.

A Kovea Spider inside an MSR Titan Kettle

If this sounds interesting, here's the full review: The Kovea Spider (KB-1109) Remote Canister Stove. Have a look if you like.

HJ

Thanks for the review, nice looking stove.

I see you have it running from a Giga Power canisters. Which other fuel canisters can the Kovea Spider use? I only have MSR canisters here. Are they all compatible?

Russ,

All the threaded backpacking type canisters are generally compatible. For cold weather use, you definitely want MSR, Brunton, Snow Peak, or JetBoil brand because they use isobutane instead of "regular" butane. Isobutane works at temperatures about 20 Fahrenheit lower than regular butane.

HJ

Thanks HJ. There's one less Kovea Spider on ebay.

Oh, dear, what have I started?

Be sure and use a windscreen,

HJ

As an adjunct to my earlier post, I just put up a blog post on cooking with the new Kovea Spider. Have a look if you like.



HJ

You certainly got me interested, anyway

I've found a nice deal on a kovea camp 5 (that you did a review on last year Covea camp 5 review (Hiking_Jim)

How would you compare the camp 5 with the shiny new spider?

I have a strong preference for the spider. The Camp 5 is tall and spindly. It doesn't have a very wide base. On the other hand, the Spider has a nice wide base and is really stable.

The Camp 5 has a burner whose flame points straight up which can create a burnt spot on the bottom of your pan. The Spider's flame is angled outwards which disperses the flame well and prevents hot spots.

HJ

You've started a run for spiders, that's what you did!

Waiting for mail from Korea to arrive with my spider...

Mine arrived yesterday. You will be pleased. I wish I'd known about the Kovea dual adapter. Being able to burn really cheap butane would be a nice option.