That $15 camp stove I nearly returned saved our bacon in the rain

Picked up one of those cheap folding stoves at a surplus store last spring... the ones that look like they'll fall apart if you look at them wrong. Took it on a trip up near Mount Hood and a storm hit, soaked all my firewood. That little pop-can stove boiled water in 4 minutes flat while everything else was soaked. Has anyone else been surprised by gear they thought was junk?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarahpatel2mo ago

Wait, what kind of stove was it exactly? I've seen those pop-can ones that fit in your pocket and always figured they were a gimmick. Did it hold up for multiple meals or was it just a one-time emergency thing? The 4-minute boil time is impressive for something that cheap. Curious if the flame was stable enough to actually cook on or if you basically just boiled water and called it good.

the_elliot2mo ago

@sarahpatel Those cheap alcohol stoves are fine for boiling water but not for actual cooking.

joelp811mo ago

yeah so i had one of those cheap alcohol stoves on a trip last summer. worked fine for coffee but i tried to make some pasta in it and it was a disaster. wind kept messing with the flame and it took forever. ended up eating cold pasta that night lol.