The BikePacker's Kitchen- stoves, cookkits, water treatment discussed here

[Colorado Cool Breeze]

My DIY alcohol stove. Inspired from a post I found on BackpackingLight a while ago; made from an aluminum beer bottle (thicker aluminum than cans), gradually crimping the rim with needlenose pliers to form a cone.



It puts out a tightly focused flame, which works well with small diameter cups & pots.

It's quite sturdy and I like that it has no moving parts or small holes which could clog.

Another picture along with my windscreen, etc. The entire kit pictured here fits inside my pot (except for the reflectix, but I suppose it might too - I haven't tried).

I've never seen an alky stove like this. Very inventive so simple and light. I really like your complete kit. Did you make the windscreen as well?
It looks like it doesn't let any heat escape that does help heat the water.

[wahday]

Love the DIY kitchen wahday, am I looking at the wind screen or stove under the pot?
I ended up ordering a trangia stove since on my last outing I stepped on my pop can stove and smashed it beyond repair.
I'll report back once I run the new stove thru it's paces.

What you see in the picture is a coffee can cut down to serve as a windscreen and pot stand. The stove sits inside that and isn't visible. Its just the basic two beer can bottoms fitted together with fiberglass insulation inside and holes poked in the center divot and around the edge. For transport, it all fits inside the black pot with the fuel (which I carry in a contact lens solution bottle) and pot holder. The lexan cup and utensils are the only items that don't fit in the pot.

The other nice element of the coffee can windscreen/pot stand is that you can squirt fuel in the bottom and light easily. I find this gets the stove up to operating temp a bit quicker.

FWIW, I cleared away those grasses after I took this pic. Every time I look at it I think "that idiot's going to burn the damn forest down!!"

[bumbler]

I've never seen an alky stove like this. Very inventive so simple and light. I really like your complete kit. Did you make the windscreen as well?
It looks like it doesn't let any heat escape that does not help heat the water.

Thanks! Yes, I made the windscreen as well, using this tool. It seems to work well. I made it from some 0.025" sheet aluminum, so it's pretty stout. A couple bike spokes cut to length are used for the pot support. I like that it comes apart & fits in my pot. I'm really intrigued with caldera cones but it doesn't seem as though they pack very well.

Another advantage of this stove design over the pepsi stove I used to use is that this one is much easier to recover unused fuel from.

[Tommi]

I have a Swiss army Volcano stove; it burns twigs, fuel tablets, or a soup can alcohol burner. It's big and rattly, but functional; I carry a 1 liter Sigg steel water bottle inside it, instead of the issued bottle, which uses a cork. It incorporates a cup as a lid. Depending on the fuel, it will rolling boil in 7 to 10 minutes. Not a bad rig.

[benajah]

I don't have any pics, but over the years I have run the gamut from carrying a full blown white gas stove and a couple of pots and a water filter to simply carrying a bic lighter to cook over the campfire(or just a very small, cooking specific fire) and iodine tablets and for backpacking a steel billy can, for the bike, a steel mug.
Where I am these days is a bit closer to the campfire and iodine, but I will carry an alcohol stove for when I want to get moving early in the morning. I can make my coffee quick and get on the trail without waiting for a fire to die down. Or for when there are fire bans. I use a mini Trangia.
Someone earlier mentioned white gas stoves being basically on/off. Mostly this is true, but there are two models that are actually great for simmering...the MSR Dragonfly and the Optimus Nova. These have a main fuel valve at the tank, and a finer, second adjustment at the stove. Both work great.
I'm not an ultralight fanatic, but over the years I have slowly drifted away from camp stoves, water filters, tents, back to tarp/bivy bags, fires, and boiling water at night and iodine during the day...not so much out of the weight, but just that I find the simplicity enjoyable. I like camp chores. When I get the green light from the wife and kid, I can be packed and ready to go in about twenty minutes.

[kkjellquist]

BIG fan of the basic Trangia stove.  I really dislike wrestling w/ complicated stoves, and when it comes to fuel I like it cheap and simple.  I do just fine with the mini Trangia - http://www.trangia.se/english/2924.mini_trangia.html

The only addition I need to grab is a nice Ti cup w/ a handle.

On of these days I'll probably try building an soda/beer can stove for fun.

[benajah]

BIG fan of the basic Trangia stove.  I really dislike wrestling w/ complicated stoves, and when it comes to fuel I like it cheap and simple.  I do just fine with the mini Trangia - http://www.trangia.se/english/2924.mini_trangia.html
That's the same one I have. With either the included mini pot and a plastic cup, or a GSI steel mug and using rocks for support it's just about perfect for solo.
The only addition I need to grab is a nice Ti cup w/ a handle.

On of these days I'll probably try building an soda/beer can stove for fun.

That's the same one I have. I'm very happy with it, perfect size for solo.

[SlimJim]

I've been a big fan of "Polar Pure" for a long time.

Lasts years, almost endless treatment capacity. Simple to use, and quicker than tablets. Lighter than pumps. To kill the iodine taste (which is less than tablets) I use a teeny-tiny bit of Emergen-C (or any vit C powder) to instantly neutralize the iodine taste/color.

makegear.blogspot.com

[kkjellquist]

I use a teeny-tiny bit of Emergen-C (or any vit C powder) to instantly neutralize the iodine taste/color.

Does Emergen-C or C not negate the effectiveness?  I was told to not add anything (Gatorade,etc) to treated water for at least an hour.

[kkjellquist]

I've been pretty happy with this filter system. I can filter on the spot or I can fill the "grey water" bags, throw them in my pack and then filter at camp as needed.

Sorry for the double post, but wanted chime in with my own thumbs up or +1 for the Sawyer filter.  Got a great deal at a local shop and grabbed this for $33.  I am really impressed with the weight, ease of use, and versatility.  Used it this past weekend and it was perfect.  Hopped off the bike and filtered maybe 30-40oz straight into my bladder in less than 2 minutes. 

[Colorado Cool Breeze]

Love the DIY kitchen wahday, am I looking at the wind screen or stove under the pot?

I ended up ordering a trangia stove since on my last outing I stepped on my pop can stove and smashed it beyond repair.
I'll report back once I run the new stove thru it's paces.

Well it has taken me forever to get back and report on the trangia alky stove.
I used it most of this winter and really like everything about it other than its weight compared to a pop can stove.
It's rugged and the lid really does a good job of sealing the unspent fuel inside.
Here is the stove inside a Caldera Cone wind screen.



It did a wonderful job of heating my poptart after making morning coffee.



And when I found my water frozen I melted some snow and used the stove to thaw my waterbottle.



If you'd like to see more picts from the trip I'll post a link below.Note: did not bikepack on this trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/outandback2012/sets/72157632548939206/show/

[jbphilly]

For everybody that's used the Sawyer squeeze filter, I got a question...I have the filter but haven't actually used it in the field yet (hopefully this weekend if the weather isn't too bad).

The reviews I've seen universally agree that the stock bags which come with the filter aren't at all durable and usually start leaking after a few trips. Fine, I'll use them for now...but assuming this does happen to me, does anyone know of any other water bladders that are compatible with the filter?

[murf]

For everybody that's used the Sawyer squeeze filter, I got a question...I have the filter but haven't actually used it in the field yet (hopefully this weekend if the weather isn't too bad).

The reviews I've seen universally agree that the stock bags which come with the filter aren't at all durable and usually start leaking after a few trips. Fine, I'll use them for now...but assuming this does happen to me, does anyone know of any other water bladders that are compatible with the filter?

Two of my sawyer bags split at the seems the first time I used it.
Now I use platypus bags


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[jbphilly]

Good to know Platypus bags fit the filter. I'll have to grab a large one next time I have a chance

[JRA]

Good to know Platypus bags fit the filter. I'll have to grab a large one next time I have a chance

+1
I didn't realize they were compatible.  Good to know.

[Damnitman]

I'm having good luck with my Soto Muka stove.  It is a ton simpler to get going in the cold and wind than my whisperlite intl. as it does not require the normal preheating ritual.  They also have AWESOME customer service.  I only know this because I had some issues/confusions using the stove right out of the box (apparently it is beneficial to read the instructions before playing with pressurized flammable liquids), however they were exceptionally helpful and even sent me spare parts, gratis.

[Colorado Cool Breeze]

Two of my sawyer bags split at the seems the first time I used it.
Now I use platypus bags


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

How do you guys clean these bags with such a small opening? Or are they always used as a untreated bags so no problem with slime buildup.

[JRA]

The Platypus bags are a more rigid plastic than a Camelback reservoir.  I just blow in to the opening (like blowing up a balloon) and the bag will stay in that shape.  I leave the cap off and set it in the kitchen window to let the sun do the rest.  I haven't ever tried to actually scrub the inside, I think that would be rather difficult.  I just use them for water - not energy drinks.  The sugar from energy drinks would present more of a problem for cleaning.

[murf]

How do you guys clean these bags with such a small opening? Or are they always used as a untreated bags so no problem with slime buildup.

When riding If I end up havimg to filter I limit it to one bag for untreated water and it stays like that until I get to a place ..like home and clean it.I usually fill it with warm water and some bleach and let it sit for a few hours then drain and rinse repeatedly until the bleach smell is gone.

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[windowace]

I am curious. For those of you filtering with a pump version filter, how careful are you about keeping the intake line apart from the output line.  Do you worry about contaminating your gear/filter with water from the outside of the tubing (the part you drop in the stream,pond,puddle etc.).  My filter came with a Ziploc type bag for the input line, which I use, but I am not super careful about not letting any unfiltered water touch filtered water components.  I have not used the system much, but have not had any issues so far. Thoughts?