Up until now, I was quite confident that my MSR Pocket Rocket was the ultimate solution for cooking during a backpacking trip. After having witnessed a variety of alcohol stoves being used in the field and now creating my own I am fully convinced otherwise. The reasons are numerous.
- Lightweight
- Fuel
- Cost
- Environmentally friendly
Alcohol stoves can weigh less than an ounce for smaller designs. It's almost impossible to come up with a solution that is lighter than a simple alcohol stove. They burn fuel that is readily available at most liquor stores and hardware stores. If you are pinched for cash, denatured alcohol is clean-burning and can cost less than $5 a quart. Building an alcohol stove only takes time and very little money since they can be built out of recyclable aluminum cans. If the stove is damaged or lost it is no big deal -- it didn't cost you anything! Most importantly, alcohol stoves are environmentally friendly in a variety of ways. They are quiet and they burn fuel that is renewable, safe, and odorless. If the fuel is spilled (be it in your pack or outside of it) it evaporates quickly and is odorless unlike many gases which are used in camping stoves. For more reasons why alcohol stoves rock, visit zenstoves.net.
Without doubt it wasn't painfully easy to build the stove. I actually failed multiple times before creating a stove that was worthy of field use. I recommend building a simple stove to begin with. Learning to work with the aluminum cans was the biggest challenge. Having the correct tools also helped. I managed to get through the process without cutting myself which I consider a victory in its own.
For any would-be stove builders I will offer the following advice: (1) Don't expect to be successful on your first stove. Try to build a simple design and focus on learning how to work with the aluminum can and how to use the tools you have to your advantage. (2) Design a safe and accurate way to cut the aluminum cans. I set up a board with a fastening device that would adjust to hold a razor at a given height (say 20mm or 30mm). (3) Invest in some high temperature adhesive for when you make your first good stove. I recommend JB Weld. (4) Having some wet-or-dry fine grit sandpaper around to really shine up the stove and round the edges makes a much more aesthetically pleasing final product.
The last thing I will say is that zenstoves has been an indispensable resource for me. I recommend that as the starting point for anyone looking into alcohol stove building.