I've been using the wrong fuel for my stove for a year and only figured it out in the Wind River Range

I was boiling water for coffee at 10,000 feet and my Jetboil kept sputtering out. A guy at the next campsite asked if I was using the cold weather mix, and I had no idea what he meant. Turns out my regular canister fuel loses pressure way faster in the cold, and I've been blaming the stove this whole time. Anyone have a good cold weather stove they like better than a Jetboil for high altitude?

2 comments

2 Comments

wilson.anthony10d ago

My buddy Mark had a similar shock on Mount Rainier last spring. He was trying to melt snow at Camp Muir and his canister stove just quit. A guide finally told him he needed to warm the fuel canister in his jacket, which he'd never heard of. That experience made him switch to a white gas stove for anything below freezing. He uses an MSR WhisperLite now and says the reliability is worth the extra fuss.

lucas639d ago

Yeah, that "warm the canister in your jacket" trick is a lifesaver. I keep a spare fuel can in my sleeping bag overnight when it's cold. But @wilson.anthony is right, white gas is way more reliable in deep freeze. WhisperLite will boil water when a canister stove just sputters. The priming is a pain, but you're not left with cold food.