In the past few weeks I’ve been making some modifications to the gear I carry in my primary bug-out bag. Last week I wrote about the 32 oz Pathfinder Water Bottle and accessories and this week I’d like to cover the stove/pot stand combination that comes with it.
One of the things I wanted to order but didn’t (at the time) was the stove that is designed to work with this set. Dave is a big proponent of using an open fire to heat things up whenever possible and I agree with that philosophy, but there are times when an open fire just isn’t feasible. That’s where the little stove comes in.
The stove also has a grill top that sits on top of the pot stand/stove itself making it a more stable surface for your water bottle or the steel cup. As you can see in the picture below it sits on top of a can of Sterno perfectly.
Dave’s set works like this: you take a standard size can of Sterno and set the pot stand on top of it. It clicks into place reasonably secure and then the grill top goes on the top of that. Light the Sterno and set the item to be heated on the grill top and there you have it – simple, but effective.
How Well Does It Work?
The pot stand and grill top are great. It provides a good solid base to heat water and I really like it, but…
Using the Sterno to heat the water took awhile. I didn’t look at my watch or measure the water exactly, but I figure about a cup and a half of water and nearly ten minutes to heat it up enough to make a cup of coffee. Not exactly stellar results, so don’t think you’re going to be boiling lots of water to purify it using this method; however, when I put the stand directly in the fire and placed the bottle on top of it with the bottle up out of the fire a bit and heated it up that way.. wow!
Check out a few more pics of the stove and stove top below.
Here’s the light I was using in the woods to work by.
Cool eh?
Off Dave’s website:
The Pathfinder Pack Stove is the perfect small addition to the common man’s pack using gel fuel canisters available everywhere and produces longer burn times than multi fuel stoves. This stove is the perfect addition to your Pathfinder Haversack when you want a quick hot drink on a hunt or scout without spending a lot of time or creating the noise and disturbance of starting a fire. The Pathfinder Pack Stove is the perfect solution for areas with fire bans and restrictions as well. A great common man addition to any pack! Pack Stove comes with adaptor and 1 can of fuel.
Pack Stove Specs: 3 1/4″ in diameter, 2 1/4″ in height. Stove Ring 1/16″ thick steel that fits around the fuel can. This is a non-stainless steel product.
See it work at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtSoKaZ3Qxk
The only other piece of gear to tell you about is the tomahawk you see in the pictures above, but I haven’t really had a chance to use it yet, so it’ll have to wait for a later time.
Feel free to comment below.
-Jarhead Survivor
Dave Canterbury is an awesome individual with some very good products. His survival videos are very educational.
I agree , he shows you how to make due with next to nothing ………but thats why we prep so we dont get caught with nothing .
The basic simplicity of the stove speaks volumes for its usefulness. However, my concern for a SHTF scenario is that Sterno fuel may be hard to find thereby rendering the stove almost useless. That’s why I have chosen to carry a Coghlan flat folding stove instead. It weighs slightly more but it can use Sterno and ANY organic fuel available. Furthermore, its enclosed sides act as a wind break and allows it to contain the heat more effectively thereby bringing a cup of water to a rolling boil in a couple of minutes. K.I.S.S. :-)
The stove is designed to be used by more than just sterno, although it does fit the sterno container nicely. I’ve used it on an open fire and with my alcohol stove. Good point about being able to use it for multi-tasking.
If all you need are twigs or small diameter branches for fuel, a pair of garden shears quickly speeds up the gathering ability and is very quiet to boot – no pulling off or chopping noise to contend with. This could be very important if sound concerns are a factor.
I’m a little disappointed Jarhead because I thought the pot stand was going to be a place to put marijuana.
Thanks for the recent write-ups, Jarhead. I’ve been satisfied with my bag for a while now but this is prompting me to go through it again to re-examine if I should make any changes.
That’s really pretty cool +1 I like it!
Thank you for providing these details to the web.
Looks interesting, I’ve seen a few products like it. I’m wondering though, I don’t know much about sterno fuel, how does it compare to other fuels when you’re using it for cooking while camping or backpacking?