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AntiGravityGear Universal Alcohol Stove Accessory Pack
Long Term Report - January 31, 2006
Contents
Reviewer Information [return to top]
Name: Chuck Kime
Nickname: Fuzzy
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8" (1.72 m)
Weight: 229 lb (104 kg)
Email address: chuxk_kime AT yahoo DOT com
City, State, Country: Upper Darby (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: January 31, 2006
Backpacking Background [return to top]
My family started car/trailer camping when I was about 5. After 17 years in the Army Reserve fine-tuning my packing methodology I was down to a fairly respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load in my ALICE pack. Advancing age, arthritic knees and a car accident have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices, experiment with tarps and hammocks, make some of my own gear, and take a closer look at my ‘toys’ with an eye for multi-use and light weight. I now have a sub-30 lb (14 kg) 3-season load, and should be able to reduce it to 20 lb (9 kg) – before food, fuel and water – without much more effort.
Additional Information Applicable to This Test
Two years ago I started using my own homemade stove/stand/windscreen combination, along with the well-known Grease Pot, for tea and/or cocoa while on various Boy Scout troop/leader training outings. I expanded my cooking options beyond morning beverages with the AntiGravityGear (AGG) Mama’s Kitchen Cook Set. Following testing of this set, I continued to carry it on all outdoor trips until I tested the Clikstand set with Trangia stove, and now carry some combination of the two sets (along with AGG Blue Cozy Covers) on all of my trips.
Product Information [return to top]
Manufacturer: AntiGravityGear (AGG)
Model: Universal Alcohol Stove Accessory Pack
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: http://www.antigravitygear.com
Listed weight (primer pan): none
Listed weight (fuel bottle): none
Listed weight (windscreen): 1.1 oz (31 g)
Listed weight (measuring cup): none
Measured weight (primer pan): 0.2 oz (4 g), scale accurate to 0.1 oz
Measured weight (fuel bottle): 1.1 oz (31 g)
Measured weight (windscreen): 1.1 oz (31 g)
Measured weight (measuring cup):
Color (primer pan and windscreen): Bare metal
Color (fuel bottle): Blue with White Top
Other color available (fuel bottle): Green with White Top
MSRP: $7.95 US
Features/claims (from web site) [return to top]
- Primer Pan
- This is a great accessory for your alcohol stove. It provides a secure base for the stove and allows the stove to attain full temp for cooking in only 15 seconds instead of 90. A good item for cold weather starting. To use: -Place stove on Primer Pan and add desired amount of fuel to stove. -Put 1/4 teaspoon or about 15 drops of denatured alcohol in the primer pan. -Place cooking pot on the UNLIT stove. -Light the alcohol in the Primer Pan. That's all there is to it! Why it works so well: In normal light-up and operation, you light the fuel in the stove and wait for it to reach full temperature before setting the pot on the stove. This is because the stove is heating the alcohol in the outer chamber of the stove from the center outward. It takes about 90 seconds this way and you should hold the pot about 2 inches above the stove to avoid wasting the BTUs. With the Primer Pan, the fuel in the outer chamber heats up from the outside inward thus reaching operating temperatures much faster. You will have a hotter and larger than normal flame at first but it will settle down when the Primer Pan alcohol is consumed.
- Fuel bottle
- Perfect companion for the alcohol stove. This fuel bottle has a flip-up pour spout and is just about perfect for a 3 day/2 night solo hike.
- MSR-style windscreen
- This is a definite improvement and upgrade for your stove. Made of the same material as the MSR Whisperlight type of screen yet only 4 inches high to make it more suited to alcohol stove use. The edges are rolled to make it safer to use and it's only half the cost! The windscreen will fold flat for storage or you can wrap it around the fuel bottle.
Description [return to top]
AGG has some of the best, most detailed photos of gear I have seen on a website. Any details I may have missed in the descriptions from my Initial Report should be readily answered by simply visiting their site.
Primer pan:
The pan is constructed of uncoated aluminum, which is slightly heavier than that used in soda cans. It includes lips along the inside and outside edges, as well as three ‘feet’ pressed into the bottom. The instructions include placing 15-20 drops of alcohol in the pan after setting the stove in place.
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Fuel bottle:
The fuel bottle, which has an 8 oz (240 ml) capacity, is made of fairly rigid plastic. The screw-on/off cap has a flip-up spout. The bottle has enough flex in it to allow squirting – or dripping – of the alcohol in a fairly controlled manner.
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Windscreen:
The windscreen is constructed of uncoated aluminum sheet, which is slightly heavier than that used in soda cans. Both ends of the windscreen are folded over and can be slipped together to form it into a ring. When the ends are not connected, the windscreen can be coiled to fit inside a pot or cozy, or wrapped around the fuel bottle.
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Measuring cup:
A clear plastic cup is included in the set. It is sized nicely to fit over the cap of the fuel bottle, and is marked in English, metric, and pharmaceutical scales.
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Stove:
The Tin Man stove is of a relatively standard design. It is unpressurized, with an inner wall and a series of small holes drilled around the perimeter of the stove, and a strip of foil tape sealing the entire joint. The bottom of the stove is engraved with Tin Man’s signature, “AntiGravityGear”, and the model and serial number of the stove. The stove also comes with a measuring cup, which I find to be a nice touch.
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Field Testing [return to top]
Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly, generally in the wooded areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains. Almost all of these outings included a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures from lows around 25 ºF (-4 ºC) to highs around 80 ºF (27 ºC) during the 4-month test period. Elevations ranged from sea level to approximately 1,500’ (457 m).
Over the weekend of November 24-26, 2005, we took our annual troop trip to go cabin camping. Temperatures were around 25 °F (-4 °C) by 7:00 pm Friday night and dropping quickly. The temperature inside the uninsulated (ok, maybe poorly insulated) cabin – which had been vacant since at least the previous weekend – was comparable. We started a fire to take the edge off, but by 2:00 am (when the fire burned out) it was basically like being outside, just without the wind. When I got up in the morning, I made some tea, having no difficulties thanks to the lack of wind.
I will keep the components of this set with my soda-can stove for any future uses. I find it to be a good deal for the money, as I couldn’t make the items for less. AGG has another good product for lightweight hikers.
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Things I was be looking for:
- Ease of use. This would be for all of the various components.
- Interchangeability. Do the components work well with the different cook sets I have?
- Cleanability. This refers to all components.
- Packability. I generally carry a cut-off 1-gallon plastic milk jug, which serves as a wash basin. I try to carry my cookware inside this basin, to have all kitchenware in the same place.
- Safety. Do I need to worry about fuel leakage?
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My findings:
- Ease of use. Easy to carry, easy to use. No complaints.
- Interchangeability. The primer pan works better with soda-can stoves than with my Trangia (which does not have a depression in the bottom), although it can be used with the Trangia in a pinch.
- Cleanability. The primer pan wipes clean, as do the fuel bottle and windscreen. I don’t consider it absolutely critical that I be able to eat off these components however, so any heat or fuel related staining will be left alone.
- Packability. The primer pan fits inside whatever sack or other cover I have my cookset in. The fuel bottle (with windscreen) fits in the outside pocket of my pack in the same place I kept my previous bottle. The measuring cup fits inside the stove.
- Safety. I have found the fuel bottle to be strong and well-sealed.
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Things I like [return to top]
- Light.
- Small.
- Convenient.
Things I don't like [return to top]
- The windscreen is taller than any others I have and won’t fit inside my smaller pots, but it can wrap around the fuel bottle.
- The primer pan, due to its inner lip, is intended mostly for beverage-can type stoves. It will require additional care to use with my Trangia stove.
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Thank you for your time.
Chuck Kime
a.k.a. Fuzzy
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