Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77 kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western West Virginia, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background:

Last year I finally acted on a long time interest in backpacking, starting out slowly by day hiking, researching backpacking productsand techniques, purchasing gear, and doing a few overnight trips, including one solo. This year I’ve taken several two-night trips, more overnights, and am looking forward to a longer trip in the spring. I hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West Virginia, and use a hammock sleeping system. For a two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including consumables, and I’m striving to lighten that a bit.

Product Information -

Manufacturer: AntiGravityGear
Year of manufacture: 2005
Date of Delivery: September 17, 2005
Listed weight of kit: not available
Kit weight as delivered: 2.5 oz (71 g)
Manufacturer Website: http://www.antigravitygear.com/
MSRP: $7.95 US

Components:
Fuel bottle, (no listed weight; measured weight: 1.1 oz or 31 g)
Windscreen (listed weight 1.1 oz or 31 g; measured weight: 1.2 oz or 34 g)
Primer pan (no listed weight; measured weight: 0.2 oz or 6 g)
Measuring container (not listed, but included over fuel bottle in kit ; measured weight: less than 0.1 oz or 3 g)

Measurements:
Fuel bottle: 7 in (18 cm) high x 1 3/4 in (4.5 cm) diameter
Windscreen: 4.5 in (11.5 cm) high x 26.5 in (67 cm) long (listed height 4 in or 10 cm)
Primer Pan: 3.25 in (8.5 cm) diameter x 3/16 in (0.5 cm) high
Measuring container: 1.5 in (4 cm) high x 1 7/8 in (5 cm) widest diameter

Features:
Light weight components
Fuel bottle available in blue or green
Flip top on fuel bottle with 8 fl oz (237 ml) capacity
Windscreen folds flat or wraps around fuel bottle for storage
Primer pan to help stove reach maximum temperature faster
Measuring container lists tsp/tbs, ml, cc, fl oz, and dram

For a detailed description of the AntiGravityGear Universal Alcohol Stove Accessory Pack, please see my Initial Report.

Field Test Conditions -

I've used the Accessory Pack components on weekend backpacking trips to Cranberry Wilderness and Tea Creek areas of the Monongahela National Forest, an overnight trip in Cabell County, and a day-hike in Roane County, all in West Virginia. I've used it to boil water for approximately 10 freeze-dried or dehydrated meals, plus hot beverages.

Elevations have ranged from approximately 700 to 4000 feet (200 to 1200 meters). Temperatures have ranged from a low of 24 F (-4 C) to 80 F (27 C), with conditions ranging from dry to humid, with frost early one morning. So far, I've been fortunate enough not to have to cook in the rain. Pack weight including consumables ranged from 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) for backpacking, and around 5 lb (2 kg) for day hiking.

Use -

I've used the Accessory Pack components with the beverage can stove provided by AntiGravityGear and with my homemade "SUPER CAT" stove. I had originally planned to also use my top burning homemade beverage can stove, but haven't done so yet due to needing to buy or make a pot support for it. (My old windscreen was designed to also serve as a pot support.) So far, I've always used the smallest pot from my GSI anodized aluminum boiler set, since it meets my needs quite well and is lightweight, small, and easy to pack. Both stoves work well with the set. The inner raised rim of the primer pan fits the AntiGravityGear stove's concave bottom and holds it securely in place. While the "SUPER CAT" simply sits on top of the raised rim, I've found it stays in place well as long as the stove is sitting in a level area. The "SUPER CAT" has become my favorite to use with the set, partially because I can store the primer pan in the bottom of my cook pot, set the "SUPER CAT" stove on top of it, roll the windscreen around the fuel bottle and cap it with the measuring cup, and place the fuel bottle inside the "SUPER CAT". This leaves me space to add matches, a scrap of foil, and a scrap of fire protection blanket that I use as a base area when building fires on organic soil, and store the entirety in a mesh bag. Storing the AntiGravityGear stove is a bit different since the fuel bottle won't fit inside this stove. I've found I need to be a bit more careful storing it, because early in the test period I ended up denting it, but if I place everything carefully, I can still fit it all inside my pot.

Primer Pan -

I've found the primer pan useful with both stoves, especially during the trip with below freezing temperatures. Although both stoves will normally light without having to light fuel beneath them to get the alcohol boiling, the colder temperatures made the alcohol harder to get going by lighting it from the top, but by adding extra fuel to the primer pan the stoves fired up more easily. I also like the primer pan for a bit of extra protection in case I drip some alcohol down the side of the stove - the primer pan catches the extra fuel to prevent a flare up where I don't want it. For minimal weight, I've found it adds an appreciable amount of safety and convenience to my cooking system. So far the primer pan has held up well, with no dents or dings.

Windscreen -

The windscreen has proved durable so far, and shows no signs of deterioration or wear. I've found I prefer wrapping it around the fuel bottle for storage, both for space savings and to prevent constantly bending and unbending the metal. For pans with handles such as my GSI cookware, I found it necessary to cut the windscreen to fit. Since no instructions on cutting were provided with the windscreen, I thought about it for a few days before making the cut, and finally decided to first cut the windscreen to a length that would leave a 3/4 in (2 cm) air space between the pot and the windscreen and allow me to bend the cut edge forming a way to fasten both ends together by overlapping them. To make it even easier to fasten the ends, I decided to make the cut out for the pot handles where the ends would join, leaving just a short area of overlap, and this has worked beautifully so far. I first made a paper template and checked the fit of the cuts with it, and then cut the windscreen with an old set of scissors. The metal cut easily and evenly, and was easy to work with.

One thing that has surprised me is that I have not had to add extra ventilation holes to the bottom of the windscreen, and haven't even had to prop it up to allow air under it while the stove is burning. For some reason, the stove always seems to burn effectively without any extra ventilation.

Fuel bottle-

I've found I really like this fuel bottle. It holds more than enough for a weekend of backpacking even in cold weather when I like extra hot beverages. So far for weekend trips, I haven't even used half of the bottle of fuel, so I'm fairly certain I could make it work for at least a 4-day trip. It's performed well so far, never leaking or spilling. The flip top pour cap is useful to control how much alcohol I use, whether measuring directly into the stove or primer pan or into the measuring cup.

Measuring cup -

This has proved to be a little jewel. For very minimal weight (less than 1/10 oz or 3g), I can effectively measure the fuel I use and add a bit of safety to refilling a stove by not having to use the larger fuel bottle near it. The measuring cup fits neatly over the top of the fuel bottle for storage, effectively taking up almost no space.

Test Plan -

With winter coming on, it is likely I will primarily be testing the AntiGravityGear Universal Alcohol Stove Accessory Pack on longer day hikes over the rest of the test period, although if weather permits I will try to take it on at least one more backpacking trip. Trails will likely be in the central and western part of West Virginia, with elevations varying from 500 to 1000 feet (150 to 300 meters), although perhaps a least one trip will be at higher elevations (up to 4000 feet or 1200 m) in the eastern mountains.

Temperatures will likely range from 20 F (-7 C) or below to 60 F (16 C) or above, with a variety of weather conditions from bright and sunny to possible snow or sleet. My pack weight will likely vary between 25-32 lb (11-15 kg) over the remainder of the test period for backpacking trips, and at least 5 lb (2 kg) for day hiking.

Likes –

Light weight of components
Smooth edges of windscreen
Larger capacity of fuel bottle compared to my former fuel bottle
Efficiency of using primer pan

Recommendation for improvement –
Provide instructions for cutting windscreen

Thanks to AntiGravityGear and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the Universal Alcohol Stove Accessory Pack.

Read more reviews of AntiGravityGear gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant

Field Report

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