Personal Information:
Name: Christine Korhonen
Age: 30
Gender: female
Height: 5'4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
E-mail: chris@wormguy.com
Location: Western Montana
Date: October 10, 2004

Backpacking Background:
I'm in Montana where I'm getting in a lot of cold-weather backpacking, both in summer and winter. I'm a lightweight backpacker mentally, if not always in practice. I've gotten my summer pack weight down to 19 lb (9 kg), but winter backpacking is still new to me, and my winter pack weight hovers around 25 lb (11 kg).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Brasslite
URL: www.brasslite.com
Model: Turbo F
MSRP: US$25
Listed weight: 0.8 oz (23 g)
Measured weight: 0.8 oz (23 g)

Turbo F Description:
The Turbo F is an ultralight alcohol backpacking stove made of thin brass sheeting with a pot stand attached. The Turbo F is the lightest of the current Brasslite stoves.

Field Information:
I've used the Turbo F on trips throughout a cool summer in Montana and Wyoming.   Elevations ranged from 4500' to 7500' (1400 m to 2300 m) and temperatures went from 40 F to 70 F (4 C to 21 C) with some light wind and drizzle.

Pot Information:
With the Turbo F stove I used either a GSI Outdoors Anodized Aluminum Pot or an Ekco stainless steel pot. The GSI pot is short and wide. It fits 16 oz (470 mL) of water comfortably, is 2.5" (6.4 cm) tall and has a 5" (12 cm) base. The Ekco pot is from Wal-mart. It is 4.5" (11 cm) tall and 3.5" (8.9 cm) wide. It has a small spout, a stationary wire handle, and fits 22 oz (650 mL) comfortably. I primarily used the pots for boiling water. Sometimes I heated a Tasty Bites 10 oz (300 mL) packaged Indian meal.

Using the Turbo F:
The Turbo F is easy to use. I just put some fuel in the main chamber, add a squirt on top, and it lights right up. I usually filled the stove with its maximum 1 oz (30 mL) of fuel, heated16 oz (470 mL) of water for tea, and then heated up the Indian food. This method worked smoothly most of the time. Sometimes I needed to refill the stove with another 1/2 oz (15 mL) of fuel to get everything to the desired temperature or to heat up some more water. The water usually got hot enough for tea in under 5 minutes, and the Indian food took another 3-4 minutes.   I always opened the package of Indian food and poured it into a pot to heat.

Fuel I use denatured alcohol as my fuel of choice. That's what I keep in the Turbo F's fuel bottle. However, on one trip I forgot to bring the fuel bottle. I found a yellow bottle of HEET brand methanol at the next gas station and was on my way. I was impressed I could find acceptable fuel so easily, and I especially liked the fact that the fuel came in a relatively small plastic container so I could carry the whole bottle with me in my pack. It was nice that I didn't have to stop at a backpacking specialty store to get special fuel or a specific bottle.

Refilling When I needed to, it was easy to refill the stove. I just waited a minute or so for it to cool down, added more fuel, and lit it again. I didn't have any problems over-filling the stove since any extra fuel just went out of the side holes.

Stability I've had some stability problems with the Turbo F when I used the taller Ekco pot. The first time, I knocked it over when I was boiling water. I think I was turning to get my spoon, but I don't know what I did to make it go over. The second time, I nearly knocked over my dinner. I was holding the pot by its handle and stirring the meal when I did something wrong. I was able to save the meal, but the stove went over and fuel went everywhere. I haven't had any stability problems when I used the shorter, GSI pot for cooking.

Flames The flames from the Turbo F are very high and go up the sides of both pots. The shorter GSI pot has fold-away handles. These handles get extremely hot from the flames, and I've burned my fingers on them a couple of times. I use a bandanna as a pot holder but have to watch out because it's flammable. I get into trouble when I try to switch pots while the stove is running. With this stove, it is much better to measure out the appropriate amount of fuel, run the stove until the fuel is spent, and then switch pots when the flames are down. I've found trying to move pots in and out of the flames is a sure way to set my bandanna on fire, or at least burn a nice hole in it.

Durability The Turbo F has held up extremely well. I store it wrapped in my bandanna inside a plastic powdered drink-mix container. The Turbo F is a little tarnished, but there are no dents.   All the welds have held, and it looks really good.

Final Thoughts:
I really like the Turbo F. It is an excellent stove that works really well. It is small and lightweight, making it easy to carry and store. I love that it's quiet and doesn't have any parts to fiddle with or break.

Like:
Tiny!
Very quiet.
Durable.
Fuel is readily available.
No moving parts to break.

Dislike:
Not as stable as it could be.
Watch the flames.

Thanks to Brasslite for running this test and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me be a part.

Read more reviews of Brasslite gear
Read more gear reviews by Christine Korhonen

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