Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Coleman Fyrestorm Ti Stove > Chuck Carnes > Field Report

Coleman
Fyrestorm Ti
Stove

  Field Report
by Chuck Carnes
Report Date: November 14, 2006

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Name: Chuck Carnes
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ft. 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina USA

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since then. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.

PRODUCT INFORMATION BY MANUFACTURER
Manufacturer: Coleman
Model: eXponent Fyrestorm Ti
Year of manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.coleman.com
Listed Weights:
Stove - 7.7 oz (218 g)
Stove & Pump Unit - 10.7 oz (303 g)
Stove & Canister Adapter Weight - 11.0 oz (312 g)
Actual Weights:
Stove - 7.6 oz (215 g)
Stove & Pump Unit - 26.6 oz (754 g) (bottle 2/3 full of fuel)
                                 11.6 oz (329 g) (bottle empty)
Stove & Canister Adapter Weight - 10.5 oz (298 g) (without canister fuel)
                                                          17.5 oz (496 g) (with canister fuel)
                                                                                                                   
Listed Size: 3 1/4 in (h) x 6 3/4 in (w) x 6 1/4 in (d)
Actual Sizes:
Stove pot supports - 5.75 in (14.5 cm) wide
Burner Base at bottom of legs - 7.25 in (18.5 cm) wide
Stove Height from bottom of legs to top of pot supports - 3.75 in (9.5 cm)
Canister Adapter Base - 8.0 in (20.0 cm)
Canister Adapter Height - 3.0 in (8.0 cm)
MSRP: $189.99 USD                

FIELD REPORT
I had the opportunity to take the Coleman Fyrestorm stove on two weekend trips. One was to Paris Mountain State Park and one was to Jones Gap. Below are the trip reports and my findings with the Fyrestorm up to this point.

Trip #1:
Location: Paris Mountain State Park, S.C
Elevation: 1,200 ft (366 m) - 1,400 ft (427 m)
Temperature: 65-75 F (18-23 C) day, 35-45 F (1-7 C) night
Weather Conditions: Cold and dry. No rain. No breeze.
Duration of Trip: 2 days, 1 night
Length of Trip: 2.5 miles (4.0 km)
Meals cooked: Fettuccini Alfredo with grilled chicken
Report: This was my first time out in the field with the Coleman Fyrestorm. I packed the Fyrestorm in the stuff sack that was included and packed the canister in the outside pockets of my pack, just in case of leakage. I left the fuel bottle at home for this trip. Since my Initial Report, I purchased canister fuel to bring with me to get some use from it and the stand set up that is used for the canister. I found the canister set up very easy to assemble and to light. Simply attach the canister onto the tri-pod stand, open the fuel adjuster valve, while holding a match close to the burner open the fuel valve at the canister and an instant blue flame appears. The stove is now ready to be cooked with. I did not have to use the wind screen during this meal since there was no breeze.

The meal that I prepared for this trip was Fettuccini Alfredo with grilled chicken. I used a 1.5 l (51 fl oz) aluminum pot to prepare my meal. This meal came prepackaged with Fettuccini noodles and powdered Alfredo Sauce. I had already grilled the chicken and froze it for this trip. The water temperature when placed in the pot to boil was 69 F (20 C). I boiled 2 cups (16 fl oz) of water in the pot which came to a boil in 5 minutes 32 seconds. I poured the noodles into the boiling water and turned the flame down a bit. I achieved a low flame which I considered a simmering flame. The noodles boiled for about 7 minutes. I drained the noodles and then I poured the powdered Alfredo sauce in with the noodles. By now the grilled chicken had defrosted and was soft enough to put in with the rest of the contents. I continued to use the low simmering flame from this point on to finish the cooking process.

With this meal, I felt like the Fyrestorm worked very well in performing the high output BTU that I needed to boil the noodles and then having a low, simmering flame to melt the powdered cheese and not burn the noodles.


Trip #2:
Location: Jones Gap, S.C
Elevation: 1,500 ft (457 m) - 1,600 ft (488 m)
Temperature: 60-70 F (15-21 C) day, 25-35 F (-3-1 C) night
Weather Conditions: Very cold and damp. Previous days rain made ground damp.
Duration of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights
Length of Trip: 4.7 miles (7.5 km)
Meals cooked: Homemade potato soup
Report: On this trip I took the Fyrestorm stove and fuel bottle with pump. I knew that with the meal that I was going to cook required a long boiling time and I wanted to see how much of the fuel that it would use up. I carried the fuel bottle in a plastic bag with the pump assembly removed from the fuel bottle for transportation. I set the stove up and connected the fuel bottle to the flexible fuel line. I proceeded with the start up process (see Initial Report for details) and with in a couple of minutes, I achieved a very hot blue flame from the burner.

The meal that I cooked on this trip was potato soup. I did not make the soup at home and brought it along with me. I actually brought the ingredients and made the soup at my camp site. I did bring the ingredients already pre-measured so that all I had to do was add them when I needed to. I prepared this meal in a 1.5 l (51 fl oz) aluminum pot and started off with a full fuel bottle (2/3 full is considered full). I first had to saute onions and mix margarine (which was frozen) and salt together. This was done over a medium high flame. I did have to continually stir these ingredients to keep them from sticking and possibly burning. Once the onions were nice and soft, I added 4 cut up potatoes and 2 cups (16 fl oz) of water to the pot. This was the real challenge for the fuel consumption, the potatoes had to boil for about 15 to 20 minutes but I also had to get the water boiling first. I turned the fuel control valve on high and hoped for the best.

After about 3 minutes the water started to boil and I decided to lower the flame just a bit to try and save fuel. I placed the windscreen around the stove and pot to conserve some of the heat so that I wouldn't have to cook the potatoes as long. After about 10 minutes I checked the potatoes and they were soft enough to mash with a fork. Cool! that cut my boil time almost in half. I mashed some of the potatoes in the pot and added bacon bits, thyme, half and half creamer, pepper, parsley, and grated cheese and stirred together. I turned the flame down to a very low simmer and continued to cook the soup for another 2 minutes to get to a thick creamy consistency. Now it was time to try my homemade potato soup with a piece of sour dough bread.

The taste of the soup was great and the Fyrestorm, again, performed perfectly to give me the experience of enjoying a warm, and much needed meal on a very cold night. After the stove cooled off I removed the pump from the fuel bottle to see how much fuel I had left. Without a measuring cup, it looked to be about 4-5 oz. (118-148 ml) of fuel left in the bottle. Now at least I have an idea of how much cooking I can do with a full fuel bottle. The next night I fired up the Fyrestorm, warmed up the remains of the previous nights potato soup and enjoyed it just about as much as the first night. I added just a small amount of water in with the soup to bring back the moisture consistency to keep it from burning in the pot.

So far, I have really enjoyed using the Coleman Fyrestorm as my cooking stove. I enjoy using both the fuel bottle and canister set ups but the canister set up is much easier and faster to get a flame. The fuel bottle and pump assembly can sometimes be a little fussy but it works great when needing a long boil time or cooking for a big group.


PROJECTECTED TEST PLAN
In the next two months I will be visiting the Pisgah National Forest for a group backpacking trip and hope to do another one in the Smoky Mountains. I have volunteered to cook a meal for the group on the nights we are there. It will be a group of 8 and I plan on taking a bigger pot to be able to prepare the whole meal at one time. I am not sure yet what the meals will be but come back for my Long Term report to find out how well the Coleman Fyrestorm performed for such a large group. Temperatures and conditions will be recorded for the report.

Some of the questions that I had in my Initial Report are listed below with answers up to this point in red.

Efficiency:
Another thing that I feel is important in a stove is the efficiency of the fuel and what makes it efficient. I know a wind screen certainly helps the efficiency of the stove and so I will do two separate tests for this reason. Will the wind screen help at all? Yes, as noted in Trip #2, I placed the windscreen around the stove and it cut the boil time almost in half. Does the ground temperature have any affect? At this point, I don't think it does.

Usability and Functionality:
I certainly like a stove to be reliable, easy to set up, light and clean. Both the fuel and canister setups appear to be simple and easy to do these things. Are there any sharp objects that I have to watch for as I retrieve it from the case or unfold the parts? I have not experienced any sharp objects or edges that I have had to be careful about. How easy is it to clean the stove? So far, I have not had to clean the stove other than wiping the bottom of the burner pan of residue. Do I have to be concerned about any parts getting corroded and not working properly? Not a concern yet. How reliable is the stove? The canister set up is very reliable but the fuel bottle and pump assembly is a little bit trickier. How easy is it to light? The canister set up is easy to light but again, the fuel bottle is a little bit harder. Does it light on the first try (most of the time)? Most, if not every time. Will the adjuster valve wear out quickly? Not yet. What different size flames do I get? The canister set up seemed to give me a variety of flames and a very good low flame that I was able to simmer with. The fuel bottle set up did the same. Can I get a flame low enough to simmer but not go out? Yes, I was able to achieve this with both set ups. Does the flame stay mostly in the middle or does it wrap itself up the sides of the pot (this will depend on pot and flame size)? Mine was mostly in the middle since I had a wide pot that I cooked in. Will the flame simmer down quick enough to prevent boil over? At this point I have not experienced this.

Miscellaneous:
Is the pot balanced and stable on the fins? Yes, I found the pot to be very stable. Do the ridges on the pot holder fins cling to the pot well enough to keep from sliding off? Yes, at least for my pot it does. Can I use different brands of fuel canisters? So far I have only tried one brand. Does the stove and canister hold up well to dents and scratches that might take place in the field? They have so far. Can I repair the stove in the field? I have not had to repair the stove thus far in the field. Are the parts easy to disassemble? I don't know yet. Do I need a tool for this?

I hope to continue to answer the remaining questions in my Long Term Report.

Thank you Coleman and BGT for giving me this opportunity to test this stove.

Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Coleman Fyrestorm Ti Stove > Chuck Carnes > Field Report