Coleman Exponent Fyrestorm Ti Stove – Field Report

Personal biographical information:

• Name:  Josh Cormier
• Age: 26
• Gender: Male
• Height: 5’ 11” (1.80 m)
• Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
• Email address:  swifteagle1 at hotmail dot com
• City: Los Gatos, California
• Date: 14-Aug-06

Backpacking background:

I started backpacking with the Boy Scouts when was 11 and have been camping and backpacking ever since. I’m now geared toward more challenging trips ranging from week-long to weekend in mountainous areas covering from 7-14 miles (11.27 - 22.54 km) a day. I would classify my gear as mid weight although now I am trying to move more toward lightweight. I go backpacking at least once a year in the Sierra Nevada Mountains as well as monthly car camping trips with the Scouts.

Product Information: (information taken from Coleman website)

- Item Description: Coleman Fyrestorm Ti Stove 

- Listed Stove weight: 7.7 oz (218 g)

- Measured Stove weight: 7.8 oz (221 g)

- Listed Stove & pump unit weight: 10.7 oz (303 g)

- Measured Stove & pump unit weight: 15.1 oz (428 g)

- Listed Stove & canister adapter weight: 11.0 oz (312 g)

- Measured Stove & canister adapter weight: 11.2 oz (318 g)

- Measured reflector and windscreen weight: 3.1 oz (88 g)

- Listed BTUs Canister: 14,000

- Listed Boil Time Canister: 3.2 min

- Listed Burn Time Canister: 45 min

- Listed BTUs Liquid: 10,000

- Listed Boil Time Liquid: 3.5 min

- Listed Burn Time Liquid: 75 min

- Listed Dimensions—3 1/4" h x 6 3/4" w x 6 1/4" d (83mm h x 171 mm w x 159 mm d)

- Listed Pack Size—3 1/4" h x 5 3/4" w x 3 3/4" d (83mm h x 146 mm w x 95 mm d)

- Fuel used: Runs on Coleman® fuel, unleaded gasoline, or butane/propane

- Manufactures web site: http://www.coleman.com

- Year of Manufacture: 2006

- MSRP: $189.99

- Item Received: 24-May-06

Liquid Fuel Cooking:

I took this stove down to the beach with me to help cook our morning breakfast while my family was camping down there. The weather was overcast with a slight breeze and it was just a little cool outside 68 F (20 C). I connected the stove to the liquid fuel canister and setup the reflector and windscreen with no problems. Lighting the stove was as simple as following the directions on the bottle. I did not open the fuel valve as far as I should have and almost caused the stove to go out while self priming. Once the stove was lit I set the flame adjustor to its lowest setting and placed a pot of grits on top. With some stirring and a lid to keep the grits from spurting over the side I was able to “simmer” the grits without burning them or making them stick to the bottom of the pan.

I also took this stove on a backpacking trip to Emigrant Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The elevations ranged from 6000 to 9000 ft (1829 to 2743 m). The terrain was Granite Mountains spotted with trees, lakes, and meadows. The temperature fluctuated between 52 F (11 C) at night to 89 F (32 C) in the daytime. There was usually a nice breeze blowing and the sky was clear and cloudless the entire trip. I used the liquid fuel for cooking on most of the trip.

Lighting the stove using the liquid fuel tended to be a challenge to get it right the first time. I thought this was simple since my first time lighting the stove was fine. I found after many trials and errors that the best way is to follow the directions exactly. If I would start with the initial 40 pumps to the fuel bottle but forget the additional 40 after the stove lit, the stove would flare up. Additionally if I forgot to turn the flame adjustor to high when first starting the stove, I would also get a flare up. The other thing that took some practice was restarting the stove after it had been running for a while then shut off. In this case the stove still needs to be started as if it was dead cold.

I used the stove to boil water every morning and night and it worked well. I was able to set the stove pretty much flat using the three legs to straddle dips and bumps in the rock I was cooking on. The windscreen was a must as there was always a slight breeze blowing, shifting the heat away from the pot. Twice for dinner I re-warmed precooked stew that we had packed in. The stove’s flame adjustor was able to keep the flame low enough to keep the stew at a low boil but not quite a simmer.  I also used the stove to fry the one fish I caught on the trip. With oil in the pan and cornmeal on the fish I was able to keep the flame low enough to keep the oil from spattering as I was cooking.

Canister Fuel Cooking:

Lighting the stove using the canister fuel is always quick and easy. Open the flame adjustor to high, hold a match over the burner, and open the fuel valve.

I took the stove to a 3 day horseshow where we were camping down at Salinas. I used a 12 in (30 cm) pan to reheat some Sloppy Joe meat for dinner. With the flame adjustor on its lowest setting I was able to warm the meat without burning it, though I did add some water to aid the warming process.

A better test of the flame control was a few days later when I used the same 12 in (30 cm) pan to cook pancakes one morning. I placed enough batter for two pancakes into opposite ends of the pan and waited for the stove to warm up. I waited until the bubbles almost came completely to the top then flipped them over. They were dark brown on the bottom but not really burnt. Another pancake went on in the center of the pan when the pan was already warm. That one came out pretty brown on both sides but again, not really burnt. Throughout the cooking the pan was pretty stable, though I did have to hold onto the handle when I was flipping the pancakes. I also had to make sure I centered the pan over the stove otherwise it would want to flip off.

I only used the canister fuel source once on my trip to Emigrant Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was on the side of a mountain we were climbing down the night before. We found a place to camp that was just big enough for two tents and some moving around room. In the morning I connected the canister to the canister stand and then connected it to the stove with the braided fuel line. The stove was easy to light as always when using the canister fuel source and was instantly ready to put the water on. Using the stove with canister has always been quick to setup and easy to use. I would choose to use the canister setup anytime I need to get the stove ready in a hurry or don’t want the possible hassle of the liquid fuel setup.

Overall Durability:

The stove has been used for 12 meals in one or the other of its configurations, the stove has held up to the use well. The only “damage” to the stove so far had been some of the powder coating on the bottom of the legs chipping off from setting it on rocks, see above picture. All the connections still fit together easily and do not leak fuel. The o-ring on the fuel bottle has some small chunks taken out of it from screwing it into the fuel bottle but it still does not leak. There are extra o-rings in the repair kit that came with the stove, once this o-ring fails I will replace it with one of these.  

To date I have used the Stove with the canister fuel for the following:

Boil water

Reheat Sloppy Joe meat

Cook Pancakes

To date I have used the Stove with the liquid fuel for the following:

Boil water

Cook Grits

Reheat stew

Fry fish

In my next report I will answer the following questions:

Dependability:

Does the stove consistently fire up without any repair or adjustments?

Does the stove hold up well under use?

Will the stove be able to hold a 1 Quart pot with stability?

Does the stove keep from getting carbon clogged when using white gas?

Is the stove easy to take apart and repair?

Does the stove work with the butane fuel in cold weather?

Efficiency:

Is the stoves flame fully adjustable to conserve fuel?

Is the weight to dependability/usefulness ratio favorable?

Does the stove cool down quickly so it can be packed away?

Do I constantly have to pump the white gas when I am cooking?

Ease of Use:

Is the stove well thought out?

Is the stove easy to setup and takedown?

Is the stove easy to light?

Is the process of connecting the stove to the fuel source straight forward?

Is the instant start for the white gas easy to use and prevents overfilling primers?

Thank you to Coleman and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to test this fine item.

Josh Cormier