Owner Review

HIKE N' LIGHT STOVE

January 8, 2006

 

 

biography

 

Name:            Jerry Span

Age:                26

Gender:         Male

Height:           6 ft 4 in (1.9 m)

Weight:          160 lbs (73 kg)

Email:             ihikeat@gmail.com

City, State:     Seminole, Florida

 

I am a mid-weight hiker, working to lightweight, who has backpacked sparingly for about 4 years on the Florida Trail and Appalachian Trail.  My longest trips were on the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee and the Great Smoky Mountain AT section.  Total mileage to date would be lower then three hundred miles.  Starting in March of 2006, I will be living and working in Fontana Village, NC.  My job will be in recreation leading people on backpacking trips, mountain biking, ropes courses and many other great outdoor recreational sports.  I also plan on volunteering as a ridgerunner for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.  Once this new life begins I will double my experience in backpacking within the first 6 months.

You can visit my site I Hike Appalachian Trail for news on the AT.

 

product info

 

Manufacturer:                       Hike N' Light, Inc.    

Product:                                 Hike N' Light Stove

URL:                                       http://www.hikenlight.com

Year Manufactured:                        2004

Price:                                      $14.99 US

Manufacturer's Weight:       4 oz (113 g)

Measured Weight:               4 oz (113 g)

Measured Dimensions:      Pre Heat Pad 5 in diameter (13 cm)

                                                Stove 4 in diameter x 1 in high (10 cm x 3 cm)

Fuel:                                       Methyl, Denatured and Isopropyl Alcohol

Description:                          This is a compact light 6 piece aluminum alcohol stove.  There is a preheat pad, stove, stove top (9 air inlet holes,) and 3 clips to hold the pot.  To set-up the stove it takes approximately one minute.

Web Site Claims:                 The World's ONLY disposable alcohol stove. Is 100% recyclable!!! Burns environmentally friendly alcohol fuels. Lightweight and boils water faster than other alcohol stoves currently in production. Revolutionary 'Patent Pending' design will boil 2 cups of water in 4 minutes using 1 oz of fuel. Hike N' Light stove has no moving parts to break or lose and it will NOT clog. Stove weight is ONLY 2.0 oz!! Total weight of all parts, just 4.0 oz!! Very easy to use. No adjustments, knobs or hoses that might leak. Fast 'set-up' time, less than 2 minutes!!

My Video of Product:            http://ia300035.us.archive.org/3/items/MaxPowerHikeNLightStove/Hike_N_Light_Stove.mov     

field info

 

I have used this stove on the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee and Myakka State Park, as well as on the Appalachian Trail in GA and the Smoky Mountains.  The elevations ranged from sea level to 5000 ft (1524 m).  The temperature was from 50 F (10 C) to 90 F (32 C).   I used this stove for about ten meals. 

 

In Florida it was my first trip with the stove, as well as with an alcohol stove.  The initial set-up was longer than two minutes as stated in the manufacturers description.  I mistakenly filled the pad too high so once I put the stove on top there was some spillage.  After this I had trouble getting the clips on correctly to hold the pot of water I wanted to boil.  I am not sure why there are only three clips to hold the pot.  For me it seems more symmetrical and effective for balance to use four clips.  I found the pot fell over a few times trying to balance it on the three clips.  After I got the balance down pat, I lit the stove preheat pad.  I knew that it was hard to see if the stove was ignited, since I was using denatured alcohol.  The only way to tell was to hold my hand near (not to near or you'll lose your hair) to feel the warmth.  After the preheat pad burned out there was no flame from the stove.  I had to add more alcohol to the preheat pad.  This is where I found out that it is best to pour the alcohol into the stove, place the lid on the stove, set the clips, place the stove on the preheat pad, and lastly add the alcohol to the preheat pad.  This allows me to prevent spilling of the alcohol.    Once the alcohol was added again I lit the stove and placed the recommended aluminum foil shield around the stove.  I used a double-folded piece of aluminum with a small ventilation hole at the bottom, as the Hike N' Light instructions suggested.  I had approximately 2 oz (57 g) in the stove.  According to the manufacturer's chart that should have given me 15+ minutes of burn time, plenty of time to boil my water.  That wasn't the case.  After about four minutes the water wasn't boiling.  Two minutes later there was a light bubble to the water, but still no boil.  A minute later the flames and heat were out.  I didn't want to attempt the process again so I poured the lukewarm water into the instant meal and ended up having a barely warm dinner.  It wasn't the best, but after hiking it did the trick. 

 

The next night I knew how to set it up without error, but the final result was the same, a disappointing, hardly warm meal.

 

On the AT the conditions were a little different.  In Florida the weather was warm, on the AT, it was at least a 30 F (-1 C) difference.  I wasn't going to play around this time.  I added 3 oz (85 g) of fuel, the max fuel amount.  According to the instructions this was to give me more then 45 minutes of burn time.  It didn't give me that much time.  It probably lasted 10 – 15 minutes, and this just barely brought the water to a boil.  The meal was much more enjoyed then in Florida because it was warmer.  However I was disappointed again in the stove.  As mentioned before I used denatured alcohol.  Hike N' Light says this is the second best fuel to use.  It claims, "this type of alcohol provides the next 'hottest' flame in the Hike N' light stove." 

 

Once I run out of denatured alcohol I will probably switch to methyl alcohol, which is claimed to burn hotter and is best for this stove.  Unfortunately, this isn't found as easy as denatured which can be a problem for those who may thru hike.

 

Another problem I found with the stove was that it was hard to get the lid off once I cooked.  After about 3 minutes the stove was cool enough to handle.  There was still fuel in the stove on several occasions.  This made clean-up a little more annoying.  Dealing with pouring fuel back in your canister is extremely frustrating and sloppy, especially from a wide rimmed stove.  Before I even got to pouring I had to remove the lid without spilling its contents.  With the weight of the water, and maybe the design of the stove, the lid was on there pretty tight, almost too tight.  Since I had fuel in the stove I had to hold the stove in an upright position to remove the lid, as opposed to sideways which may have been easier.  There really wasn't anywhere to grab securely to remove the lid.  I tried with my fingernails in the crack between the stove and lid and that was unsuccessful.  Eventually I had to pull out my knife to separate the lid from the stove.  Even though that was a challenge I was able to see that this was good.  I don't want to worry about flames licking up the side of the stove while I'm cooking.  It was especially annoying taking all the time to remove the lid, while there was alcohol in the stove.

 

As far as the durability and size of the product I am very much satisfied.  Very compact!  The stove fits in my pot which worked out very well.  The stove didn't sustain any dents or dings.  Discoloration of the stove did occur, but this should be expected.  These stains did not affect the stove.

 

summary

 

I consider the use I have put into the stove as minimal.  I think after I use a different, hotter, alcohol I may have more success with the stove.  It is very frustrating being out in the woods eating a not-so-warm meal after a hard day of hiking.  If the stove continues to work this way I will switch stoves. 

 

The company itself seems very quaint and friendly.  It isn't a big outfitter so they seem very concerned about the customers.  One of the small things I saw on the website was that they would replace lost or broken clips.  Although this isn't that much of a financial loss for the company it is still a nice gesture. 

 

Once I use this some more I may find a technique to use this stove more effectively.  I'd say after two more trips if I find no change, then this stove will be recycled.