Reviews > Health & Safety > Emergency and Survival Gear > Coleman Exponent XtremeCat Heater > Jim Sabiston > Field Report

Field Report Coleman Exponent XtremeCat Catalytic Heater

Date: December 5, 2005

Reviewer Information:

Backpacking Background:

Product Information:

MSRP:          

Specifications as measured:

A Brief  Description of the Coleman Exponent  XtremeCat Catalytic Heater:

The Coleman XtremeCat may have brought the catalytic heater in to the realm of being small and (relatively) light enough to be a reasonable backpacking item. It is much smaller than the other available Coleman models and is fueled by the smaller backpacking type fuel cartridges, rather than the much larger and heavier propane cartridges used in the previously available models. The output is less at 800 BTUs compared to the 1100 BTUs of the larger models (I use the Coleman SportCat for comparison, as this is the model my climbing partner has been using). I suspected the lower output would actually be an advantage in smaller backpacking type tents, as there should be less of a tendency to overheat the lower volume of a backpacking tent. More on this point later.

The heater consists of a heavy metal burner head, comprised of a heavy silver colored metal base and a heavy duty black metal screen, both of which serve to enclose and protect the platinum catalytic element. Directly below the silver base of the burner head is a black steel assembly, apparently a vent to allow air to the bottom of the burner head. Below this is the support tube that contains both the On-Off knob and the connector fitting for the fuel tank. This part is referred to as the Regulator Assembly in the enclosed instructions. The On-Off knob is quite large for such a small heater, and is rather pronounced as it protrudes from the side of the base. The Regulator Assembly is covered by black plastic and the On-Off knob is made of the same black plastic.

There is a large, black plastic ring that is intended as a stabilizing base. The ring is supposed to fit snugly around the bottom of the gas cartridge. When writing my Initial Report, I did not have a Coleman fuel cartridge handy, but I have a stock of SnowPeak cartridges for my Gigapower stove. The cartridge fits the stove well and seems to operate fine, but the stabilizing ring is a loose fit on it, offering no real stabilizing effect. I have since located a supply of Coleman fuel cartridges at a local sports supply store (Sports Authority). Apparently, the Coleman fuel cartridge is ever so slightly wider than the SnowPeak cartridge, as the ring fits very snugly around it. It requires a definite push to get it located properly on the Coleman cartridge, but doing so is not at all difficult. Once in place, the plastic ring is very stable.

One of the primary departures from Coleman’s prior catalytic heater products with the XtremeCat is the use of a backpack style butane/propane fuel cartridge. This gives a significant weight savings over the more commonly used larger ‘household’ propane fuel tanks. The fuel cartridge is installed simply by screwing it onto the heater base, just as one would install the cartridge on a backpacking stove.

Lighting the heater is simplicity itself. The On-Off knob only has three possible positions: On, Off and Light. The On and Off positions are at the end of the normal arc of knob travel, turn clockwise for ‘Off’ and counterclockwise for ‘On’. When reaching the ‘On’ position a small detent can be felt. To light the heater, the knob must be pushed counterclockwise past the ‘On’ position to the ‘Light’ position. A subtle spring-loaded resistance can be felt when doing this and, predictably, the knob returns to the ‘On’ position when it is released. The instructions state to hold the knob in this position for 8 to 10 seconds while holding a lighted match close to the screen of the burner head. When doing this, I experienced a brief flash of flame which danced around the burner head for a moment and then extinguished. The instructions say to hold the valve open for another 10 second and then release it. The burner warms up slowly, but heat can be detected almost immediately and it gets gradually warmer as the catalytic process kicks in. The XtremeCat is totally silent in operation. The heater is not adjustable and is strictly an On-Off operation.

The included instructions and hang-tag make several references to CAN1-11.3-M79. This is apparently a reference to a Canadian safety regulation pertaining to camping heaters. Removing the hang-tag, which contains operating instructions and various safety warnings, or using the heater without the plastic base is a violation of this safety regulation according to the literature.

Oh yes, Coleman also supplies a rather nice black nylon carrying case with the heater.

Field Experience:

The XtremeCat stove proved to be surprisingly easy to pack. The supplied nylon case is too bulky to be used in a backpack. Instead, I installed the stabilizing ring on the fuel cartridge and slipped it into my backpack as a unit. I positioned it so the bottom of the ring/cartridge assembly rested against the suspension of the backpack, slipping the lower part of the ring between the sleeping bag and pack frame. This made for a nice, snug storage spot. The heater itself went into the pack later, just below those items (jacket and snacks) that I normally access during the days hiking. The weight of the heater is noticeable but, in an otherwise light weight pack, not onerous.

Our Fall season has been a very mild one to date, so the heater did not get carried into the field until recently, when the night time temps finally dropped below 45 F (7 C). Waiting for low temperatures may have been a mistake, however. It was my intent to use the heater for deep winter camping trips, when we can spend three or four days without seeing daytime temperatures above 25 F (-4 C) and night temperatures below -10F (-20 C). The XtremeCat heater may not be suitable for those conditions. In my first field test of the heater, I brought it along with me on an overnight traverse of a new (to me) section of Harriman State Park. The weather was cool, with daytime temperatures around 40 F (4 C). We arrived at our pre-planned camp site in the late afternoon and I set up my tent, a Black Diamond Lighthouse. Knowing I would be using the XtremeCat heater, I also packed the optional vestibule and this was also set up. By the time we were cooking dinner, the outside temperature had dropped to 26 F (-3 C).

Before setting up the heater, I used the Coleman fuel cartridge with my SnowPeak GigaPower stove with good success. The addition of the plastic stabilizing ring on the base of the fuel cartridge made for an extremely stable cooking platform. I really liked this setup. Cooking was far easier with the stabilizer ring. Some time later I retired to my tent for the night, eager with anticipation to fire up the heater. I quickly swapped the stove for the heater, using the same cartridge. The XtremeCat lit easily on the first try. I placed the heater in the vestibule, then went about organizing my gear and settling down for a bit of reading. 

Much to my surprise, the tent did not seem to heat up noticeably. I kept the heater going for a couple of hours, but the tent never got significantly warmer. I check of my indoor/outdoor thermometer showed 24F (-4 C) outside, but only 34F (1 C) inside. It seemed clear that the heater was making a difference, but I expected more than this. I suspect a couple of factors may be at play here:

    1 - Cold ambient temperature: Gas fuel cartridges do not pressurize well in cold temperatures. I was able to cook with the Coleman fuel cartridge, but it was clearly affected by the cold temps, only generating a moderate flame. This is typical of gas cartridge stoves. I thought this might not be too important, as the catalytic heating element operates with low consumption. Apparently it is critical. This will severely compromise the heaters usefulness for my intended use, which would be in typical winter conditions.

    2 - Using a single wall tent:  I have to wonder if the single wall tent allows a greater heat loss, sufficient to compromise the effectiveness of the low 800 BTU output of the XtremeCat.

Summary:

Likes:

1 – Cooking stability when using the cartridge/stabilizing ring setup for cooking.
2 – Very easy to operate.
3 – Small (relatively) size.
4 – Very affordable price.

Dislikes:

1) Is 800 BTU enough output for winter conditions? Knowing that a Coleman 1100 BTU heater heated the same tent to 70F (21 C) in 16F (-9 C) outside temperatures, logic dictates the output should be enough. The heart of the problem may just be the inherent sensitivity of the smaller fuel cartridge to outside temperatures. I will have to try the heater in warmer temperatures to see if it makes a difference.

Reviews > Health & Safety > Emergency and Survival Gear > Coleman Exponent XtremeCat Heater > Jim Sabiston > Field Report