I was in Colorado last week. I got a MSR canister to burn at -20F at 11,000 ft. I put the canister in my sleeping bag to warm it up and I sat it on my foam sleep pad instead of the ground when burning it.
I've been using a variety of different stoves here in the Canadian Rockies for about 50 years. In recent years I have mostly switched over to isobutane rather than white gas. I like the weight savings in both the stove and fuel with the isobutane as I have developed an on/off cooking method which saves a lot of fuel. But, in really cold conditions here in the winter the white gas is still the winner. At low temperatures you get a lot hotter burn and the stove is often on for a couple of hours at a time, because you need to melt snow for water. So, I now carry isobutane for about 8 months of the year and white gas for the winter months.
In regards to do people take this in "conditions that low".... I don't camp or backpack in that cold of temps.... but " 1. I do take these ice fishing, and it's been as cold as -33 F 2. Though it was a fluke year, I have been Elk hunting in early October and had a cold snap that dropped it down to -15 in the evenings.
Thanks for your videos! I live in the Rocky mountains and generally stick with name brand canisters that are readily available. I haven't experienced any major issues at elevation or in very cold settings but I also use different stoves based on my circumstances. I wonder if different burners within the various stove manufacturers would make a difference in fuel performance? Also, given the temperature variant in your other video I'm wondering how wind would play a factor combined with each fuel's various temperatures as well as with different burner types. This probably could be a deep rabbit hole and in the end probably doesn't really matter...so, I'll just keep going outside! 😃
I just got home from an overnight. Attempted to use a Coleman canister with my jetboil. Canister was partially used (not sure how partially). Temperature was around 20 F degrees. I could not get it to light. Today I was able to get it to light at home in a 70 F Degree home. So based on my experience the Coleman canister definitely does not perform in cold weather
Great test and video. I'm planning to thru-hike the AT and was worried about taking an iso-butane stove in Feb. for my start in GA. I'll watch the weather. If conditions are predicted to be so cold that the IB stove won't likely work, I'll delay my start!
You answered my question. I was having problems with the Coleman peak 1 stove this morning. I think it's time for a new gadget. Yaay take care and good luck.
Good test. One thing, though: In Colorado, the atmospheric pressure is only 80% what it would be at sea level, or even lower well up in the mountains. This is a big deal for a gas canister stove! The vapor pressures of propane and isobutane at a given temperature are constants. At the same temperature at or near sea level, the difference between the vapor pressure of the fuel and the ambient atmospheric pressure could be near zero, and the stove wouldn't burn at all, while at high elevation the lower atmospheric pressure would mean the difference in the pressure inside the fuel canister and the outside could be significant. Someone in, say, coastal Alaska or along the shore of the Great Lakes, might find their stove failed at the same temperature at which you found acceptable burning in your testing in Colorado.
So I just went hiking at 15 degrees Fahrenheit with pretty gusty winds bringing it down to 3 degrees with the wind chill. Using a GSI glacier ridge and a MSR fuel canister it started great and ran full bore for a bit and then petered out and wouldn’t boil my water. There can was brand new and I brought it home and warmed it on the way in my truck I got home put it on my tailgate and the same thing happened. I understand the stove isn’t great but is it a stove or a cold fuel problem? Thanks for any insight
You know there’s an entire population of us who do winter ultras? Temps have been far greater than -5°F 😊. For days. ITI trail Invitational, Arrowhead 135, Tuscobia.
Here's a scary story about the 100 or so duck hunters who died in the upper Midwest when a freak blizzard struck in November 1940. After reading that it's impossible not to take cold weather preparedness seriously. sportingclassicsdaily.com/day-the-duck-hunters-died/
why didnt they go away back home? i was stuck in the woods once because my snowmobile and all my gear fell off a bridge and into a river. i walked in 3feet of snow for 10hours and did about 30kms on foot to the nearest camp. it was in a snowstorm and about -20C. i wrote the complete story once for somebody i will post it if i find the text on my computer.
@@Francois_Dupont From what I gathered from the story, the weather had been quite warm for early November and most of the hunters were not dressed for cold weather. The blizzard and its extreme cold struck without warning.
@@R32R38 i understand that they may not have had cars, boats and planes to get away fast. but they would have to have been quite far from any houses in order not being able to just walk back to a shelter.
@@Francois_Dupont In heavy snow anyone will get lost and if they were not prepared for it, can get very ugly. Even today many large areas of the country have no phone service and even no HF radio so unless you have a Satellite phone your can't even call for help...
This test is flawed, testing below zero operation indoors in warm air isn't real life. Assuming one could use Colman's butane-propane at -5° with no issues at all could lead to some problems.
butane has a boiling point of 0C. in the cold (bellow 0C) butane will not even come out of the can. you could punch a hole into the canister and pour the liquid butane out.
If your Coleman fuel-canister says butane / propane blend its BUTANE NOT ISOBUTANE!!! Unless you can show the official printed specs for that specific product. Which are difficult to impossible to come by. Which is most likely the reason you don't know what you are talking about. At thevery least your title is misleading and inaccurate and at the worst you don't know your chemistry. All your tips/tricks to improve cold canister use were correct and accurate. But you did not include the most basic: vigorous shaking.
I was in Colorado last week. I got a MSR canister to burn at -20F at 11,000 ft. I put the canister in my sleeping bag to warm it up and I sat it on my foam sleep pad instead of the ground when burning it.
I've been using a variety of different stoves here in the Canadian Rockies for about 50 years. In recent years I have mostly switched over to isobutane rather than white gas. I like the weight savings in both the stove and fuel with the isobutane as I have developed an on/off cooking method which saves a lot of fuel. But, in really cold conditions here in the winter the white gas is still the winner. At low temperatures you get a lot hotter burn and the stove is often on for a couple of hours at a time, because you need to melt snow for water. So, I now carry isobutane for about 8 months of the year and white gas for the winter months.
In regards to do people take this in "conditions that low".... I don't camp or backpack in that cold of temps.... but "
1. I do take these ice fishing, and it's been as cold as -33 F
2. Though it was a fluke year, I have been Elk hunting in early October and had a cold snap that dropped it down to -15 in the evenings.
Thanks for your videos! I live in the Rocky mountains and generally stick with name brand canisters that are readily available. I haven't experienced any major issues at elevation or in very cold settings but I also use different stoves based on my circumstances.
I wonder if different burners within the various stove manufacturers would make a difference in fuel performance? Also, given the temperature variant in your other video I'm wondering how wind would play a factor combined with each fuel's various temperatures as well as with different burner types.
This probably could be a deep rabbit hole and in the end probably doesn't really matter...so, I'll just keep going outside! 😃
I just got home from an overnight. Attempted to use a Coleman canister with my jetboil. Canister was partially used (not sure how partially). Temperature was around 20 F degrees. I could not get it to light. Today I was able to get it to light at home in a 70 F Degree home. So based on my experience the Coleman canister definitely does not perform in cold weather
Great test and video. I'm planning to thru-hike the AT and was worried about taking an iso-butane stove in Feb. for my start in GA. I'll watch the weather. If conditions are predicted to be so cold that the IB stove won't likely work, I'll delay my start!
You answered my question. I was having problems with the Coleman peak 1 stove this morning. I think it's time for a new gadget. Yaay take care and good luck.
Very nice i use Coleman too cus of your comparison vid and lucky in cali it doesn't get crazy cold.
Good test. One thing, though: In Colorado, the atmospheric pressure is only 80% what it would be at sea level, or even lower well up in the mountains. This is a big deal for a gas canister stove!
The vapor pressures of propane and isobutane at a given temperature are constants. At the same temperature at or near sea level, the difference between the vapor pressure of the fuel and the ambient atmospheric pressure could be near zero, and the stove wouldn't burn at all, while at high elevation the lower atmospheric pressure would mean the difference in the pressure inside the fuel canister and the outside could be significant.
Someone in, say, coastal Alaska or along the shore of the Great Lakes, might find their stove failed at the same temperature at which you found acceptable burning in your testing in Colorado.
So I just went hiking at 15 degrees Fahrenheit with pretty gusty winds bringing it down to 3 degrees with the wind chill. Using a GSI glacier ridge and a MSR fuel canister it started great and ran full bore for a bit and then petered out and wouldn’t boil my water. There can was brand new and I brought it home and warmed it on the way in my truck I got home put it on my tailgate and the same thing happened. I understand the stove isn’t great but is it a stove or a cold fuel problem? Thanks for any insight
That's probably a fuel problem.
You know there’s an entire population of us who do winter ultras? Temps have been far greater than -5°F 😊. For days. ITI trail Invitational, Arrowhead 135, Tuscobia.
You should do a vid on yourself. What you like what you hunt what weapons you use etc
just 3days ago i was camping in about -10C and my butane lantern didnt light at all because no gas was coming out.
Great video!!
Bro why don’t you make some more videos? You make good ones. Respectfully, What happened?
Here's a scary story about the 100 or so duck hunters who died in the upper Midwest when a freak blizzard struck in November 1940. After reading that it's impossible not to take cold weather preparedness seriously.
sportingclassicsdaily.com/day-the-duck-hunters-died/
why didnt they go away back home? i was stuck in the woods once because my snowmobile and all my gear fell off a bridge and into a river. i walked in 3feet of snow for 10hours and did about 30kms on foot to the nearest camp. it was in a snowstorm and about -20C.
i wrote the complete story once for somebody i will post it if i find the text on my computer.
@@Francois_Dupont From what I gathered from the story, the weather had been quite warm for early November and most of the hunters were not dressed for cold weather. The blizzard and its extreme cold struck without warning.
@@R32R38 i understand that they may not have had cars, boats and planes to get away fast. but they would have to have been quite far from any houses in order not being able to just walk back to a shelter.
@@Francois_Dupont In heavy snow anyone will get lost and if they were not prepared for it, can get very ugly. Even today many large areas of the country have no phone service and even no HF radio so unless you have a Satellite phone your can't even call for help...
Thé Nordic countrys issued there military alcohol stoves
This test is flawed, testing below zero operation indoors in warm air isn't real life. Assuming one could use Colman's butane-propane at -5° with no issues at all could lead to some problems.
1:37 ...am I missing an eyebrow??? 😁
butane has a boiling point of 0C.
in the cold (bellow 0C) butane will not even come out of the can. you could punch a hole into the canister and pour the liquid butane out.
If your Coleman fuel-canister says butane / propane blend its BUTANE NOT ISOBUTANE!!! Unless you can show the official printed specs for that specific product. Which are difficult to impossible to come by. Which is most likely the reason you don't know what you are talking about. At thevery least your title is misleading and inaccurate and at the worst you don't know your chemistry. All your tips/tricks to improve cold canister use were correct and accurate. But you did not include the most basic: vigorous shaking.