I thought I'd present a review that might be of interest here, a review of a remote canister stove that can handle running with the canister upside down.

Why might anyone care about which way the canister points? Well, running with the canister upside down gives one about a 20 Fahrenheit degree cold weather advantage over conventional upright canister stoves (when using an isobutane/propane mix).

So, if you like canister gas stoves but want something that can handle a little bit colder weather, the Kovea Spider is worth checking out.

Inverted canister stoves are a lightweight alternative to liquid fueled (gasoline or kerosene) stoves in cold weather. Not only are they lighter, but they're more mechanically reliable. In my latest blog post, I review a good one, the Kovea Spider.

I've found it to be a really nice, compact stove.

The Monatauk Gnat (left) and the Kovea Spider (right)

For the future, I'd like to see Kovea do more to lighten the 5.9oz/168g Spider stove. I'd like to see a good remote canister stove down in the four ounce range, but this is such a nice little stove that it's hard to complain.

The diminutive Kovea Spider

There is a lighter, by about 3/4 ounce, stove on the market, the FMS-118 Volcano, but there have been some complaints about the Volcano sputtering when in inverted canister mode, and I don't think the Volcano packs down anywhere near as small. I can get the Kovea Spider and a 110g canister of gas into either my 780ml Snow Peak pot or my MSR Titan kettle.

A Kovea Spider inside an MSR Titan Kettle

If this sounds interesting, here's the full review: The Kovea Spider (KB-1109) Remote Canister Stove. Have a look if you like.

HJ

Happy with my current stove but I have to tell you that is a well crafted review. I like that you included a lot of good, close up, pics. Words are great but many reviewers don't bother to really let you see the product details.

Of course now you've got me pondering if I need to upgrade

Thanks for posting such a great review.

Unrelated to the review, I've noticed a lot of pictures with the stove stored in the pot. I have always been concerned with any drops of fuel left in the system to do this. Is this a valid concern or am I missing some step that takes care of it?

Thanks!

I don't think it's a problem with canister stoves, since there's no liquid involved and the fuel canister is self-sealing. I regularly store both the stove and canister inside the pot. (Many such kits, like the Jetboil, are designed to do that; given product liability issues, I'm thinking they wouldn't package it that way if there were any doubts.)

When I briefly used an alcohol stove, it was a Trangia, and the screw-on gasketed lid handled the problem rather neatly. However, I still put the "sealed" stove in a ziploc bag before putting it in the pot.

I never stored my white gas stove in a pot, even in a ziploc, for exactly the reason you state.

But that's just me - but I've been married a long time, so I'm used to being wrong.

Thanks, LoneStranger. I'm trying to do reviews that dig a little deeper than the superfluous fluffery that some "mainstream" publications churn out.

What are you using currently, and what are you using it for?

HJ

With gas stoves, I don't consider it a problem. The vapor will just waft away in the breeze. With white gasoline or kerosene, I usually store the stove outside the pot.

HJ

Okay - thanks to you both, that makes sense! It is all in relation to what you have / are used to. We always have had liquid fuel for our stoves (not butane, propane or any mix thereof), so it was baffling me.

Thank you for clearing it up

I did the same with a Trangia and it worked splendidly until the gasket developed a crack. We then had a situation where the methyl alcohol seeped into the cooking pot, but evaporated, evidently leaving some nasties behind. We cooked in that pot one evening at base camp. Two of us were OK, but a gorgeous young lady to whom I was showing the ropes was unable to continue. She was able to descend the next day and recovered. I attribute her illness to the residue from the evaporated alcohol in the cook pot, although a definitive diagnosis was never made. Too bad, could have been a beautiful relationship...

Descending and feeling better sounds like it was altitude related, although with methyl alcohol, it's good to be careful.

I don't worry as much with alcohol because a) it evaporates pretty quickly and cleanly and b) my pot isn't particularly absorbent. Still, I typically do carry my Trangia in a Ziploc if there's fuel inside.

HJ

As an adjunct to my earlier post, I just put up a blog post on cooking with the new Kovea Spider. Have a look if you like.



HJ

Man, that looks good.

It was good.

Remote canister stoves are a nice option for people who want to do a little bit more serious cooking. They're more stable and you can really screen them from wind, both of which are important for more sensitive cooking.

HJ