The FeatherFire Alcohol Stove -- Preliminary Look

I got a little something in the mail this week from RingTail (THANK you!!).


The FeatherFire alcohol stove! Cool!

Part of what's cool about it is this cable that you see here.


That cable controls this screw.


And that screw opens up or constricts the metal band that encircles the stove. Underneath the band are ventilation ports. Open up the band, more air. Close the band, less air.

OK, so here's the really cool thing: You can run the cable through a gap in your windscreen and control things on the fly. NICE! With a Trangia, for example, you have to pull the pot off, manually emplace the simmer ring (without burning yourself), and open the simmer ring with a knife (or whatever). No need on the FeatherFire. Just turn the knob. Clockwise reduces air and the flame. Counter-clockwise opens things up and increases the flame. Start the stove on full open.


Speaking of full open, it gets a plenty good boil on full open.


And a darned good simmer on full closed.


Would you look at that simmer? That is a nice simmer. Just barely bubbling. Best control I've seen on any alcohol stove anywhere. Period.

Couple of more shots for now. High flame.


Low flame.


It'll take me a couple of weeks to get a real sense of the stove. I've only fired it twice so far. "Only." Ha, ha. I've had it two days. "Only" fired it twice. lol. Nice stove, Ringtail.

The stove came from TLB, so TLB gets an exclusive advance look. Nothing ready for the blog just yet. Got a burn a few more rounds of alcohol, etc.

HJ

How compact is it when folded up ready for travel?

Didn't know RingTail made stoves. Throttling the air supply makes sense and by your pics, looks effective.
Folds down how small?

Inspired by the crew on this forum, I have made 3 different alcohol stoves for "backpacking". I have learned a lot in the process, but I have been less than thrilled with my results. There is always something I am not happy with. Stumbled into the featherfire about 4 to 6 months ago and was immediately interested (but as usual, very slow to pull the trigger). The thing looks put together very smartly! I am definitely looking forward to a full accounting of how it works.

sK

VERY interesting stove...

http://packafeather.com/stove.html

It's not quite as compact as a Trangia or typical Coke can type stove, but the legs do fold in.

Here's a photo. I'm using a 1 liter Snow Peak pot. In the pot are a windscreen, a Ti Sierra Cup, and the FeatherFire. There's room for a lighter and maybe a spoon. I had it packed with a bandana to prevent rattling, but I removed the bandana for the photo.


HJ

Thanks for the link Brad. $32.97 for the stove, then add on $$ for windscreen and/or reflector if wanted, not bad. Going off of their numbers, pretty impressive times without the bulk of the Caldera Cone setup. HJ, you're not helping with my budget.

Duane

The stove is made by PackaFeather.com. I have no affiliation with PackaFeather.com and neither does RingTail that I know about. RingTail knew I had been interested in this stove for some time and sent me his for testing. THANK YOU, RingTail.

Hopefully, you can see how compact it is in the above photo.

One thing to note is that the legs swivel inward and nest underneath the stove for transport.


HJ

I have a post on DIY Alcohol Stove Design if you're interested.

The build quality is excellent. I haven't played with it enough to form an opinion, but I'm very impressed by its ability to simmer, not just a low flame, really simmer. I worry a little about the long term durability of the pot supports, but I haven't used it enough yet to have something solid to say there.

HJ

The PackaFeather cap is excellent too. I'd like to get one of their windscreens, but I'm out of work right now, so spending $$'s is not in the plan.

This is just part of my master plan to stimulate the US economy.

HJ

But wait, there's more! I notice they feature the FeatherFire XL, which seems like the same stove (same price), perhaps just a bit more compact....

Such a feast of riches. My traditional Trangia may become a museum piece.

What??? No Ginsu knives? The XL looks a touch more resilient as it doesn't have those spindly supports; and its 0.2 oz lighter.

HJ Thanks! Checked out your blog on alcohol stove design. Packed with good info.

Guys, if I may ask, what do you view as the pro's/con's of an alcohol stove?

PS Jim, I'm the one that posted your MSR link at 24hour.

Thanks!

I am willing to be that it includes an MP3 player, rither that or a solar calendar...

Pros:

0) CHEAP - you can make a very effective stove out of a discarded cat food can or a few pop cans, with some ingenuity.

1) Lightest (by max weight carried) option I have for me, with my cooking style (one boil in morning and one boil in evening)
for me for up to 5 person days, short of esbit tabs, which the smell bothers me and are hard to get here

2) really easy to find fuel, once you know the right stuff to get, as many gas stations have it. I can be assured to find methyl hydrate at almost any gas station in canada, not so with the other stuff - so nice if you are resupplying in the middle of nowhere

3) smallest package for tea in a daybag, with fuel in a pocket - I do this even in the dead of winter here.

4) fuel isn't incredibly volatile, so won't "flare up" easily. but still have to be cautious.

6) Quiet - no hissing and roaring. You can hear the world around you while your stove is on.


Cons:

1) Fuel is the least "btu" dense compared to canister or white gas. You have to carry more to boil the same amount of water.

2) stove a little more wind sensitive than others (but this can be mitigated well with experience

3) if the fuel and stove are very cold, it can be hard to light and keep the stove going well - only matters in really cold temps.

4) almost invisible flame can be a bit treacherous when it's bright out.

5) Tricky to simmer, best suited to boil it up style, rather than a lot of real "cooking" - this does not mean it is impossible to simmer, by no means. it's just a lot easier to
"cook" on the other style of stoves which have better flame control.


---------------------------------------------------------


Really, I use one for the majority of my solo trips.

I will resort to a canister stove in normal weather if I am
out for more than 5 person-days (as by that time the fuel difference makes it heavier, for me, at least at the max weight).

Winter daytrips I take it, with a small bottle of fuel kept warm in my pocket, to make tea. Winter camping I'm melting snow for water so usually take white gas, as it works no matter how cold it is and is more energy dense than just about anything
else I can take..

This is just part of my master plan to stimulate the US economy.

HJ [/quote]

I spent at least one month of income last year on old stoves, I have done my part for the economy.

Duane

Perfect explanation... thanks.

I think I can see one having a very narrow corridor of usefulness for me.

Yeah, you noticed the pot supports too? I'm wondering how they'll do.

Still, I'm freaking impressed by the simmer capability. I think as good as a Trangia but WAY more convenient. You don't have to remove the pot let alone drop a simmer ring on to a burning stove. The XL might be the better stove. As I'm unemployed that has to wait unless someone wants to loan me one.

Cool. Glad it's helpful. There's tons of stuff on there if there's ever the need.

HJ

Hi, Brad,

Thanks for posting that link. Hope my site is of some use to them over there on 24Hour.

Hey, so you live in MT? How cold does it get there? I'm working on some ideas for severe cold weather gas stoves. Stoves that should operate down to -40F or so.

HJ

Hi Jim, first I'd like to encourage you to do a post over there (like this one) of the FeatherFire... I really think this stove has merit. I'd do it, but I think, having used it and being more familiar with alcohol stoves, you're in a better position to do so.

I think the guys over there liked your MSR PR post.

I do live in Montana. Yes, it does get cold here. Most of my backpacking is in summer/fall anymore, but I am planning to get back to full-on winter trips in the future.

The coldest I've been out and cooked w/ stove in is -30*F, though -40 or even -50*F, while not the norm, certainly can happen, especially just south of where I live in Yellowstone.

I have an inordinate amount of stoves from GAZ, Bluet, Jetboil and Snowpeak canister stoves, to Svea and MSR WG stoves, and even a Russian Military Kerosene stove.

I bought my Svea 123 new in 1975 (pre-regulator model) and it's still going strong and is still one of my favorites for REAL cold...

HJ, looks like we found a Stovie in Brad. He is in trouble already though it sounds like with all the stoves.

Duane

oldranger, I am not giving up my Trangia, but I did send HJ the FeatherFire. I got the FeatherFire so that I could simmer the Knorr's side dishes. It does that very well.

My problem is I'm a gear-head in general... especially a pack nut.

Here's what came out of the closet this past spring...

Here's a few of my stoves... the GAZ, Bluet, Russian Kerosene and Jetboil Ti are missing...

Pretty nice summary, Phat.

HJ

NICE stuff, Brad. Are those old pots Sigg pots?

HJ

Hi, Brad,

I probably will post something, but I need to play with the stove a bit more. Right now I don't have a good feel for the stove.

HJ

They are old Sigg spun aluminum pots... all from the 70's when I bought them new.

NICE. And this Russian kero stove, what does that look like? Is it a Primus knock off?

HJ

Brad, that's a lot of packs. I have only had 4 packs my whole bp life, still have two. I gave away the old Camp Trails pack I started with from the early '70's and sold my scraped up Golite Gust a few years ago.

Duane

I do like the look of the featherfire.. how "fiddly" is it?

Exactly. Was a gift from a friend that got it in E. Germany right after the fall of communism.

I suppose I've had well in excess of 30 packs or more since I first started backpacking. I'm always fiddling and experimenting with packs, though I pretty well know what I like these days.

BTW, here's my all-time favorite stove...

I'm not quite as bad as Brad on packs, but close. I need to get rid of some of my old ones.

HJ

Well, that's why I'm not rushing to "publish" on my blog. I want to get a sense of how "fiddly" it is and whether or not it holds up on the trail. I want to use the stove some, see how it feels over time, and how it performs in different conditions.

The stove itself seems pretty good. Even if the air supply control failed for some reason, you'd still have a decent chimney type alcohol stove similar to a Caldera Cone type 12-10 stove or a Brasslite stove.

It's the pot supports that maybe are an issue. Haven't made up my mind yet.

HJ

One gets the impression that the XL provides better pot supports - amazing how much one can observe just by looking....

OK oldranger, I kept my XL and sent the other stove to HJ.

Neither of the stoves are as stable and fuel efficient at the Caldera Cone. However, for a thru hike when you are resupplying at convenience stores the ability to simmer become very important.

As always - match your tool to the job.

So ringtail, what do you like better about the XL? I am guessing of course....

I am jealous that BradMT can find all his stoves. So far all I have found is an unused replacement cap to my SVEA. I am going to tear everthing out of the attic to find my older stoves.

I just showed this picture to my wife. She now understands that I am not alone...

You might want to tear your kids' attics apart, too. Somehow, when they both moved their stuff out of my attic, some of my stuff mysteriously stowed away in their boxes.

Well, I thought I'd put the FeatherFire to the test today: The Omelet Test. I mean, just how controllable is that flame anyway?

Starting the test.


Adding ingredients.


Turning the finished product. A little sticking, but not bad.


Nice fluffy eggs.


I gotta say, that's pretty darned good for an alcohol stove. And that was in an el cheapo lightweight pan.

HJ

Brad, I invited a few from the group I bp with on a trip into the Thousand Lakes Wilderness a few hours north of where I live in mid Sept. The one young lady gear tester had a JetBoil. That thing was scary fast on boiling water. I want to try my brand new Coleman Power Boost stove, it has 14,900 btu's. If I can rig up a good windscreen, it should be real fast.
Duane

The Jetboil Titanium has relegated all my 3-season stoves to the "never used" gear storage bin.

It boils even faster than the 1st Gen Jetboil's, and those were really good.