Alcohol is one of the most popular, and most underutilized fuels for backpackers. A good alcohol backpacking stove has several clear advantages over something like a canister stove. One of the most obvious advantages is that the fuel itself is a lot easier to store, transport and obtain. An alcohol backpacking stove also tends to weigh quite a bit less than the average canister stove or liquid fuel stove, though there are certainly a few exceptions to that.
Alcohol Backpacking Stove
What to look for when you're looking for an alcohol backpacking stove.- Fuel Alternatives – Many alcohol stoves give you the option of using other, alternative fuel sources, which can be great if you run out of alcohol, for instance. Alcohol stoves that can also run on wood, for instance, are great because there is a ready amount of wood at most campsites that will give you a working stove in a pinch.
- Weight – As with any backpacking equipment, the weight of the alcohol backpacking stove should definitely be a concern. Fortunately, alcohol stoves are often designed with weight in mind, and it is not too difficult to find a lightweight alcohol backpacking stove to take on your next backpacking trip.
Best Alcohol Backpacking Stove
Some of the best alcohol backpacking stoves to take along on your next trip.- Etowah II Alcohol Stove - The Etowah alcohol stove got it's start with long distance backpackers along the Appalachian trail, but it's popular with a wide range of campers and backpackers today. It's very easy to use, and is a good, stable design with a wide enough pot support radius that you don't have to worry about spilling anything. It even comes with a windscreen and a fuel bottle, and weighs a very slight 4.5 ounces, which is 127 grams.
- Evernew Titanium DX Stove - The DX is a great stove for burning alcohol while backpacking, because in addition to alcohol it also burns wood. So if you are unfortunate enough to run out of alcohol, you can always just use wood, which is convenient considering how much wood is lying around most campsites. It's also relatively large, and therefore stable, but weighs just 3 ounces, or 86 grams, since it's made from titanium. So an excellent alcohol backpacking stove if you want a backup fuel option.
- Trangia Mini Trangia 28-T - This is actually a whole cooking set that includes the burner and stand itself, plus a windscreen, aluminum pot, pot lid that doubles as a frying pan and even a pot lifter. And for everything you get the price is very reasonable. So if you want an alcohol stove and don't have any other cookware yet, this might be an excellent option. The burner, stand and windscreen weigh a total of 5.75 ounces, or 163 grams.
