Isle Royale Forums

I'm way late to the party here, but my stove system is the one thing I didn't change for the first 5 years of my backpacking life. I use a "Caldera Cone" system and use HEET as the fuel. It's efficient, lightweight (even with fuel), and easy to use.

I did buy a Jetboil system this year when it was on a deep sale, but when I took it to the mountains really regretted not having my alcohol stove.

I didn't see anyone mention the Zen Stoves site. http://zenstoves.net
There are many factors that go into selecting a stove. One is regulatory. Did anyone ask how you're getting to the island? If by seaplane, you'll probably be restricted in your stove selection to the common isobutane type. In air travel a stove must have no hint of fuel odor to pass security and you can't carry fuel* on the plane. Last time I went to Isle Royale the two types of fuel for sale on the island were butane and white gas. We traveled by car and ship, so we opted for a gasoline stove. Had fuel alcohol been available, we probably would have taken a light-weight alcohol stove.

*While you can't carry "fuel" on a plane, you could take a couple bottles of "beverage alcohol", like Everclear.

Yup, I had to make a trip to a neighboring state to buy 190-proof Everclear to take on a ferry that does not allow flammable liquids or gasses, to visit Dry Tortugas National Park and camp overnight. They encourage campers to bring charcoal for cooking and allow consumable alcohol of any kind and quantity. I brought a brand-new pop-can alcohol stove that had been used only to test-fire it, and a 125-ml bottle of Everclear. If I had been flying, I could’ve brought the booze in smaller bottles that conform to 3-1-1 standards.

Hey everclear should always be in your first aid kit, it can sanitize stuff like rubbing alchohol for outside boo-boos, and act like whiskey to help with the inside boo-boos...

Rubbing alcohol for the outside, drinking alcohol for the inside.

Everclear, some dried fruit, and Gatorade Fruit punch flavor mix=Quite a cocktail!

I'd recommend the MSR PocketRocket 2. It's lightweight, easy to use, and perfect for backpacking. If you need something even lighter, the Jetboil MicroMo is a great option.