Camping

Improve & Maintain Your Back Packing Stove

Hiking and back packing stoves work pretty well on the whole, but there’s always a little room for improvement in everything and anything you do or have, and these camping stoves are no exception. That’s why there’s a range of accessories which are specifically designed to improve the performance of your hiking stove, as well as make sure that the performance can be maintained. What sort of things are we talking about?

• Hiking stove maintenance kits – as hiking stoves become more “high tech” and efficient, so does the need to keep them well maintained. Maximum efficiency means that your hiking stove needs to be regularly maintained, and there are maintenance kits available (some of them specific to a particular type of hiking stove, some more general) which can make the job of maintaining your back packing stove a piece of cake . . . . mmm, cake sounds good!

• Hiking stove replacement pumps – if your pump is just not pumping enough, even after you’ve serviced it, then don’t worry, you can always buy a replacement.
• Canister Stove Crunching – now you think I’ve gone completely bonkers don’t you, but bear with me. You see, hikers are generally an environmentally friendly bunch, they love to get back to nature and are constantly aware of the need to leave the hiking trail as they found it, so a crunching tool is a great idea. It actually empties then punctures any old, used up isobutane fuel canisters so that they can be recycled. Simple but very effective . . . I wish I’d thought of it.

• Hiking stove windscreens – the wind can be a real problem when you’re trying to use your hiking stove out in the open, but there are now specifically designed windscreens available which will actually help to reduce the amount of fuel you use and speed up the boiling time.
• Hiking stove stabilizers – hiking stoves are designed to be very small and lightweight for carrying in your pack, but what this means is that they can be pretty unstable, they’re top heavy you see, when you’re boiling your water pot or heating up your soup. Anyway, that’s why there’s quite a range of hiking stove stabilizers available (they’re still lightweight otherwise it would defeat the object) to reduce the risk of your stove toppling over and spilling your water just before it boils. How annoying is that . . . yes I know!

Wow, this man is a genius. He needs an award or something . . . somebody give him an award!