Emberlit FireAnt Three-Fuel Folding Titanium Stove (2.8oz)

In July 2014 I wrote about the Emberlit (Original) titanium 3-fuel folding stove.  After mentioning it was $85/5.7oz, I received some comments that it just wasn’t light enough for the ultralight backpacking crowd.   

Almost immediately after my review in July, Emberlit introduced the FireAnt, a smaller version of their original stove which was $69/2.8oz.  Yes lightweight backpackers, you have another potential stove purchase in your future.  

Somewhat accidentally I was able to pick up one of these stoves and test it for several months before it was widely available.  Like the original, the FireAnt is solidly constructed, well-conceived, and fun to use. 

I’ve included some pictures below for comparison purposes.  While the FireAnt is fine, of no surprise the original is more efficient primarily because more (and larger) fuel can be used and there is greater air movement.  Either way, both stoves are a lot of fun and quite packable.

JetBoil MiniMo

 

I wanted to write a quick blog about the JetBoil MiniMo ($129/14.6oz) primarily because I haven’t seen a ton of reviews on it.  I’m guessing this could be because it isn’t very well known as it is being exclusively sold through REI, at least for now.

I have a love/hate relationship with JetBoil.  While I marvel and acknowledge the performance and engineering behind their stoves, I had a very bad experience with their Sol Ti.  In short, after just 4 uses, the fins burned and fell off the bottom while I was backpacking.  There is nothing more sickening than watching your new $150 stove rendered useless, through no fault of your own, knowing full well you had a lot of miles ahead.  From there, I argued with JetBoil for over two months trying to get them to honor their warranty.  They claimed I cooked in it, which I had not.  I simply used it to boil water, but it took entirely too much interacting with them to get them to show they were a stand-up company and to back their product.  In the end, I got a new cup, but by then I was done with the Sol Ti which was only further enforced after reading several reviews from others who had similar experiences.  I also understand the SolTi is unlikely to be manufactured in the future due to so many consumer issues with it.  With this in mind, I sold the Sol Ti and used the proceeds to purchase a JetBoil MiniMo.

My personal lightweight stove preference is Esbit.  It’s more expensive as a whole, but it’s nominal for someone who is more of a weekend warrior versus a thru hiker.  The difference in size and weight to most any other stove option is phenomenal as Esbit stoves are tiny and nearly weightless.  My second choice is a cone-style stove which affords the use of natural resources (wood, duff, etc.).  When compared to compressed gas or similar canister stoves, a major difference is really time and convenience.  Gas/Canister stoves cook more quickly and can be less fussy.  Being able to boil a cup of water using a JetBoil in just shy of 3 minutes is such a mental and physical pick-me-up versus waiting for 8-10 minutes using an alternative.  With that said, you can assume that I use gas/canister stoves primarily when I just don’t want to deal with the fussy nature of other stoves, if the weather is very poor, or if I just don’t mind carrying the extra weight.

There are several things I really like about the JetBoil MiniMo.  First, it is short and squat which improves the angle of eating from it and it works more like a bowl.  Being squat and made from aluminum also makes cooking a little more flexible.  While other stoves may claim broader cooking capabilities, unless the pot is as wide as the JetBoil MiniMo, there will be a certain degree of inconvenience as food much be chopped into small pieces just to get it to fit.  The real gain of the JetBoil MiniMo is the ability to fully control the flame making simmering and low-temperature cooking a real possibility.

A small canister and stove (and spoon for that matter) can conveniently fit in the cup of a JetBoil MiniMo.  Support legs for the canister fit nicely in the lid.

Unlike other JetBoil products, the JetBoil MiniMo cup has robust handles which just makes the experience a little more pleasurable.

But, there are some things I don't like.  The little plastic cup at the bottom, while useful in theory, continues to be cheaply made.  I've already broken a corner off mine.  The overall stability, especially while trying to remove the main cooking pot from the stove, and then the stove from the canister, always leaves me expecting to get burned or dump my food.  Components like the lid are over heavy and so are the handles.  The neoprene sleeve, while useful to help hold warmth, could use a cut-out for lips and it would be nice if it were easier to remove for cleaning.  I'd also really like JetBoil to come up with some kind of attachment, like it offered for the Sol Ti, which would allow a pot to be set on top of the burner (like a skillet or a cup without fins).

Bottom line, while I wouldn’t take it on every trip, it’s nice and convenient, performs well, and while perhaps a little bulky, overall it is a non-issue.  When I want something that makes my life easier, I use the JetBoil MiniMo.

Emberlit Three Fuel Stove

If you backpack with me at my current age, the first thing you’ll likely notice is that I have no interest in running down the trail.  For me, if I had to rush past the sights and smells, I probably wouldn’t go backpacking.  If I spend a minute or two observing a blooming flower, a uniquely shaped tree, a rare and spotted salamander, or having a starring contest with a bear or deer, that makes my time in the woods infinitely better.

 

The older I get, the more it seems I dwell on these things.  I suppose it’s fair to say that I appreciate things more.  I appreciate my time in the woods because these opportunities are more infrequent than they were in the past now that work and life obligations have me entirely too occupied.

 

It is reflecting on this love affair that I find myself slowly being willing to become more involved with the backpacking environment.  I observe.  I study.  I participate.  I appreciate.  I consciously travel with these things in mind and I constantly remind myself to blend in with nature, to walk lightly, and to leave things as I find them.  I enjoy watching the seasons, the movements of the animals, and I like that I have learned various behavior patterns of both.  I like the process of trying to identify trees to determine which may be good for a bow-drill fire, which were the oldest, and which were likely a good home for a raccoon.  I like the regime of my normal schedule being discarded in favor of waking and sleeping as a result of the movement of the sun.

 

One experience that has slowly been growing on me is using a wood stove instead of a more conventional gas, esbit or alcohol cooking option.  In fact, going without a stove entirely and just totting foods that don’t need to be cooked or instead using an open fire has been quite enjoyable.  I definitely feel more in touch with the environment around me when I’m not using something that came from a store to do something as simple as cooking when the very environment I’m in is capable of providing so much. 

 

The beauty of many wood-burning lightweight stoves currently on the market is that they are fuel flexible – meaning they can take natural resources (wood, pine cones, debris, etc.), esbit and alcohol.  If you don’t want to carry fuel or if you want to be guaranteed you’ll never run out of fuel, this is truly a wonderful concept.  I also revel in the fact that I don’t need to worry about alcohol, esbit, or my least favorite, gas.  I’ve come to loathe my JetBoil ever since the fins on the bottom melted without provocation (and it took entirely too much motivation for JetBoil to stand behind their product).  I’m not a fan of using alcohol personally and most of the time I go with esbit despite it being costly.  Being able to use fuel from the environment and break from the commercial grasp of other fuels is a wonderful feeling.  I also get the sense that those before me who walked the same woods have a sense of pride in my recognition that time in the woods doesn’t first require time in a store.

 

My first wood-burning stove was the Bushbuddy Ultra ($120/5.1oz).  It was a lot of fun, but it did have some drawbacks.  First, it was expensive.  It was essentially a can that couldn’t be folded, so I needed to nest it in a similar sized pot to protect its fragile walls. While it was fun to use and I still like it, overall it sits in my gear closet because of its size and the fact that it is a little fussy to try to keep clean.  It also required me to carry a heavier pot regardless and I was constantly worried about various parts of the meticulously crafted design to get bent, fall off or fail because it was largely one spot-welded unit.

 

I later moved on to Trail Design’s Classic Ti-Tri ($80/58g).  This was my go-to every-day use stove for roughly 3 years of my young backpacking career.  The problem was that the cone was tall and a pain to pack.  Fortunately, Trail Designs began offering the Sidewinder ($80/49grams) which was a far more squat cone that fit inside of a pot making packing much easier.  For both of these cone designs, they are tremendously efficient, lightweight and work very well.  But, they are very fragile and they have exceptionally sharp edges.  Every time I handle one of these cones I’m convinced I’m going to get cut.  There is a ridge that joins to fasten the cone together and if it is damaged the cone can’t be brought together as a functional unit.  Each cone also only works with a single type of pot sized to the cone, and personally I like to carry cups.  So if I was using the cone, I really couldn’t alternate to a different pot, pan or cup.  The exception is if the cone is used in wood-burning mode where tent stakes are put through the top of the cone which allows most any sized pot, pan or cup to rest on top.  This arrangement can get quite unstable though as the edges are very flimsy top to bottom.

 

Wanting something more stable, more packable and more flexible to pot/pan/cup size, I decided to look for other options.

 

First I purchased a Vargo Titanium Hexagon ($52/4.1oz)   There was a lot to like on this small stove, but ultimately I felt the hinge design was too risky (potentially prone to failure and largely unrepairable in the field) and the top was also a bit too small to support a variety of pots/pans/cups.  There was also poor ventilation coming up from the bottom making the stove less efficient.

 

Next I looked at the Firebox 3” Titanium Nano ($40/ 6oz).  It was a little heavier and physically smaller than I’d like and also had potential hinge issues.

 

Next I looked at the FireFly UL Titanium Stove ($66/2.7oz).  While definitely the lightest, I was worried that its cooking surface was too small and didn’t have as many surface points to stabilize different pots/pans/cups.  The word “fragile” seemed also relevant.

 

Next I looked at the Element Titanium Stove ($55/4.9oz) which I had seen before at Trail Days being used by the infamous “Dutch” of DutchWearGear fame.  Much like the others though, I felt like it was a little small and I didn’t like the hinges.  It has its merits though, and a separate grill top can be used.

 

Finally, I took at look at the Emberlit ($85/5.7oz-titanium, $45/11.3oz-aluminum) and ultimately decided on the titanium version.  What I liked about it was, well, the opposite of what I didn’t like about the others.  It folded entirely flat, had a very stable surface which didn’t require extra parts, it was large enough for fuel and pots/pans/cups of various sizes, and the corners hooked together instead of using a hinge.  It was rugged and fairly foolproof.  If I bent a part of it, I could bend it back without a fuss.  I could also use it as a windscreen which was not possible for some of the other stoves.  It had a useful slot to allow larger branches the opportunity to stick out which meant for me that I didn't need to worry about a knife to process wood (although I wouldn't have minded if the slot were larger).  The Emberlit was a little pricier than I’d like, and at 5.7oz it is a little heavier than I’d like, but it also isn’t the heaviest or priciest, yet it is what I would argue to be the most functional and durable with low fuss.  At the very least, it’s another option – and options are good.  Burn time to boil water was pretty much on par with esbit or alcohol in my experience.  These kinds of stove fire up with almost no effort and work like a chimney.  They are a lot of fun to use in this mode and a small alcohol stove or esbit can also be used with this and the other wood-burning stoves mentioned in this article.

 

The pictures throughout this entry are from the first time I attempted to use it while in my yard on a very hot and humid Virginia day.  Beside the Emberlit are the Classic Ti-Tri and Sidewinder cones for comparison. 

 

These pictures remind me to pass along some general cautions.  First, be sure to clear a spot on a debris-free surface to avoid miscellaneous debris being caught on fire.  Second, choose the right wood.  When I first started the fire, it smoked wildly because I used pine.  When I switched to hardwood, it was much cleaner.  Third, the wind and other factors can send the flames up the cup, to include the handle.  Know your pot/pan/cup will likely be hot, so take appropriate caution.  Fourth, the wood will coat the bottom of your pot/pan/cup with a black sticky substance called cresol.  Plan ahead to deal with it, but don’t remove it entirely as the black surface will actually draw in more heat (cook more efficiently).  Finally, you’ll have ash remaining in the stove.  Be a good steward of Leave No Trace and wet them completely before discarding.  Either spread them by hand across a wide area or under a rock or in another manner that allows others to avoid seeing your fire residue.  Plan on smelling like a campfire – you’re welcome.

Meet the JetBoil Sol Ti

When I first got into lightweight backpacking, I can honestly say I was a bit of an unintentional gear snob.  When I saw what others were carrying, I couldn’t imagine that they were making sound gear choices when there were so many other better options than what they were lugging around.  Whatever the piece of gear they had, for the most part anyway, I knew of a lighter option that probably performed just as well or better.  It was only after I caught a couple glances that I realized I had become “that guy” and realized that I was ruining some of the dynamics of backpacking by wiener measuring through gear comparisons.  I’m happy to report that I’m a bit wiser now and acknowledge that gear is a personal preference, cost and availability always plays and option, and some people can be plenty happy with just about anything. For my stuff, I'd rather not spend as much as I do, but I sure hate the extra weight of other choices.

One of the items that was on my never-to-own list was the integrated canister stove put out by JetBoil.  Sure it was a very efficient cooking system, but it was also costly, had a lot of parts, had a tall profile which I felt was unstable, didn’t allow for interchangeable parts from other manufacturers, and of course, it was far heavier than what I was carrying.

I had always been plenty fine with a variety of stove options.  Whether it be a converted cat food can alcohol stove, a lightweight esbit stove, or the Monatauk Gnat titanium canister stove which I wrote about previously, all were lightweight, inexpensive, small, functional, and plenty sufficient for my needs.  For those wondering, I usually carry the Titanium Sidewinder System, part of the Caldera Cone product line, offered by Titanium Goat (www.titaniumgoat.com).  The beauty of this system is that I can use it with esbits, alcohol or even burn natural resources which is truly wonderful and allows me to avoid worrying about fuel options.  It is also a great windscreen, a stable pot stand, and packs up into a very small package.  It is very efficient and burns hot for the simplicity of the stove.  The downside is that it isn’t as quick to boil water as I’d like.  Additionally, I’ve had problems lighting esbits on occasion.  Also, sometimes I prefer not to carry alcohol and many times (especially in the rain) natural resources aren’t available or I just don’t want to waste the time to collect them.  This leaves me longing for something a little more resourceful, at least some of the time.

For those of you who follow Backpackinglight.com, they had an article recently with comments from Dr. Ryan Jordan (CEO/Publisher/Instructor) which focused a great deal of attention of the JetBoil Sol Ti, a titanium one-person cooking system.  After reading the specs and performance, better understanding its usefulness, and acknowledging that at times I’d like something that works a little more efficiently and reliably, I decided to pick one up.  This system runs about $149, but through a handful of sales I was able to snag one for under $100.  You can read more about it at http://shop.jetboil.com/index.php/sol-cooking-ti.html. 

I’ve had mine for about 9 weeks now and I can honestly say the system is pretty intriguing.  I like the fact that everything, to include the fuel canister, canister legs (for support), stove, supplemental pan-cooking attachment, spoon, lid, cozy, and a separate bowl all fit together in one 4”x6” system.  The pan attachment is a nice option for cooking something other than a boil-in-the-bag meal and the lid is nice because it helps keep things toasty and even has holes for a strainer.  It also comes with a unique integrated igniter, although I wouldn’t wholly rely on it as it can fail.  Below are the weights:

POT – 108g/3.8oz

LID – 18g/.63oz

COZY – 14g/.49oz

BOWL – 33g/1.16oz

STOVE – 98g/3.45oz

LEGS – 27g/.95oz

PAN ATTACH – 35g/.95oz

TOTAL – 337g/11.88oz

I carry only the pot, cozy, and stove (with tin foil lid) – 220g/7.76oz.  For comparison, the 900ml Sidewinder system mentioned above comes in at 176g/6.20oz….37 grams can be subtracted if tin foil is used instead of a titanium lid just like 18 grams can be subtracted from the JetBoil.  Both are weighed without fuel and I can’t hide the fact that a fuel canister has a some weight and zero function once it runs out of fuel (just like an alcohol bottle).

I’ve used this system in a variety of temperatures and conditions (wind, rain, down to 25 degrees, etc.) and it performed very well.  I quickly learned how this system got the name “Jet Boil” as it takes just one listen to the burner firing away at an impressive volume to know that something is happening.  Users of titanium know that it heats quickly, often unevenly, and isn’t the best option for finely cooked meals.  In fact, using it just to boil water is usually a safe bet which is what I intend to use it for unless I get overly creative and decide to bring a pan and cook something a little more worth eating.  

I was very impressed with the fact that I could boil water in slightly over 2 minutes in every situation which I find quite amazing.  Considering my esbit, alcohol, and natural resources generally take 8 to 12 minutes in any other stove set-up I own, I realized how perfect this system could be for my wife and I, groups, or long-term hikes as fuel consumption is less because it boils so quickly.  I think it will also be a nice option in Virginia winters which I make a specific reference to “Virginia” because our temperatures rarely push less than teens which is even rare.  Those in sub-zero temperatures would likely want to consider another kind of stove and propane option instead of butane.  The smaller canister to integrate into the pot is nice as it means less air as it empties and compression isn't so impacted.

What I don’t like about this system is several things.  First, it remains expensive and I continue to not like the fact that there are several parts.  I think it is over built to a certain degree too.  My biggest gripe though is how the pot sits on the stove.  The user essentially needs to line up holes and turn it to a fixed point so it is seated securely.  This is done principally for climbers who actually cook with the system while hanging it.  The problem is that the seating isn’t smooth.  In fact, it is clumsy.  Numerous times I found myself fighting with the stove to get it on, and more importantly, off.  In the right conditions I could definitely picture spilling the boiling contents in my lap or dribbling it on my hands or gloves.  Not good and I see no way around it with the current design.  I also don't like the little legs that are supposed to fit on the canister.  For whatever the reason, I can't figure it out.  For the bigger canister, the legs are not necessary.  For the smaller canisters. like those needed to fit inside the pot, it's clear they could be useful.  The neoprene wrap around the pot is helpful for keeping hands from getting burned, but it could stand to be more robust as it is too wispy and stretchy under the weight of a full mug.

So it is worth it, maybe I suppose at least in certain conditions.  By having it, I feel like I now own a piece of the Mr. T starter kit for more conventional lightweight backpacking.  As such, let's call it Option 2 taking a backseat to my other stoves except for perhaps in winter.