HIGH ALTITUDE BASE STOVE. IN COLLABORATION WITH ELITECLIMB
WE HATE TO ADVOCATE COOKING INSIDE TENTS, FRANKEN-STOVES, AFTER-MARKET PARTS AND PATCHED TOGETHER HEAT EXCHANGERS TO ANYONE, BUT THEY’VE ALWAYS WORKED FOR US – HUNTER S THOMPSON (SORT OF)
ADVISORY: THE USUAL WARNINGS ABOUT STOVES IN TENTS APPLY. THE FOLLOWING IS SPECIFIC TO EXPERIENCED USERS AT HIGH ALTITUDE OUTSIDE OF NORMAL CLIMBING SEASONS. THE SYSTEM DESCRIBED HAS MULTIPLE ELEMENTS THAT EVEN IF REPLICATED PERFECTLY DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SAME RESULTS. THINK FOR YOURSELF, THINK WHERE YOU ARE.
WE DON’T DO BASECAMPS, AT LEAST NOT IN THE TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF LARGE SITES WITH STAFF COOKING, MESS TENTS WITH PLASTIC CHAIRS AND BIG STOVES THAT PUMP OUT BIG HEAT TO CATER TO BIG TEAMS OF PEOPLE. INSTEAD WE HAVE TINY SITES OF A FEW TENTS THAT ONLY LAST A COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHERE SMALL TEAMS BASE TOGETHER JUST LONG ENOUGH TO CLIMB AND THEN SPLIT, CARRYING EVERYTHING THEMSELVES.
THE CURRENCY OF WINTER ALPINISM IS GAS SUPPLY AND ALL SYSTEMS NEED TO JUSTIFY THEMSELVES REGARDING WEIGHT, RELIABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND FUNCTION. 120g OF GAS EQUALS A DAY OR TWO LONGER YOU CAN SPEND ON A MOUNTAIN, SO EVERY EQUATION FOR WHAT YOU CARRY WILL HAVE THIS AS ITS BASELINE WHETHER YOU REALIZE IT OR NOT. YOU CAN PROBABLY LAST WITHOUT FOOD FOR A FEW EXTRA DAYS BUT YOU MAYBE WON’T LAST THE NIGHT WITH GAS TO MELT WATER AND HEAT SOME AIR, SO HOW YOUR STOVE SYSTEM WORKS HOLISTICALLY DEFINES EVERYTHING ELSE.
WHAT MAKES THIS SET UP ‘EXTREME’ IS ITS INTENT TO USE INSIDE TENTS IN SERIOUS COLD, WHERE IT MUST HAVE THE RIGHT THERMAL PROFILE TO BE ULTRA GAS EFFICENT. IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE A NORMAL STOVE AT THE CENTER OF ABNORMAL CONDITIONS LIKE TIBET AND THE KARAKORUM IN THE COLD MONTHS, WHERE ‘MISSION CRITICALITY’ IS HIGH AND RESUPPLY OR RETREAT ARE ARDUOUS.
THIS IS A SYSTEM FOR MELTING AROUND 15kg ICE A DAY IN ENVIRONMENTS INACCESSIBLE TO PORTERAGE, AND PAIRS WELL WITH ULTRALIGHT PRESSURE COOKERS, TITANIUM KETTLES AND PANS AND ANY POT BETWEEN ABOUT 500 AND 5000mls. COMPLETELY SCALEABLE, THE BITS OF THIS SET CAN BE REDUCED TO JUST THE STOVE FOR USE IN HIGH BIVIES, TO VARIOUS ITERATIONS UP TO THE FULL ENSEMBLE.
THE DARK HORSE OF THE SET UP IS THE SOTO STORMBREAKER STOVES UNIQUE ABILITY TO NOT NEED PRIMING WHEN USING LIQUID FUEL, THE CRITICAL FACTOR THAT MAKES THIS SET A NON-STARTER WITH ANY OTHER STOVE. ASIDE FROM THAT THE TABLE IS SPECIFIC TO THE STORMBREAKERS EXACT DIMENSIONS, ONLY THIS STOVE IS RELIABLY SAFE AS A LIQUID FUEL MODEL TO USE INSIDE A TENT*
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THE SOTO STORMBREAKER
SOTO IS THE RECREATIONAL BRANCH OF SHINFUJI, A JAPANESE COMPANY THAT MAKES INDUSTRIAL GAS BURNERS THAT INCLUDES PARTS FOR JET FIGHTERS, POWERSTATIONS AND TUNNELING THROUGH MOUNTAINS. THEY ARE NOT LIKE MSR. ANYONE WHO HAS HANDLES A SOTO STOVE HAS BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE ENGINEERING, WITH THEIR LIQUID FUEL STOVES HAVING A REPUTATION FOR PRECISE INNOVATION THAT CLEARLY COMES FROM HIGHER INDUSTRY.
THE STORMBREAKER IS SOTOS MULTI-FUEL OPTION, THAT LIKE ITS OTHER LIQUID-ONLY STOVE THE MUKA, HAS A PRIMER-LESS FUNCTION. WHERE ALL OTHER FUEL STOVES NEED TO FLARE UP WITH A PREHEAT BEFORE THEY CAN VAPORIZE LIQUID FUEL TO IGNITE, RESULTING IN SEVERAL SECONDS OF EYEBROW-SINGING YELLOW FLAME, THE STORMBREAKER AVOIDS THIS MAKING IT AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE SAFER.
THIS IS ACHEIVED BY PRESSURIZING THE FUEL MUCH HIGHER AND BY A SPECIFIC ‘START’ PHASE TO IGNITION, PRESUMABLY THAT AERATES THE LIQUID FUEL TO COME OUT SUBLIMATED ENOUGH TO IGNITE. OTHER FUEL STOVES RELEASE AS LIQUID UNTIL THE VAPORIZING TUBE IS HOT ENOUGH TO TURN THE FUEL INTO IGNITABLE GAS*, BECAUSE THEY USE MUCH MORE RUDIMENTARY MECHANISMS.
THE STORMBREAKER THROWS OUT 3000kw WHICH IS NOT THE MOST POWERFUL, BUT IT THROWS IT OUT WITH A WIDE HEAD RATHER THAN A TORCH-LIKE SPREAD. EVEN WITHOUT EXCHANGERS THIS HARNESSES AS MUCH OF THE OUTPUT AS YOU’RE LIKELY TO GET, WITH TRANSFER INTO A POTS CONTENTS IN THE SWEET SPOT OF EFFICIENCY.
THE STORMBREAKER IS MADE TO HANDLE GASOLINE, NOT JUST THE LUXURY OF WHITE GAS, AND HAS A BRASSED VAPORIZING TUBE THAT RUNS RIGHT ACROSS THE BURNER TO MAXIMALLY EXPAND THE FUEL. THIS CLEARLY WORKS WITH LIQUID FUEL BUT IS BEST SEEN IN ACTION WITH INVERTED GAS CANISTERS, IN A CONFIGURATION MADE TO BE USED THIS WAY TO PRODUCE A STABLE FLAME EFFECTIVELY NO DIFFERENT TO THE GASOLINE ONE.
SANS THE LIQUID FUEL SYSTEM, THE STORMBREAKER INSTANTLY SWITCHES TO GAS, ITS HIGH PRESSURE OUTLET ALREADY SUITABLE TO CANISTERS. A CANISTER HEAD CLICKS ONTO THE GAS LINE WITH A LOCKING SLEEVE TO GUARANTEE CORRECT CONNECTION, THE HEAD HAVING A GLOVE-FRIENDLY CONTROL AND DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR INVERSION.
THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMPLY UPENDING A CANISTER AND HAVING SOMETHING DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS USE, AND ASIDE FROM THE NICE ERGONOMICS THE HEAD OF THE STORMBREAKER NOTICEABLY PRODUCES THE NICEST FEED GOING. THERE IS ZERO SHUNTING AND SHOOFING AND FLARING DUE TO WHAT IS ENGINEERED AS A HIGH TOLERANCE GAS SYSTEM. THAT INCLUDES A VAPORIZING TUBE ENGINEERED FOR THE HIGHEST PRESSURES – BY FAR – OF ANY LIQUID FUEL STOVE.
THE REST OF THE STOVE IS GEARED TO TEAM-LEVEL COOKING, WITH WIDE AND STRONG POT SUPPORTS, A VERY FLEXIBLE GAS LINE SO THE FUEL SOURCE CAN GO ANYWHERE, FITTINGS AND THINGS LIKE CONNECTING CAPS THAT SEEM MORE LIKE FROM SMALL ARMS THAN STOVES, LOTS OF JAPANESE PRECISION AND THINGS SLIGHTLY OVERBUILT TO BE USED WITH GLOVES.
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THE HEAT REFLECTOR TABLE
AN AFTER-MARKET PRODUCT FROM AN OBSCURE JAPANESE COMPANY, THIS TABLE IS TITANIUM AND ENGINEERED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE STORMBREAKER REGARDING EXACT SIZE, HEIGHT AND PARAMETERS OF USE. SEEMINGLY MADE WITH THE BLESSINGS OF SHINFUJI, THIS THING FITS PERFECTLY WITH TOLERANCES A GUNSMITH WOULD APPRECIATE. THE TABLE TOP ALIGNS PERFECTLY WITH THE BURNERHEAD IN BOTH ORIENTATION AND HEIGHT, SO IT CAPTURES AND EXCHANGES HEAT WITHOUT OVERHEATING NOR COMPROMISING AIRFLOW, AND ALIGNS THE BASE OF THE STOVE IN VARIOUS WAYS THAT OPTIMIZES FOR WHICH FUEL SOURCE IS BEING USED.
ON A PICNIC TABLE OUTSIDE A LODGE THIS LITTLE TABLE IS A NICE LUXURY, BUT AS A STABILITY AND FUNCTIONAL ELEMENT IT REDUCES MANY OF THE ISSUES AROUND TEAM COOKING INSIDE TENTS. IT MAKES IT VERY HARD TO KNOCK THE STOVE OVER AS WELL AS DIRECTING MORE RADITATION EVENLY UPWARDS, WITH SUFFICIENT HEAT-BLEED TO WARM THE TABLE FOR ADVECTION (A PSEUDO-PROPERTY OF HEAT LOSS), WHICH HELPS TO MINIMIZE HEAT LOSS DOWNWARDS INTO THE GROUND.
AN OBVIOUS USE OF THE TITANIUM TABLE IS – WAIT FOR IT – AS A TABLE, WITH ENOUGH GAP IN THE THERMAL BRIDGE BETWEEN THE HALVES TO MAKE THE SIDE AWAY FROM THE BURNER NEVER TOO HOT TO TOUCH. THE TABLE IS RATED TO HOLD 8kg SO WILL THE TAKE THE SPECIAL ULTRALIGHT PRESSURE COOKERS WE USE, AND BEING UNASHAMED OF OUR ADDICTIONS, NICELY WARMS ESPRESSO CUPS TO MAINTAIN A MODICUM OF BEING CIVILIZED.
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THE HEAT EXCHANGER
FLUX RINGS BUILT INTO POTS ARE WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT EVEN THOUGH THEY ADD WEIGHT TO THE POTS THEMSELVES. THE PRINCIPLES MAKE A SERIOUS DIFFERENCE ESPECIALLY IN VERY COLD PLACES, WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE THERMAL VECTORS TO INCREASE STOVE EFFICIENCY.
BUT – FLUX RINGS AS A THING SEEMED TO HAVE PEAKED YEARS AGO, WITH NOT EVERY SORT OF POT OR PAN HAVING A VERSION. THIS KEPT US HOSTAGE TO COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY THAT EVENTUALLY FOUND ITS LIMITS (ie PRESSURE COOKERS), SO WE TALKED TO SOURCES THAT KNOW ABOUT THIS STUFF AND ADDRESSED THE MATTER FROM ANOTHER ANGLE.
HALF THE REASON WE INCORPORATE THE TITANIUM TABLE IS SO WE CAN RELOCATE A HEAT EXCHANGER TO IT, SO WE CAN THEN USE ANY POT, KETTLE OR PAN WE LIKE. THE ADDITION OF A TITANIUM FLUX RING THAT CONTACTS BOTH TABLE AND POT BASE ACTS THE SAME AS ONE BUILT INTO A POT, CREATING A THERMAL DYNAMIC THAT VAPORIZES GAS FOR IGNITION, MAKES A THERMAL EXCHANGE SPACE, AND SHIELDS FROM WIND TO MAINTAIN HEAT FLOW.
AS PART OF A THERMAL CONTINUUM, BY CONTACTING THE TABLE THIS THING SENDS THE PRINCIPLES OF HEAT EXCHANGE INTO A DEGREE NO OTHER STOVE UTILIZES, TAKING THE OLD IDEA OF THE COPPER TUBE EXCHANGER AND PUSHING IT OUT A LEVEL OR THREE. WHERE THE OLD COPPER EXCHANGERS WARMED THE CANISTER WITH VERY LOCALIZED CONTACT HEAT TO MAYBE 5% OF THE CANISTER, THIS GENTLY WARMS THE ENTIRE BASE AND IS CLOSER TO THE OTHER OLD TRICK OF PLACING THE CANISTER INTO A BOWL OF WATER – SOMETHING THAT ANYONE WHO HAS DONE BOTH TO COMPARE WILL KNOW HAS A MUCH GREATER AND RAPID EFFECT THAN THE COPPER STRIP, BUT SUFFERS WHERE THE COPPER EXCELS BY LOSING THERMAL EXCHANGE FAST.
THIS FLUX RING IS VERY THIN TITANIUM AND WEIGHS 3g, AND EXACTLY FITS BETWEEN THE TABLE AND THE TOP OF THE STOVE SUPPORTS. WE HAD IT MADE TO SPEC AS THEY ARE NOT COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE, AFTER VARIOUS TRIALS THAT FAILED TO WITHSTAND THE HEAT. NEWER DESIGNS ARE COMING.
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THE ELITECLIMB BASE BOARD
IT’S EASY TO OVERLOOK THIS PART OF THE GET UP, BUT WITHOUT A GOOD BASE YOU DON’T HAVE A SYSTEM. ANY RESEARCH INTO THE HISTORY OF EXPEDITION STOVES ILUCIDATES THAT WHAT HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER IS VITAL, AND NOWHERE MORE SO THAN DIRECTLY ONTO ICE AND FROZEN ROCK IN A CHOPPED OUT WINTER TENT SITE.
THE JOB OF THE BASE IS TO KEEP THINGS SAFELY HELD TOGETHER, TO PROVIDE A STABLE PLATFORM FOR OPERATION OF THE WHOLE SHEBANG, AND TO BE A THERMAL BARRIER THAT REDUCES HEAT LOSS DOWNWARDS INTO ICE SNOW AND ROCK, WHICH INCLUDES MELTING HOLES IN SLEEPING MATS AND TENT FLOORS. THIS ALL GOES TOO TO KEEPING CANISTERS OFF COLD SURFACES, AND ALLOWS THE SAFE DIRECTING OF AMBIENT HEAT TOWARDS THE CANISTER WHICH HAS THE SINGLE LARGEST EFFECT ON CANISTER PERFORMANCE.. IT PAYS TO GET THIS RIGHT.
THE ELITECLIMB BASE IS A CARBON COMPOSITE SHEET THAT IS RIGID, THERMALLY NEUTRAL, STRONG AND JUST PLAIN COOL. ELITECLIMB HAS USED HEAT RESISTANT RESIN, THE SAME STUFF USED FOR PERFORMANCE MOTORBIKE PARTS, AND COATED THE WHOLE THING IN NON-SLIP TEXTURE TO REDUCE IT SLIDING AROUND. AROUND THE EDGES ARE HOLES TO CLIP TO, THE TABLE ATTACHES UNDER TENSION THAT HOLDS THE STOVE INTO PLACE, AND IS SIZED TO REDUCE BEING KNOCKED OVER.
WHEN NOT USED AS A BASEBOARD IT CAN BE PART OF A PACK FRAME, CAN RIG AS A SNOW ANCHOR, CAN DIG SNOW AND BEING THE SAME STUFF AS ELITECLIMB SNOWSHOVELS WILL TAKE SERIOUS ABUSE.
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DOES IT HANG?
WE KNOW THE FIRST QUESTION WILL BE THIS BECAUSE WE GET NEARLY WEEKLY EMAILS ABOUT HANGING STOVE SYSTEMS DUE TO IMAGES WE HAVE POSTED OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS**
THE STOVE ITSELF IS EASY TO ADAPT TO A HANGING SET, SWAGED DIRECTLY TO THE POT SUPPORTS. IT HANGS AS WELL AS ANY OTHER SYSTEM AND THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE FUEL LINE MAKES IT BETTER THAN MANY, AND THE CANISTER HEAD CLIPS EASILY OFF THE GROUND FOR REALLY CAVALIER USE.
IT’S NOT MADE SPECIFICALLY TO HANG BUT IT EASILY COULD, LIKE THE OLD SET UPS FROM THE 80s USED ON BIG WALLS, THOUGH IT’S HARD TO SEE WHERE THIS WOULD BE USEFUL OUTSIDE OF A PORTALEDGE. SIMPLY A MATTER OF SOME SWAGED CABLES AND LITTLE CLIPS, IT WOULDN’T BE HARD.
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WEIGHT
THE OVERALL WEIGHT OF THE THING BEFORE FUEL IS ADDED IS 800g, BUT BEAR IN MIND THIS IS A WORKHORSE STOVE SET FOR TEAMS MELTING A LOT OF ICE IN PLACES IN HIGH CAMPS LIKE THE NORTH SIDE K2 IN EARLY WINTER. THE WEIGHT GOES INTO SAFETY, OUTPUT, ADAPTABILITY, ROBUSTNESS AND EFFICIENCY, WHERE THIS SETUP OUTDOES EVERY OTHER OPTION WE HAVE HEARD OF.
THE STORMBREAKER STOVE ALONE WEIGHS 420g WITH THE PUMP, WHICH IS COMPARABLE TO EVERY OTHER MULTIFUEL STOVE FROM MSR, PRIMUS, OPTIMUS AND FIRE MAPLE, BUT THERE’S A HELLUVA LOT MORE PACKED INTO THAT WEIGHT INCLUDING THE METAL PUMP AND THE MECHANISM THAT REGULATES THE THING TO NOT NEED PRIMING.
THIS IS NOT THE STOVE WE USE FOR HIGHER AND LIGHTER STUFF, GOING WITH THE PRIMUS ULTRA SPIDER FOR THAT (ANOTHER JAPAN-ONLY STOVE) WHERE WE WON’T BE DOING MORE THAN BOILING A LITER OR TWO AT A TIME.
THESE THINGS ARE A CONTINUOUS WORK IN PROGRESS AND SOMETHING WE HAVE EVOLVED A LOT OVER DECADES, AS A CENTRAL FACTOR TO SELF-SUSTAINED EXPEDITIONS INTO PLACES MOST WILL NEVER HEAR OF.
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*WE KNOW ALL ABOUT COOKING INSIDE TENTS. WE ALSO KNOW ALL ABOUT TRYING TO FINANGLE OTHER MULTI-FUEL STOVES BETWEEN CANISTERS AND LIQUID FUEL TO AVOID THE FLARES OF PRIMING, AND CONSIDER THE PRACTICE LITTLE SHORT OF INVITING CATASTROPHY.
**WE HAVEN’T USED FIRE MAPLE BLADE 2 STOVES FOR 5 YEARS NOW FOLLOWING MULTIPLE INCIDENTS OF DANGEROUS FAILURES AFTER EXTENDED USE, ie HUNDREDS OF TIMES. WE STILL LOVE THEM, BUT WHEN ALL RISKS ARE WEIGHED UP WILL NOT USE THEM WITH OUR TEAMS.
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