When we were on the trip, I picked up a Swedish Military Volcano stove at Maine Military Supply. I love that place. I wish they’d open one in Colorado, but given their name, it is pretty doubtful.
Why was I interested in this stove? It was three bucks. When is the last time you went wrong for three bucks? I mean, I have a buddy who went wrong with a lady of the night in Portugal for five bucks, but that was back in the 70′s.
The Swedish Volcano stove consists of three parts; the stove, a bottle and a cup. I was a little confused in the beginning on whether to use the cup or the bottle to boil my water. In my practice round, I used the cup, which was stupid. I ended up with a blister on my lip. Chalk that up to ignorance. If you boil your cup, it is 212 degrees. Boil the bottle and you’ll lose a few degrees in the process, leaving you with a temperature in the area of just right.
As you can see, the bottle comes equipped with a cork. I haven’t tried it for holding liquid on a hike, but you can see where my concern would be. Getting everything in your pack wet is never a good idea.
I cheated a little bit on this review. I did it at the same time that I did the review on my esbit stove. I had a head cold and really didn’t feel like screwing around with twigs. I wanted it to burn and burn efficiently; no hassle. I used a couple of esbit tabs along with some twigs and it began to burn quickly.
There’s a wire adapter that is hooked to the stove. It is pretty handy for a couple of reasons. One, you can move the stove easily, if you have a glove and when you fold it into the stove, it keeps the bottle from falling down into your fire area. Very simple. I like that whoever designed this was using their brain.
I put the bottle in over the fire. I thought about using or not using the cork and tried it both ways. Using the cork helps it to boil faster, but use caution – the cork could become a projectile under heat. If you must use the cork, don’t push it tight into the hole. Let the steam breathe a little. I pulled the cork when I could hear the water in the bottle boiling. ”Volcano” fit the bill. Be careful not to get scalded.
Tea was had and it was good.
Overall, this would be a great investment. While it would take up a fair amount of room in your pack, it is aluminum and weighs next to nothing. I would suggest a carrying case to keep the resulting soot out of the inside of your bag as well. I have a bunch of old canvas that I got off the dump. If Mrs. Hotel gets into a creative mood, I’ll have her sew a sack for it.
You can’t go wrong for under three dollars. I love mine and put it into regular use.
Thanks Maine Military!
Pax Domini Sit Semper Vobiscum,
Mike, Oscar, Hotel…..out.
I was actually just looking at these on the MMS website. Lots of reviews said the cork doesn't hold liquid well in a pack because it's not threaded. So, your assumptions most likely are right. Although, if you could pull an ol' B.D.H. and somehow fix yourself a plastic cap I'm sure it would do just fine. This volcano stove and a coke can stove (http://www.mungosaysbah.com/2009/01/tutorial-on-how-to-build-coke-can-stove.html) have given me an idea on how to make my own. Thanks for the post!
Hi, my name is José and I'm Portuguese. This is a great review but I would love to read the story from your friend with "the lady of the night" in Portugal, I love to ear stories from my country (good or bad) through an foreigners eyes, it puts me in perspective.
I was hanging out with my buddy, Ruel, giving him a buzz cut and drinking a few beers. He paid me ten bucks a month to cut his hair at his house so that 1.) getting a haircut wouldn't cut into his drinking time and 2.) he wouldn't have to be social. He didn't hate people, he just liked to choose who he had conversations with. I respected that and I respected him. Anyhow, as I was giving him his haircut one night, he was telling me about being in the Navy in the 1960's. He told me that his favorite port was in Portugal. There was nothing he liked better than a fifth of Johnny Walker Red and a big loaf of (as he said) "Port-uh-geeeeeeeeeeez sweet bread!" He then proceeded to tell me how his buddies all got a hooker one night. Notice I used the singular, not the plural of the word "hooker". He said they all had their turn and she was ugly as sin. When I asked him if he participated, he loudly responded…
"Well of course! It was only five dollars! HAMP HAMP HAMP!
Hamp is the closest way to spell how he laughs. I've never heard anything like it.
Good story. A few comments:
The kit is Swiss. They were designed to be used with a gas stove, the burner of which fit in through the window in the chimney. They can also be used with disposable Swiss M71cans, which are similar to Sterno cans.
Second, many if not most of the bottles were made by SIGG. The same basic design is still in use, but obviously with a screw-stype stopper. The corks work, but the Swiss MO was to carry the water and rations separate from their gear, in an external mess kit bag clipped onto the back of their packs.
Good gear. I like 'em a lot, and bought several when a threefer cost $10.