your Winter stove of choice?

The cooler weather is on its way, any thoughts on your favorite type of stove for sub-zero temps.

white box? jet boil? pop can, multi-fuel? priming wicks, meths? gas?

preheat tube stoves like Edelrid opilio, primus spider etc

Typically the same as summer, because more often than not I want stable and controllable and easy, so a remote can gas stove.  I use a Primus Gravity or the Trangia gas conversion, both have pre-heats.

As long as you're not using pure butane there's not really much of an issue.

For lots and lots of snow melting a liquid fuelled pressure turbojet has definite good points, but unless I'm doing lots of snow melting and/or am going to be in a place where gas supply is awkward the faffing and fiddling weighs against.  

Pete.

I'm with Pete.

remote canister with preheat.  Even on pure butane, by liquid feeding I have rarely had an issue - and using a propane/butane mix havent had an issue.

Another vote for the Primus Gravity remote with pre-heat. In summer, it's a bit overkill with the power it has, but zero or below it works a treat.

Optimus omnifuel burning Aspen 4t for me, oodles of heat available, remember your dinner is starting off 20+ degrees cooler than high summer!

Steve D

Belgian_Hiker wrote (see)

Another vote for the Primus Gravity remote with pre-heat. In summer, it's a bit overkill with the power it has, but zero or below it works a treat.

I'll usually go for my Optimus Nova multifuel....  partly because we're usually cooking for two and doing more than just boiling water, but mainly because it's FUN!!

The alternative Primus Gravity has died (very uneven flame only coming through some parts of the jet/mesh on the burner), so I also have a new Primus Spider remote canister stove to try at some point, or the Jetboil Sol - it'll all depend on the particular trip.

very uneven flame only coming through some parts of the jet/mesh

Try sticking a drawing pin through them all, to clear any blockage.  I wouldn't particularly have expected it with gas, but it certainly makes a Trangia meths burner work better after 10 years...

The Omnifuel will burn gas, but 4t is my preferred fuel (actually it will burn just about anything flamable)

zuma:  if it is that cold I will be cooking (carefully!) in the bell of my tent with the leeward door open to vent steam and fumes.  Nothing quite like breakfast in bed on a cold morning.

Steve D

Peter Clinch wrote (see)

very uneven flame only coming through some parts of the jet/mesh

Try sticking a drawing pin through them all, to clear any blockage.  I wouldn't particularly have expected it with gas, but it certainly makes a Trangia meths burner work better after 10 years...

I was at Alpkit's big shakeout at the weekend, and the temperature on saturday morning was sub-zero and I didn't need any fancy weather equipment to tell, seeing as there was ice frozen to the outside of the tent!

I've never used gas at that temperature before, but my pocket rocket + a standard coleman 100 canister fired up well enough. The canister had been out in the cold all night and I made no effort to warm it up either. When I turned on the valve just before lighting it, it was cold enough that I could see the gas vapour in the air.

Plenty of other people were cooking with gas at that time too, so I guess it has to be really properly cold before gas stops working.

Matt, depends on the gas, Butane gets sluggish below around 5deg IME, Propane handles much colder conditions. 

A lot of canisters now come with a butane/propane mix, I have heard that in properly cold conditions the propane will burn off leaving the butane still liquid, although I've not experienced it myself.

Steve D

I've had a propane butane mix canister from a cheapo make that failed in warm weather. It was a warm and dry June too. The gas worked for a short time and was a larger canister that had only been used for one night previously. I reckon it had only been used for about 5 boils at 500ml each at the most and the whole canister frosted up on the outside and was very cold to touch then the flame went out because the can top stove was not being fed with vapourised fuel.

I wonder what that was all about. Especially since it was short and t-shirt weather at over 20C at the time so both gases should have been vapourised.

Just goes to show a good gas source is essential. I go for Primus personally as it works the best IME and is readily available in UK. I think MSR and Crux are also good but never used them myself. Sticking with what I know well.