Fuel
From Trail-Finder -- Dedicated to getting you outside
Fuel used in backcountry tends to come in one of several forms:
Contents |
White Gas
White gas is the most common backcountry stove fuel. A very refined liquid fuel, commonly sold as "Coleman Fuel" in North America, a 1/2 liter bottle of fuel will easily cover all your cooking needs for an extended trip. While car camping, this fuel is used in lanterns and large, multi-burner stoves, once you get away from the car, it's used almost exclusively in very small, very light white gas stoves.
If you have a white gas stove, ONLY BURN WHITE GAS IN IT! Camp stoves are very picky about what they burn. It can be very dangerous to burn the wrong fuel.
Propane
Propane is a great fuel for car camping. It's easy to find and easy to light. Unfortunately, it also required big, heavy, uncrushable, unrefillable metal cylinders to hold it. They can be carried into backcountry, but you'll end up carrying a lot of extra weight.
One newer variation on this is a very short canister of a mixture of propane and isobutane. It has all of the advantages of propane stoves and lamps, but since it's much smaller, it's much lighter. Of course, this means it holds less fuel. If you're out in backcountry for more than a day or two, you're probably still better off with a different option.
Fuel pellets
Fuel pellets are a specialty backcountry fuel. Unlike white gas, you don't need a space-consuming metal bottle of fuel. Unlike propane, you don't need the weight or bulk of cylinders. Unfortunately, they're also fairly proprietary, and you're not likely to be able to walk into a random store and pick them up. They do, however, have some strong supporters, and they're about the lightest stove and fuel combination you'll find.
Alcohol
A few alcohol-fueled stoves are available for backcountry use. Alcohol is easy to find, and it's relatively light to carry. Some stoves allow a combination of alcohol and fuel pellets.
WARNING: Alcohol can not be interchanged with white gas!
