Thursday, August 13, 2015

High Efficiency Cold Weather Expedition Stove System

Last winter I did a post about a cold weather stove system I was putting together…still in progress. It is yet to prove itself in long term testing (hopefully this year), but the overall design was reached after a lot of time spent looking over expedition photos from people like Willy Goutvik. His double wall pot design has become widely used in cold weather expeditions these days.

Well, Thomas Ulrich has now developed an integrated stove system which utilizes the Goutvik pot. The design is nothing new. It incorporates elements that have been used for a while such as the double wall pot, a white gas stove and a base with integrated wind protection, but this is the first I have seen a complete system that is commercially available.

TU_FJL_KD23258

                                                         Image by Thomas Ulrich

The system is based on a MSR XGK white gas stove. In the pictures it looks like the old model, so I’m not sure how it fits with the new one. The base is made from carbon fiber and uses a 3 litter aluminum double wall pot. The stove base weighs 9.9oz (280g) and the pot weighs 26.5oz (750g). Of course to that you have to add the weight of the stove and fuel bottle. The stove system is supposed to use 1/3 less fuel than a standard set up, which seems to fit the reports I have read of similar DIY set ups.

The system is clearly designed for polar exploration style trips. It is most conducive to transport via a sled. It doesn’t seem like a good system for someone carrying their gear in a backpack, but the concept can certainly be adopted to such use.

The stove system is available for purchase here. The price is “upon request only”, which in my mind translates to “it’s going to hurt”. 

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