Backpack hunting question

[AWPForester]

Looking at getting into some backpack hunting.  I have two major issues.  Fisrt, I am kinda hung up on the stove choice.  Propane, butane, kerosene, fuel tablets?  And what model.  

I checked into the Peak one micro butane/propane and really like it but saw where the butane stoves don't work so well in cold weather.  Also looked into the coleman bi fuel backpacker too, just unsure about the size of it.  Are these good choices?  Are there better one's?

Second issue is what type of water purificator do you recommend.  Tablets, filter, etc...  The pros and cons of each.

Your help is much appreciated.  God Bless

[Greg Clark]

Last year in CO, my buddy and I used my little Esbit Pocket Stove that burns the small tablets.  If you are just heating water for dehydrated meals, that is a great light weight stove.  It does leave a residue on the pot and I never have asked my buddy how difficult it was to remove.  If you plan more cooking than that, I would go with a gas stove of some sort.  Most of the years we have used my buddy's MSR gas stove.

I have used my MSR Sweetwater filter on about 10 elk hunts out west and it has performed flawlessly.  I always carry some purification tablets as a back up if the filter messes up.

[stykbow67]

You can't go wrong with a Jetboil Flash stove and as far as water purification goes I use a MSR Sweetwater pump the only con to it is weight and bulkiness of it but i've never been sick from bad water yet so I'll deal with it. I am going to try a Katadyn filter bottle this year and see how it works. Hope this helps!

Steve

[gringol]

Butane works fine generally.  It isn't great at high altitude (10k ft) or in very cold weather (0 deg F), but 99% of the time it works great.  Kerosene can get messy. I don't like piggy back stoves (burner on top of tank) cause they get precarious with a pot on them. MSR makes great stoves.  Peak stoves aren't bad either.

Filter all the way unless you like water that tastes like chemicals. I've had an MSR sweetwater for over ten years with no problems.

[Bear Heart]

get a MSR pocket rocket. Toss a nagelene bottle and a light wieght pot in your pack.  The bottle should fit in the pot.

[Last of the Breed]

frontier pro water filter, and a 2nd for the esbit tablet/stove.  Mine worked perfect for a mountian house dinner at 13,000.

[Gil Verwey]

I use the Platypus Gravityworks filter. It works great. Much better and faster than the MSR Sweatwater pump filter I have and will leave home from now on. I have tables and never used them. There is no need to with the Gravityworks filter. This filter is lite and fast.      

I use the MSR Reactor stove. It boils water extremely fast and is good on fuel.It packs down to the size of the water pot. I bring three MSR fuel cans for 11 days backpacking and have fuel left over at the end of the trek. I cook breakfast and dinner with it everyday and make a lot of coffee or tea while backpacking.

[Ceb]

I own and use one of the Esbit fuel tab stoves, its great to heat up a cup of coffee on a cold day and you can heat water for a dehydrated meal, but for everyday use I really like my MSR Pocket Rocket.

As for a water filter, I carry a First Need filter available from Campmor. Its rated as a purifier, not just a filter, weighs about a pound.

[Kevin Hansen]

Check this out. The Littlbug is what we use on our summer pack trips. It is a great piece of gear, and would work great on a backpack hunt. The best part is that you don't have to carry the weight of fuel in your pack. Even in very wet conditions we have never had a problem finding dry fuel for the stove.
Hope this helps.
Kevin
  http://www.littlbug.com/

[Hummer3T]

AWP forester, I use a duel fuel propane/butane stove made by PEAK - model 3140t-700t mirco stove, its a great stove for all temps and alts. You can use and get diff size tank, small for a 2 day trip or bigger for a 4-5 day trip, I also have a little MEC lantern that uses the same fuel. both units and fuel fit in my pot set.  

your other issue is harder, but I really like my steri-pen its ultra violet and kills almost everything, I filter the water with a small paper coffee filter to make it look cleaner.  you just have to carry a small plastic bottle with you as a treatment vessel.

[Lost Arra]

1. Jet Boil- make your life simple

2. Katadyn Base Camp gravity filter- like having a faucet at camp.
I'm sure the other gravity filters work just as well. The Base Camp is  the only one I've used.

[John Scifres]

MSR Pocket Rocket and sweetwater tab with neutralizer.  Works for me.

[wapiti792]

Pocket Rocket for me and a Katyden (sp) hiker for water. Used this kit last 3 hunts "up top" and no issues. Good luck!

[widow sax]

Soto Micro-regulator is unbelievable I just love mine weights nothing and heats water in two minutes or less for meals and a tank of fuel last long enough for a 10 day hunt. Widow

[stevem]

MSR Pocket Rocket and Coghlan water filter (about $20 and should last at least 5 years- I'm on my third one- they are light weight).  I have the small dual fuel single burner stove by Coleman and really love it, but not for backpacking.

[troutremble]

I have been using a brunton raptor for 5 yrs and its worked perfectly in temps down to 8* and elevations up to 12000. At the extreams it does take longer to boil water but still works. It folds down tiny and also has a piezoelectric self lighter, just push a button and go. Tablets are the lightest for water purification but you have to wait a bit to drink water (purify one bottle and let it set while drinking out of another). There is UV pen out that sterilizes water imediatly and only weighs a couple oz, but then you have to depend on batteries (maybe keep a couple tablets as an emergancy source of purification)

[V I Archer]

I use a MSR Whisperlite.  Easy to maintain and re-build in the field if necessary.  I have never been a fan of the butane stoves simply because of the disposable nature of the canisters.  I like topping off my fuel bottle before a trip and knowing exactly how much fuel I have.  

I have a katydyn water filter that I like.  Great peace of mind, but a little heavy.  I would like to try one of the ultra-violet "pens".

[ozy clint]

you lightest option will depend on the duration of the hunt.
for hunts upto 5-6 days a small canister stove will be your lightest option. i have a kovea titanium stove and evernew tianium pot. together they weigh 160grams. then you have the weight of the canister.

however on trips longer than that a jetboil titanium sol would be a better choice. it's heavier but it ends up being a lighter option because it's over twice as efficient on gas.

i just got back from a 2 week backpack hunt in NZ. i used my kovea stove and evernew pot my buddy used his jetboil. i used a 230gram can plus most of a 110gram can. he used one 100gram can and part of another. though the jetboil is heavier than my kit it is a lighter setup for long trips because you don't have to carry as much gas. plus it performed better in the cold weather and boiled his water at least twice as fast.

if you get a canister staove be sure to use a propane, iso-butane gas mix. straight butane won't perform in cold weather. butane boils into a gas at about 4 degress C.

can't help with the filter

[Dan Adair]

The best advice I can give you...  Start a backpacking hobby, and then one day take your bow hunting.

Since you asked...  I use a Katadyne Hiker Pro (pull the cartridge out of it when you get home and let it dry) and an Optimus Crux Lite.  The Soto Micro Regulator made it two trips before I broke one of the arms off that holds the pot.  If it gets below freezing, toss your canister in the sleeping bag with you.

You could also save yourself a few years of hard knocks and track down EdT and go to one of his "Skills camps"

[Biathlonman]

I've had really good luck with alcohol stoves, cheap and fun to play with.  Google cat can stove and go from there.  I've also had good luck with a kathadyn base camp, though any of the gravity options would probably make me happy.  I'll probably pick up a filtering bottle for light/fast trips when I don't plan to do much cooking.

I'll second EdT's skills camp.