One of the most commonly found stoves carried by long distance backpackers is a cat stove. This stove is light and is usually home built! Some of the other reasons for its popularity are simplicity, availability of fuel and low cost. This stove is powered by alcohol. Fuel sources include denatured alcohol, grain alcohol, methanol and/or isopropanol. Most  backpackers will purchase “HEET” in the yellow bottle(methanol) to fuel their stove.

This little stove has many advantages, just be careful not to crush or step on it. There is a price for ultralight! So here are some of the disadvantages: no adjustable heat, no shut off, unable to cook lots of food, melt or cook in the snow.

Find all the information you could ever want on the building, use and specs for this amazing stove at zenstoves.net.

Be safe and see you on the trail, Peter