Fire-Fly Stove by Mo-Go-Gear (or go DIY)
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02. 7.06
The Trangia alcohol camp stove is over 50 years old and largely unchanged in all that time. It is clearly a design classic. But with the re-emerging trend for ultralightweight backpacking, the tinkers have been out in force and have set their sights on making featherweight renditions of this venerable cooker. One such commercial model is the Fire-Fly stove by Mo-Go-Gear. Made from 100% recycled materials, with an included stand that contains 30% recycled content, it perches upon the scales at a paltry 22 grams (0.7oz), yet is said to boil 16 oz (470 ml) of water in 5 to 8 minutes. For $23 USD you can get the Fire-Fly with a wraparound windshield. (The recycled materials are derived from old beer cans and spent .22 Magnum shells!) Or you could make a similar version yourself, by investing about $5 and 4-6 hours, following the clear and illustrated instructions on Readymade. Should you be even more adventurous, check out the 20 or so self-made stoves on the Make Gear page of backpacking.net. The Fire-Fly is available from ::Gossamer Gear.
I think I remember seeing this a few weeks ago on make.org
still cool though.
Green, yes, but ultralight, no. Alcohol has 2/3 the energy of naptha by volume, and just over 1/2 the energy of naptha by weight. Kerosene is a close second to naptha by weight. These stoves are ultralight only if you carry very little fuel.
if any one questions your manhood just whip one of these out and tell them it's made out of spent bullets and spent beer cans...
I've been using a "Pepsi can stove" for years now, year round. Cost = free, time to build = 15 minutes. Those plans mentioned above need to be revised if it takes money and 4+ hours to build.
These stoves are perfect for trips up to 4 days. Even with the lower energy in the fuel, it is MUCH lighter overall. Past 4 days and then conventional stoves come back into play, if you can't get refueled on day 4. Most Appalachian Trail thru-hikers use Pepsi stoves since they can refuel every 1-4 days.
Since there is nothing to break/clog with these things, I often am eating while others around me are still trying to get their Coleman stoves lit. Gotta love simplicity!