I thought those tiny backpacking stoves were just a gimmick

Got a BRS-3000T for a trip in the White Mountains last fall. Weighed almost nothing, cost about $20. Figured it would be useless in any wind. Boiled a full liter of water in under four minutes on a calm morning. Then a gust came through and the flame just died. Had to build a little rock wall around it every single time. It works, but only if you baby it. Anyone else have a stove that's great on paper but a pain in real weather?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.robin1mo ago

That rock wall trick is the only way I've kept my BRS lit in a breeze. Have you tried any of those little wind screens they sell for these stoves, or is it just not worth the extra weight? I saw one guy using a cut-up aluminum pie plate as a shield, seemed to work okay until it got bent.

faith_schmidt1mo ago

Hey @sanchez.robin, good point. I messed with a titanium windscreen once, but it was so thin it just warped in my pack. The pie plate idea is clever for a free fix, but doesn't it just become trash you have to pack out? My real question is about the rock wall itself - how close do you actually build it to the BRS without risking a meltdown or a tipped pot? I've had a boil-over ruin a perfect wind block before.