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Tried a $15 stove from a bin store in Tulsa and my $80 one is now sitting in a closet
Stopped at a bin store outside Tulsa on a road trip and grabbed a little folding stove for $15 just to have a backup. Took it on a 3 night trip to Devil's Den State Park and it boiled water just as fast as my name brand one, no fuss at all. The only real difference is the piezo igniter feels cheap, but a lighter fixes that. Has anyone else found cheap gear that made them question why they paid so much for the fancy stuff?
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josephbutler10d ago
Three nights at Devil's Den in September is about as gentle as stove testing gets, mild temps, low wind, no real weather to fight. That $15 stove boiling water fine on a calm weekend doesn't tell you much. Take it out in January when it's 25 degrees and windy and watch that cheap pot stand wobble while your fuel canister gets cold, and now you're eating cold ramen at 9pm. The cheap piezo is the least of it, the real question is whether the valve holds pressure after 50 or 100 uses, because a stove that fails halfway up a mountain is not a bargain at any price. My $80 stove has been through six years of trips including two where the wind was strong enough to knock my tent sideways, and it still lights on the first click. You got lucky on one trip, that is not the same as finding a better stove.
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