Whitebox Stove

Preparation begins. Since, i'm camping by myself i figured i needed something lighter then the regular butane burner. Since it's only over 2 nights essentially i have no need for all that weight thats in the fuel canister. One of the best alternatives is an alcohol stove of which apparently the Whitebox stove is one of the best. Mainly cos its crushproof and is big enough to put a stove can on, so saving me a stand. so i ordered it from ebay.So the alcohol stove does everything it promises. It's boils fast and keeps the pop upright. Was able to boil water with minimal issues. The main problem i have with it is its somehwat fuel hungry. It's thick aluminium takes quite long to prime which can be fixed with a wick apparently. Other then that, if you take care puttin the pot on teh stove you wont have the flames licking up the sides, or spilt water. Both i experienced during testing =)

A crucial component of using an alcohol stove is fuel efficiency. Pan frying food most likely out of question. Using it with a pot cosy allows you to extend your cooking time by basically allowing the food to cook itself. Apparently, this is what a dutch oven is suppose to be.
To make one, I purchased a $3 windscreen from the local cheapo store and basically cut out the pieces i needed and duct tape them all together. This slightly different to the designs you see on the internet in that I double walled it everywhere. The trickest part was the base which comprises of a trace of the bottom + wrapping the can with the double wall insulation and making another trace. Using duct tape, this was all stuck together =) So. to put it all to the test, I decided to cook a packet pasta for a snack. So to do this, I get 1.5 cups of water to boil with the whitebox stove. Add the pasta packet and let it boil again. This took about 5 minutes and was unexpectedly fast. After the fire goes out, place it in the pot cosy and wrap my jumper around it. 20 minutes later i checked it and the pasta was soft, hot and done.

Woot! on the trail, i'll have some salami in there for extra zing!