Stoves in Rockies

[John Grossbohlin]

I'm wondering if I'm going to have trouble cooking with a Coleman Peak 1 stove in the Rockies on my trip along the TransAm... Does it light, burn, and boil water at 5-11,000 feet of elevation?  Any other stoves to consider for this trip?

[staehpj1]

Altitude won't be a big problem for cooking.  First you probably won't be cooking at 11,000 feet unless you cook on top of Hoosier pass.  You will probably not need to camp on top of any passes.  I know that we always wound up camping much lower than the summits we went over.  I don't recall exactly but I doubt we ever camped much above 8,000 feet on our Trans America.

That said your stove would still boil water and cook even at the high point on the TA (11,500'), it will just take a bit longer.

[Westinghouse]

The CP1 is a fine stove and burns plenty hot too. I have one. It boils a quart of water in no time at all. It's a good choice, and with fueling points not far apart you do not necessarily have to carry extra fuel. Be sure to keep the plunger seal oiled. Oil stabilizer works better than plain oil.

[staehpj1]

Which Peak 1 is it.  Coleman has made several different stoves with that name over the years.  If it is a butane stove I will caution that we went long distances on the Trans America without finding butane cartridges.  Don't let anyone tell you that every walmart has them.  We stopped at every walmart we passed from Pueblo to Virginia and didn't find butane cartridges.  It the west no problem, but from Pueblo eastward they were scarce for a long ways.

[Westinghouse]

My CP1 is the feather 442 dual fuel good with gasoline and white gas.

I too have found Wal Mart to be undependable for things. If you get a stove there and need the cartridges on a cross-country trip, WM may very well let you down. I have found this to be the case on numerous occasions. For some things, try your best to stay independent of WM and their goods.

I am sure the dual fuel stove burns well at higher elevations. Stove advertisements for good stoves should mention all that in their details.

[Paul A]

Have you considered a homemade alcohol stove?
Do an internet search on backpacking stove and you'll see what I mean.
It doesn't get any simpler or lighter than what you can make yourself.

[staehpj1]

Have you considered a homemade alcohol stove?
Do an internet search on backpacking stove and you'll see what I mean.
It doesn't get any simpler or lighter than what you can make yourself.

I have found them to work well and to be very easy to find fuel for.   Lately I have been using mine more and my Pocket Rocket less.  For a coast to coast tour I'd either go with both or take only the pepsi can stove.

BTW: Taking both has only a small weight penalty since they both use the same pot and windscreen.  The pepsi can stove with pot support is less than an ounce and I think the Pocket rocket is about 3 ounces.  My whole cook set weighs 11 ounces with the pepsi can stove, 13 ounces with the pocket rocket, and 14 ounces with both.  That does not include fuel.  BTW I use the yellow bottle Heet and carry it in the original bottle.

Since you can typically buy fuel often you don't need to carry much, but as the amount of days worth of fuel you carry increases the weight advantage shifts toward the butane stove, but on tour I typically don't need to carry enough for the advantage to shift to the butane carts.

I definitely would not rely on finding butane cartridges in the middle of the US.  And before someone says walmart has them, I will reiterate that we did not find that to be the case between Pueblo and Virginia at least in 2007.  They did have them at walmart and many other places including some general stores from Oregon to Pueblo.