Sunday, September 2, 2012

Weight Savings Idea: Fuel Bottle

This might be splitting hairs here, but I just discovered another way to save weight for a hike, and it is with fuel bottles. Normally, one carries an old plastic water bottle, which might weigh an ounce.  Or, one will carry a plastic fuel bottle, which is provided as a part of one's stove kit, like the one I got when I bought a Caldera Cone  from Trail Designs (see pic).

Caldera Cone Fuel Bottle
Another fuel bottle to consider is a mylar package with a screw top, like the Buddy Fruit package that is pictured just below.  I got this idea from Heesoo, a 2012 PCT hiker I met in Washington.  He managed to get a whole bunch of these 3.2 ounce packages, and mailed them (fuel inside) to himself. By the way, if you are wondering, yes, it is legal to send alcohol fuel in the mail, due to the low flashpoint (see postal regulations here).

Mylar Package Fuel Bottle
Mylar Package Fuel Bottle


This bottle has about 4-meals worth of fuel in it (larger packages can be found in the baby food aisle in your grocery store). When I say 4-meals, I am talking about boiling enough water to rehydrate a meal that I prepared beforehand - of course, another way to save weight - and not for preparing food at a steady boil for 8-10 minutes. I'd say that the bottle weighs maybe a half ounce, or perhaps less. And I'd guess that the cons to this contaner are durability, and trying to get fuel in the small mouth of the bottle; the latter can be mitigated by including a small plastic funnel in one's bounce box.

Anyway, I've just included this fuel bottle in my cook kit, and am eager to try it out next time I am on the trail. What are your thoughts on this idea?

** A few days after I posted this, I heard from Heesoo. He says, "The fuel bottle idea was mainly to fit the fuel bottle inside my cook pot. With the chopped caldera cone, I can get the cone, four+ days of fuel, stove,and lighter in the cook pot. I like having it all contained in one spot instead of having a 1L pot and another ~1L container for the cone, fuel and stove. The squeeze fuel bottle does have durability issues. It can develop pinhole leaks where the bottle repeatedly flexes."

2 comments:

IntoTheWildOregon said...

I think it's a novel idea, but the packaging is designed for a one time throw away use, not repeated handling. My caldera cone melted and I went back to the White Box aluminum beer bottle stove. I use a 12 oz. plastic Coke soda bottle for longer trips-with 1 oz tape marks on it-and the caldera cone fuel bottle you pictured. It's been my set-up for a bunch of years without fail.

Freefall said...

There's a lot of items that hikers carry out there (Zip-Loc bags, plastic water bottles) that are intended for one use, but people tend to reuse a lot of their bags and containers. Your point is well-taken though, and if a hole develops on the packaging, you are hosed until you get to town.