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Switched from a camp stove to a twig stove for cooking
I was tired of carrying fuel canisters for my little propane camp stove, so I picked up a $30 twig stove from a local outfitter for a 5 day trip along the Tahoe Rim Trail. It boiled water in about the same time, but I ended up spending an extra 15 minutes each meal hunting for dry twigs and pinecones to feed the fire. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good way to prep your fuel source ahead of time?
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susansingh1mo ago
Fifteen extra minutes per meal just hunting for twigs?
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bennett.harper1mo ago
@susansingh nailed it. Fifteen minutes adds up fast on a multi-day trip when you're already tired.
What kind of terrain were you in, mostly pine forest or mixed woods with more deadfall? Dry pine needles and thin twigs burn fast and hot but they're gone in seconds, so I'm curious if you found a way to break up the feeding cycle without stopping your whole cooking routine. I've seen guys stuff a handful of dry moss or bark in a stuff sack the night before, but that seems like extra work for a tiny payoff.
For me, the whole point of ditching fuel canisters was saving weight and hassle, but if I'm spending a quarter of my evening meal time playing gatherer, the math stops working.
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Yeah, I read somewhere that soaking your twigs beforehand helps them burn longer.
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