Camp stoves and fuel

What you need

• A canister stove for three seasons, a liquid fuel stove for hard cold
• More fuel than the trip needs, by a third
• A windscreen and a solid flat base
• A lighter and matches, both
• A pot lid, which cuts boil time more than anything else you own

How

1. Set the stove on level ground away from the tent door, clear of dry grass and low branches.
2. Light it outside. Every time. A stove flares on the first light and a tent goes up in seconds.
3. Keep the canister warm in cold weather. Inside your coat while you walk, then in a pocket of the pack, never in the snow.
4. Prime a liquid fuel stove in the open, let the primer burn down, then open the valve.
5. Fill fuel bottles away from any flame, wipe the spill, and let the vapour go before you light anything.
6. Shut it down and let it cool before it goes back in the pack.

Watch for

Notes

Cook under a tarp with both ends open if the weather is bad. Never inside the sleeping space.