“Orange” Ultralight Backpacking Canister Camping Stove by JOGR
I’ve been testing a very inexpensive canister stove with piezo ignition that I found on Amazon.com for the past 2 weeks. It only costs $9.95 and doesn’t even have a name except Ultralight Backpacking Canister Camp Stove.
But still, that’s more than 80% less expensive than a comparable ($50) Snow Peak Gigapower Auto, so I thought I’d check it out. At that price, I figured it (the Orange Amazon stove) would be a good buy for a beginner backpacker or boy scout that wants good gear at a bargain price. The question in my mind was what you have to sacrifice for the price break and what kind of value the Orange stove would provide.
Gear Weight
Weight-wise, the Orange stove weighs 3.3 ounces and comes with with a protective orange plastic carrying case weighing 0.6 ounces. In comparison my Titanium Gigapower weighs 3.0 ounces and comes with a 0.8 ounce plastic carrying case, so the two stoves are pretty comparable in terms of weight.
Collapsible Pot Stand
Pot Stability
The Orange stove comes with a collapsible pot stand that folds away accordion style for storage. The stand has tiny feet at the end of each support member that rotate out to help hold a wider pot.
Unfortunately, I found that the stability of a narrow pot filled with water isn’t ‘t that good, and you can’t take the lid off the top of the pot, without worrying about whether it will tip over. In fact, the bottom of a narrow pot doesn’t even come into contact with the feet and instead rests on top of the metal rivet that fastens them to the vertical support member.
Wide pot stability is much better however, and the bottom of wider pot has complete contact with the feet, so you can open the lid and peak inside without having to worry about your dinner spilling out. This is a consideration for younger campers who might be a little less coordinated than adults in such matters.
Brings 600ml of water in a narrow pot to a roiling boil in 4:45
Boil Times
With a narrow pot, the Orange Ultralight Backpacking Stove boils 600 ml of water in 4:45 and in 3:00 in a wider pot. As a point of comparison, the much more expensive Titanium Snow Peak Gigapower takes 5:30 to boil 600 ml in a narrow pot and 8:45 in the wider pot. That was an eye opener for me!
Brings 600ml of water in a wide pot to a roiling boil in 3:00
I attribute the difference in the boil times to the size of the stove burner on the Orange Amazon stove, which is much flatter and wider than on the Snow Peak. This also explains why the Orange stove’s boil time on the wider pot is much faster than on the narrower pot, because less heat escapes up the outside of the pot.
Overall Recommendation
I’m very impressed with the performance of the “Orange” Ultralight Backpacking Canister Camp Stove.
At $14.95, it’s a great value for any backpacker. However, to take advantage of it’s speedy boil times, I do recommend that you use a wide pot like the Titanium Non-Stick 1.3L I used for testing this stove, to take advantage of the stove’s larger burner surface area and improve it’s efficiency.
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Phil, the boil time is good, but this really only measures the output of the stove. The Snow Peak has a smaller burner, and likely a smaller jet, hence burns slower. The Orange stove likely has a larger jet and burns faster as you surmise. But the fuel consumption is probably quite a bit higher, too.
As an intro stove to camping, it looks great, though. Well within the means of most beginners and scouts. For $30 they could have a complete stove + canister set up. Add a spoon, a grease pot and plastic cup and they would have a light kitchen set for less than $50.
Good catch!
These look great but the canisters they use for fuel aren't refillable, are they? Doesn't that just add to our already growing trash problem? I'm looking at buying my first stove this winter and am pretty sure I want to avoid adding to a landfill any more than I need to.
I tried the MSR WhisperLite and found it pretty darn useful (though I did pack way too much fuel).
Do you prefer canister stoves generally? And why?
I pack canisters because they're convenient and fast to cook with. But they don't work in sub 20 degrees (F) in winter when, like you, I have to lug a much heavier liquid fuel stove around.
Did you happen to weigh the canister before and after each use to see how much fuel was consumed by each stove?
No Matt – I didn't bother. I don't feel qualified to perform such tests and I don't think much of the pseudo-scientific results on fuel consumption published by certain retailers, online publications, and other bloggers. Not to be overly critical, but I think those efforts fall short when it comes to statistical sampling, accurate measurements, and experimental controls, and I'd rather be incomplete than publish something that's fraught with errors.
It's a pretty good, cheap stove.
I prefer my Optimus Crux:
2.92oz (crux lite at 2.54oz)
sure it's more expensive ($40 according to Google, but I've seen it on sale for as low as $20), but it is lighter, and with my Terra pot's diffuser is able to boil 1l in 3mins (or less depending on conditions). After weight, it's all about efficient use of fuel.
I was pretty impressed with your stove too Steve. That Crux is definitely worth a look and also seems like a great value.
Mike, speaking of the trash problem with canisters, canisters can be recycled now, as long as you puncture them like with that new jetboil tool. I kind of wish I could go back and recycle all the canisters I threw away when I used to use that kind of stove.
Phil, how do you feel the piezo would work in various conditions? it does negate the need for a ligher/matches/etc which can be nice, but only if I can trust it.
Steve, I've heard piezos are unreliable, but when I hiked the AT, I used a Snow Peak canister stove with a piezo and it worked fine the whole time. And it still works today, as infrequently as I use that stove. Maybe carrying a few spare matches in an emergency kit would be worth the extra weight, though.
Piezo's break and don't work in cold temperatures. The one on my expensive snow peak doesn't work anymore. Best thing to do is to always carry a fire steel – even better then matches although a little less convenient.
Piezo-electric starters are problematic. Some seem to be fairly bulletproof. Others fail at a look. It doesn't seem to matter what manufacturor-JetBoil, Snow Peak, etc. Soo, I would simply remove it. It will largly offset the 5/8 ounce(18g) of a butane lighter.
Off hand, on the Orange stove, it looks to be one that will fail or break easily. It sets well above the burner and is highly exposed…and easily broken. Subject to corosion in the spring, dirt in the mechanism, etc., it will likely not last long on the trail. But, sometimes these things have a way of persisting well beyond what would be considered reasonable lifetimes. Not sure I would take the chance, though.
Canister "topper" stoves are about the easiest for a beginner to use. However, they ae not very efficient at lower temps and start failing about 40F, and fail completely about 20F. Fuel efficiency is more a product of pot surface area, and wind deflection. A pot top, similar to a Caldera cone, hanging down from the pot and around the stove does about the best for heating efficiency.
Fuel efficiency is another problem. As Phil says, it is difficult to measure accuratly without a lot of testing and average the results. The best I could manage was about 11L of water boiled from a single 3.9 (or there'bout) canister from a Coleman F1 (avereged over three tries. Is this what you are asking?) Adding the weight of the can (3.9oz) and the 2.4 oz for the stove (stripped and lightened) This gave me a total weight of 10.2oz. Since I use about 3L per day, 1 canister will last a long weekend. (All burned on the lowest setting I could get…~9-10 minutes per liter, starting at 40F water, 16oz per boil, boiling point was 211, but my thermometer was set to 210F to avoid phase changes.) Depending on your temps, winds, how you cook, how much coffee/cocoa, etc…YMMV.
For comparison, A full SVEA weighs about 20.5oz and will boil about 13L of water.
Since my trip length is usually between 1-2 weeks, I don't use the canister stoves for obvious weight reasons.
As Phil said, finding canisters on the trail is difficult. I have also seen 4oz canisters going for as much as $12 each, when you *can* find them. For many of the longer distanced trails, hiking and canoe trails, your only choice is to carry everything at the start' cept food. Canister stoves are probably the single most expensive stoves out there. Only Esbits are more expensive, in terms of fuel usage.
Nice to see you take a chance and review a piece of gear that could have been a piece of junk, or a decent inexpensive alternative. I'm curious how delicate you think you would have to be with this stove. I'm used to being delicate with more expensive pieces of ultralight gear, but at such a low price I'd probably just kick this thing around. If I had to recommend a stove to a beginner I would give them 3 options:
#1: Colemand MAX canister stove. $25 6.5oz. Heavy but virtually indestructible, cheap, and burns like a you-know-what.
#2 MSR Pocket Rocket. $40 3.3oz. Light, a little more expensive, but very reliable and durable with its plastic case.
#3 Snow Peak Lite Max $60 2.1oz. This is what I currently use and I love this thing. Its the lightest canister stove on the market that I've found. They claim its 1.9oz but mine was slightly more. Its not as expensive as other ultralights that weigh more. And its sturdy and burns quickly.
Those are my 3 favorites for canister stove choices, but thanks for the review, if I'm looking for a very cheap stove for a buddy just starting out, I will definitely recommend this.
I take a lot of chances on gear, actually, but usually I do a lot of research before I buy something and rarely end up with a dud. This little stove really peaked my interest though because ti was so cheap. Plus I'm doing a lot of mentoring with the Boy Scouts these days and it helps if I can find inexpensive alternatives for them. Stay tuned – I'll be writing more about less expensive gear in the coming months – I've got a lot in the testing pipeline.
Probably not a bad stove for Scouts where I would think there would be other boys and also adults around with other stoves in the event of a failure. I’d be a little more worried about solo use. “No name” stoves are inexpensive, but I’m a little afraid of failure in the back country.
Thanks for the review,
HJ
I bought this stove because I’m a normal person who doesnt make a boatload of money. It was around 15 dollars compared to 50 to 80 for comparable units. I’ve used it during power outages, multiple hiking trips, fishing trips, even at work when in a pinch. It’s never failed me. I’m willing to claim that the more expensive ones are somewhat of a ripoff. You need 3 things to make fire….Oxygen, fuel, and a heat source. the oxygen is there in most situations, this unit allows you to control the fuel ( its really simple and inexpensive tech) and a heat source. The heat source is the only concern on this unit. Lets say since its cheap you cant depend on it….I carry a lighter everywhere I go….just a habit I have. For 15 bucks this is grade A equipment…
It’s a good deal for what it is. I think that some of the commercial stoves like the Soto OD-1R are a bit more efficient so you can use less gas per cook on longer trips, but this little stove is perfect for the budget camper or boy scout. No need to spend more for a tiny little metal stove when you’re just paying for a brand name.
B U R N W O O D
unless there is non
I got this same stove for under 10 dollars including shipping from Amazon recently, I love it!
Does anybody know how to disassemble this stove? I have another use in mind for it. But I need to take it apart without damaging any of the components.
MW
I have one of these and I love it. It fits inside my Stoic 900ml ti pot/cup (which I think has been discontinued) along with a small gas canister; a super small, sweet set. I made a wind screen from aluminum flashing with a floor to protect the canister from heat. This also fits in the pot and definitely makes a difference in even a slight breeze. You just can’t beat the price. The one downside I found is that the lighter is not dependable and I just use a Bic now.
I had been eyeing one of these, and had thrown it on an amazon wishlist. My fiancé bought it for me for Christmas, and I’m looking forward to giving it a shot on a backpacking trip, soon. Up to this point, I’ve been using a Jetboil Sol, and have been very happy with it, but thought having a backup stove and/or something for a bug-out bag wouldn’t be a bad idea. Plus, the idea of scoring a second stove that uses the same canisters I already have for less than $10, seemed like a no-brainer. Thanks for the info presented in the review! Nice to see what I have to look forward to.