Sterno stove Review

"If you want the lightest, most compact, most reliable stove on the market, buy a can of Sterno. Yes, it takes 10 to 12 minutes to boil water, but what's the hurry in the wilderness anyway? My Sterno stove (can of Sterno plus a round aluminum pot holder that slides over the can) fits inside a 16-ounce cup. Throw a book of matches and a bandanna into the remaining space in the cup and the whole thing weighs 11 ounces and will serve you on a 6-day hiking trip. What's not to like?"

"Back in 1994, I drove across from East Coast to CA. I did not want to carry any liquid fuel inside the van, so chose to use Sterno, with the aluminum paneled, wire grill stove. At the first rest stop, very hungry and tired, we waited in agony for the water to boil. It took only 30 minutes! Yes, the weather was cool and windy. But I will never do that again. What I do now: I use instead the Swedish military surplus alcohol stove. It takes a while to get it warmed up to the vaporization temperature, but it will bring the quart of water to a rolling boil in 10 to 15 min, allowing the windy weather without the windscreen.

Sterno is only good for warming up the precooked food, such as canned soup or MRE, just like the military's trioxane tablet canteen stove.

Trouble starts when you try to use the stove for the purpose it is not designed."

"Awesome stove. Almost weightless and the fuel lasts for a long time. Throw a couple of canisters in your pack and you'll eat for a coulpe of weeks. A solid three season stove although I have made hot chocolate on hikes with it in the middle of winter at 15 degrees out when my buddies MSR whisper lite would'nt even ignite."

"Nice and light folding stove of wire and aluminum panels. Like the previous poster said, use it with a Swedish surplus alcohol burner and a wide pan to boil water as fast as any other alcohol stove+windscreen. Also a good match for the Japanese alcohol Simon stove, which is about 50% hotter. Best thing about this combo ? PANCAKES !!! Big honking perfectly cooked flapjacks, which is a tough trick for most stoves."

"i have had my sterno for over 2 years now and have had the best time with it. i am very pleased with its use as i backpack everywhere. it is lightweight and perfect for 3 seasons. im about to see how it will be affected in the winter, colorado weather and see if the temperature drastically changes. if it does, im in trouble. i have faith, though"