Camp Cooking

When you are getting ready for a trip, the question arises of how you are going to cook your food and boil your water.  Of course you can cook on your campfire and this is a skill everyone should own, but there situations where this may not work well for you.  Not everywhere you go will have adequate firewood or in some conditions, you may not want to have a fire because of the risk of forest fires, or the danger of being found by others if you are in a situation like some of our military personnel who are trying to evade capture and get back home.  Wood smoke carries a very long way, especially at night.  Also, in a survival situation, you may need to get a hot drink into you quickly to help stave off hypothermia and don’t want to take time to gather wood and kindle a fire.

There are several options for the prepared person.  Some take up more space and weigh more than others and so that is always a consideration when putting together a survival kit.  As far as an emergency is concerned, old-fashioned canned heat or Sterno brand with the folding stove will work, but they do not produce a lot of heat and the gel inside the can will dry out after a while in storage.  A better option is an Esbit stove with it’s solid fuel tabs that will fit inside the stove when its folded up.  You can also use the Trioxane fuel tabs used by the military in the Esbit stove.  They burn for about 12-15 minutes apiece and are very hot.  As an additional bonus, the Trioxane tabs can be broken into smaller pieces and used as an emergency fire starter using a match or lighter.  Just be aware that you shouldn’t breathe in the smoke from either the Esbit or Trioxane tabs as they are toxic and if you get some of the powder on your hands when you break them in pieces, make sure to wash or rinse off before handling food.

Some people like to use the tiny alcohol stoves made from aluminum cans known as penny stoves or those sold commercially such as the ones from Trangia etc.  These work ok in most conditions but alcohol doesn’t ignite well at temperatures below freezing and there is always the risk of puncturing the can or bottle of alcohol and spilling it in your pack.  It also evaporates quite quickly so if you fail to get the lid on tight you might also find yourself without fuel.  However, the alcohol can also be used as a hand cleaner or wound cleaner and to kill germs on surfaces, so this is a good option if you can overcome the negatives.  Never, ever use Heet or other type of fuel line antifreeze alcohol solution as they are highly toxic and you do not want this on your hands or anywhere near your food!  Only use denatured alcohol for your trail stove and this can be found at most retail stores in the paint section or at paint stores.

Some like to use stoves that take a small canister of gas and there are many makes and models available for this option as well.  They have an indefinite shelf life, burn very hot, some models actually allow you to simmer food and they are very portable.  The drawbacks to this type of stove is that the fuel, which is generally an Iso-Butane mix, can separate in cold weather and the butane will burn off first and what is left will not be as hot nor burn as well.  You can solve this by warming it next to your stomach by tucking it under your coat or shirt, or by putting it in your sleeping bag at night where it will stay warmed by your body heat.  Of course, never warm up a gas canister over the fire!  Another issue with this type of stove is that it’s difficult to tell how much gas is left in the canister.  You can float it in water and this will give you a rough estimate but again, it’s not an exact measurement.  Also, not all companies have the same thread pattern on either the stoves or canisters so it can sometimes be difficult to replace the canister when it runs out, as not every store will carry your brand.  So, you end up packing two or more canisters to make sure you have enough and now you’re getting into additional weight and bulk.  They do work well though and for a survival kit may be your ideal choice.

Another type of stove is the wood fuel stove.  Some are simple folding stoves, others are just flat plates of metal that hook in together and others are made of a single tube of stainless steel.  The best type that I have discovered so far is the Solo Stove which is cleverly designed for maximum airflow to the wood so you achieve a hot and complete burn which reduces your wood to a fine, white ash.  The challenges are, of course, finding enough dry wood for a fire and then trying to get it started in an emergency situation.  One solution is to pick up a large handful of dry sticks and twigs of varying size and keep them with or even inside the stove packed in a Ziploc bag or two. That way you always have dry wood for a fire and it is available during an emergency right away.  They can be used even in very dry conditions where a campfire would be prohibited or unwise as the fire is kept up off the ground on a ventilated plate of some type where the burning occurs.

The last type of stove is the liquid fuel or multi-fuel stove.  These use white gas or in the case of the multi-fuel stoves, white gas, unleaded gasoline, kerosene, even diesel and jet fuel!  Of course, you need to carry fuel with the stove and if this spills is much worse than alcohol because it will really make your food inedible and will put a terrible fuel smell on everything it touches which is really hard to get out even after multiple washings.  But, they burn very hot and are easy to find fuel for in almost every world area.  These are expedition type stoves and have been used in many environments from the desert to Mount Everest.  They are also the heaviest stove as you must also carry a fuel bottle with you.

I have all of the types of stoves listed above and have used all of them in varying conditions.  For a survival kit I will list my choices in order from most desirable to least desirable, not including a campfire, which is standard for a survival situation assuming you have a billy can or pot to cook in.

1. Esbit or solid fuel stove

2. Wood burning backpack stove

3. Canned heat or Sterno

4. Alcohol stove

5. Gas canister stove

6. Multi-fuel stove

Your mileage may vary but these are my choices.

As a Christian, we want to burn hot for the Lord.  He doesn’t want us to be cold or lukewarm.  We must keep the fuel of Bible reading, prayer, fasting, church attendance and tithing on our soul.  So often we cool off because we are not faithful to do the things we ought to do.  Backsliding occurs when we get spiritually lazy or fail to keep doing what God commands us to do.  How are you doing today?  Is your spiritual condition on  fire for the Lord or are you just getting by with the bare minimum.  When a spiritual emergency occurs, as it surely will someday, you may not have time to gather fuel and get your fire hot again!  So, be faithful, stay hot and you will be ready for whatever happens!  In other words, be prepared!

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PS. We have just added a Facebook Page, it’s WayPoint Survival.  Look us up and send us a friend request!  You can also check out my other websites where you can set up training for many of these skills at www.waypointsurvival.com and look at and order my custom knives at www.benderknifeworks.com.

James B