Alaskan Base Camp Stove

What kind of stove would be best for a Ruth Gorge trip?  Propane or white gas?  Thinking about the large two-burner Coleman type.  

White gas! End of discussion!!

Not even sure you can fly in with propane canisters. Plus they suck in the cold. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/124086095/whisperlite-universal-canister-mode-for-denali

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/109649815/best-stoves-and-pot-size-for-denali

Reactor worked well there and was most used. We hardly (not) used a GXK. We used the Wisperlite universal stove with whitegas. As far as i remember we had no problem bringing small propane canisters.

I would take 2.  A dragonfly so you can cook and an xgk or whisperlite to melt snow for water.  A lot of guide services use whisperlites.  They will have a couple of them under a big pot for melting snow.  I really like to cook so the dragonfly is a great stove  for that. Take a cooking board with the stoves and insulate it and that set up works great.  If you use the same brand or even same stoves you can take less spare parts or even canibalize  one stove to keep the other stove running. 

Thanks all.  Anyone have experience using a Coleman white gas two-burner as a base camp stove?

Curtis Baird wrote:

Thanks all.  Anyone have experience using a Coleman white gas two-burner as a base camp stove?

Yes

I think the best combo is an XGK for melting snow and a “Coleman” two burner for cooking.

Also it depends on how much actual cooking you’re doing. 

Curtis Baird wrote:

What kind of stove would be best for a Ruth Gorge trip?  Propane or white gas?  Thinking about the large two-burner Coleman type.  

Last 2-seasons, 2-burner coleman plus propane. Hasn't failed us yet. We were in the Ruth last year. Recommend bringing a wooden platform to keep the canister off the snow. 

A white gas fueled MSR (whisperlite, dragonfly, XGK, etc.) is your best choice. It's been mentioned here several times. 

That big coleman stove is going to be a pain in the ass to fly with, its way heavier, doesn't burn as hot, and if it breaks you're probably screwed. If an MSR stove breaks, there's a chance you can barter for the parts you need. 

I hear you that you're leaning toward the Coleman but there are good reasons to buy, beg, or borrow a whisperlite or two. It's worth reconsidering. 

I’m thinking most people here recommending propane are actually talking about isobutane stoves like Jetboils and such. I don’t know anyone that actually takes a propane stove into the Range. 

Willing to admit being wrong. I’m pretty damn sure it’s a propane tank, sold 20 minutes outsized Talkeetna at Cubby’s

I’ve definitely seen a couple other Coleman stoves over the last seasons. Certainly not the predominant cooking technology. We do bring a jetboil for on route and backup, but our trips would be hosed otherwise.

Edit: just looked at a picture. Blue Rhino, if that means anything to anyone.

Nick U wrote:

Willing to admit being wrong. I’m pretty damn sure it’s a propane tank, sold 20 minutes outsized Talkeetna at Cubby’s

I’ve definitely seen a couple other Coleman stoves over the last seasons. Certainly not the predominant cooking technology. We do bring a jetboil for on route and backup, but our trips would be hosed otherwise.

Edit: just looked at a picture. Blue Rhino, if that means anything to anyone.

Well I stand corrected. 

If you look up Tyler karows video of their climbing trip to the Ruth they also brought the 2 burner and propane tank

Wow, I thought flying with a propane tank was a no-go. If you can haul a freaking 20# bottle in there it would change the game. Probably enjoy yourself so much you wouldn’t bother to leave camp.
I guess you’d pay a lot for the flight. Can’t really get in there under the weight limit as it is so major stoves and propane and everything that goes with it would push the per # surcharge up pretty quick. 

If you bring isobutane stove cannisters, for some reason you can't bring the Jetboil brand ones. You can bring the MSR cannisters, but K2 wouldn't let us take our jetboil isobutane cannisters on their planes into the Kahiltna. You can definitely bring propane, but might need to check with whoever you're flying in with on what brands are cool to bring. 

You can take propane, but it has to be flown in on it's own flight without passengers. For the duration of a lot of trips, that just doesn't make sense when white gas works great.

Alex Headley wrote:

If you bring isobutane stove cannisters, for some reason you can't bring the Jetboil brand ones. You can bring the MSR cannisters, but K2 wouldn't let us take our jetboil isobutane cannisters on their planes into the Kahiltna. You can definitely bring propane, but might need to check with whoever you're flying in with on what brands are cool to bring. 

That’s kinda funny as those canisters are all made in the same factory, with the same valves, same wall thickness, same seals, ect. Only difference is the mix inside and the branding on the outside. 

Double J wrote:

That’s kinda funny as those canisters are all made in the same factory, with the same valves, same wall thickness, same seals, ect. Only difference is the mix inside and the branding on the outside. 

Thats what I thought too! No idea the rationale, but they had a couple MSR cans that we could switch with our Jetboil ones. 

Alex Headley wrote:

If you bring isobutane stove cannisters, for some reason you can't bring the Jetboil brand ones. You can bring the MSR cannisters, but K2 wouldn't let us take our jetboil isobutane cannisters on their planes into the Kahiltna. You can definitely bring propane, but might need to check with whoever you're flying in with on what brands are cool to bring. 

I weighed a few empty canisters when I was trying to track/plan fuel usage on backpacking trips, and was surprised to find out that MSR canisters are a few grams heavier than JetBoil canisters. There’s also some minute differences in the weight of the contents between different brands.

We have definitely taken a 2 burner Coleman PROPANE stove, not isobutyl canister, to the Ruth/Little Switzerland. You're not dragging your crap uphill for many miles like a Denali trip so logistics are much easier to bring luxuries like a 2 burner, and you're not going to be cooking at 14k or higher so you don't have to battle the cold/altitude nearly as much.

I would however highly recommend a white gas (XGK or similar) for melting/boiling water en masse, (particularly if you're there for more than just a couple days) and something like a reactor and/or ultra lightweight titanium canister stove (backup for the reactor) on route. Sounds ridiculous to bring 3 stoves for the team but you'll totally use them all. 

If I was just going to be there for a couple days would just bring a reactor + backup and instant meals. If a week +, the above.