Many backpackers will simply buy what is reviewed as the ‘best’ canister top stove and use this with what is reviewed as the ‘best’ pot or pan. A little thought should be given as to whether the two actually work well together. This is part of assembling a ‘stove system’.

Sorting out some backpacking gear at home I was giving some thought to how various cook elements work with each other as a ‘system’. An integrated stove system usually refers specifically to a tall-in-profile cooking set featuring a burner that slots on to a dedicated heat exchanger pot fitted with a drainer lid. However a stove system can more simply refer to how a stove and pot pair together, along with any additional accessories. Canister top gas stoves deserve careful consideration in how they work together.

There are a great many different makes and models of gas canister top stove, far more than the handful below. Likewise, there are many excellent narrow pots or wider pans available on the market. Not all are necessarily suited to working optimally with each other. Canister top stoves introduce a particular hazard in use. They are top heavy. There is a very real risk of a pot or pan toppling off, spilling hot food or water, or worse, the entire stove tipping, with the risk of fire or injury.

The risk of toppling, or a pot sliding off, can be reduced, though not entirely prevented, by giving some thought as to the marrying together of stove and pot, with possibly a little more thought to the stability of the canister itself. I show below a small variety by way of example.

You can see there is a great deal of variety here. Different heights of stove. Different widths of pot and pan. These are not recommendations on pairing, simply my pulling together some pairs that might or might not work. There is considerable flexibility in pairings of stove and vessel, I am simply suggesting a little thought be given. Look at the Soto Windmaster stove below. Not only is this excellent lightweight stove a very tall stove, but depending on what pot or pan it is paired with, it can become a hazard in itself with a particularly high centre of gravity. On soft moorland grass, or a heather underlay, a heavy pot of water high above the ground could easily tip or slide.

A stove system should be just that, a system. Everything should work together optimally, Familiarity with a cook kit helps with dealing with small issues but rarely anything major. If moving outside the comfort zone, perhaps going four season, operating a gas cook set in sub-zero temperatures, or cooking at high elevation, may mean that a familiar system is no longer working as it should. If still using a system put together a decade or more ago, and it works well, then fine, there is little point in changing. However I still like to play around with things, to experiment. I have my favourite cook sets, but am always willing to tweak things, not least for the occasional stove reviews.

Integrated stove systems introduce their own issues. Jetboil popularised these but there are now a great many alternatives. These systems work by integrating canister, canister stand, burner, heat exchanger pot, lid, and sometimes additional accessories, so that can all be stored inside the pot, often with an insulating sleeve and mug attached. If using one of the pot supports provided with some integrated stove systems, it can make the set up even taller. They are a few really good and well thought out systems and despite the high cost and weight of such a system, when adding together all the components elements, some can approach the weight of all the separate parts of a ‘conventional’ cook system.

The MSR Windburner is probably the market leader as it demonstrates efficient resistance to side breezes (hence the name) together with a startingly efficient radiant burner. But in common with all of the other integrated systems on the market, it is a very tall and top heavy set up. Three Points of the Compass seldom uses one of these stoves, preferring a lighter and less bulky set up but they have a great many fans.

Gas canister and stove stability can be improved by using clip on feet. Almost all integrated canister top stove systems come with these as standard as these stoves are a particularly top-heavy reality. Take a glance at the Jetboil Flash and MSR Windburner below. Unstable or uneven ground is going to create a real hazard, and the clip on three legged supports under the canister go a long way to lessening risk, even at the expense of a slight additional weight penalty. The Jetboil stand is 29g, the MSR stand considerably lighter at 17g. These and other makes of canister stand can also be purchased as individual items. Some people might like to use one with a ‘regular’ canister top stove to improve safely. I confess that I do not, relying instead on ensuring I have a level surface on which to stand a canister and stove when in use, combined with care and vigilance.

On occasion, with some combinations I have taken on trail I wondered if I could have made a better choice. On one National Trail a couple of years ago I was trialling the 700ml Vargo Bot, that has a screw on lit and can also be used for cold-soaking. I paired it with the tall Soto Windmaster with its three arm TriFlex pot support, however this made for a tall and dodgy combination. Not one to be repeated.

MSR make an even wider canister support that provides even greater stability than the little plastic affairs. Their Universal Canister Stand does weigh 34g but the mostly metal construction is going to take a lot of punishment. Cheaper clones can also be found with a bit of searching. An alternative to providing improved stability to a canister with stove mounted above is to move the entire canister top stove to a lower position. The MSR Low Down Remote Stove Adapter accepts most lindal valve canister top stoves and is a practical solution to instability. However it is shockingly expensive and weighs 176g in itself. I don’t have one of these as there are remote canister versions for some of the canister top stoves that I especially like.

These include the MSR WindBurner Duo Stove System as an alternative to the WindBurner 1.0L Personal Stove System, or the Fire Maple Polaris pressure regulator remote canister stove as an alternative to the Polaris pressure regulator canister top stove. Even the excellent Soto Windmaster has it’s (sort of) remote canister equivalent, the Fusion Trek. Whereas the canister top stoves are the lightest option, intended mostly for solo campers, the remote canister options are often considerably heavier (and bulkier) and more intended for larger parties, with larger pots, so offer greater low-down stability.

With the advent of 3D printing, one clever chap began producing a simpler and cheaper alternative to the mainstream clip on canister supports. I recently purchased off eBay, for the grand total of £3.25 inclusive of postage, three clip on canister feet. Made of TPU, the three weigh a total of 5.5g. They fit on the base of every type of fuel canister I have in the house. They are very small, just 30mm in length. Despite the red colour, such small feet are obviously at risk of being lost.

Many of us have favourite pieces of gear. Three Points of the Compass likes the 900ml Evernew titanium pan. It is light, strong, is sufficiently large enough for my preferred volume of water and the wide pan bottom is more efficiently heated than a narrower pot base, using less gas in the long run and heating contents more efficiently. It works best with a wider burner head and stove pot supports should ideally be wide enough to provide sufficient stability. This helps point me at what type of stove to include when putting together a ‘stove system’.

Other people will prefer the better packability of a narrower pot, or the reduced volume and weight of an even smaller pan. There is a lot of choice of pot out there. When choosing a canister top stove, there is even greater choice- piezo ignitor or not, pressure regulator or not, heavier or lighter, cheaper or more expensive. One important factors however, and not often given much regard, is the width of pot supports. It may be obvious that a wide pan of heavy water on narrow stove support arms is inviting trouble, but how many of us do actually check to see if there is a combination that might be just that little bit safer while still providing the performance we want?

There are other things to consider when addressing stove systems. It is not just pairing of stove and pot. Lids for pots and pans can be a consideration and lighter after-market alternatives may be purchased or a ti lid swapped out for an even lighter disc of foil. A windshield may be required, though mostly unnecessary with the integrated stove systems. Even the elastic band that keeps the lid on in storage, or a DCF draw cord baggie, they are all part of the ‘system’. I like to leave my meals to cook or steep in hot water prior to eating. To keep it hot I will use either an insulated cozy, especially in winter, or put a down beenie over the meal. Each is part of the ‘system’ at the time. Any element of a cook kit can affect how comfortable you are with it as a canister top stove ‘system’. The same questions can also be used of remote canister stove options, or burners operating with other fuels.

I have only been considering solo systems. There are also many larger multi-person sets that combine multiple pans, possibly mugs, chopping boards and lids, and a stove frequently nesting inside, along with pot grab handles and other accessories. These fall outside my main ‘lightweight’ remit so are not covered here.

In addition to taking a critical look at an existing cook set, I suggest closer study at what is available when putting together a new cook kit or stove system. It is not necessarily all about grams. There is a great deal of good choice now, not all of which is overly expensive, and efficient lightweight stoves frequently find their way into seasonal sales. A decent lightweight titanium pot and lid can be found for twenty quid these days. Check measurements, check the weights and other stats, check the performance, check the reviews, including my own!