White Box Stove Review

[zelph]

I don't think anyone clarified the lack of rivets mentioned in the the original post. Bill came up with a new, cleaner design two months ago or so. The Whitebox I have is sans rivets. I know there are arguments about the slow 'bloom time' as there should be on a primarily stove building forum but as Bill mentioned in one of his responses, the durability of these little suckers is a force to be reckoned with.

- Sam

ps - I can't believe you retired your pot, Mags!

"Trade Offs" A good looking durable stove in the colder months may not be of much use. Slow bloom time on the bench may mean no bloom in cold weather. What worth is a non blooming stove in cold/cooler weather.

How does your sans rivet stove perform in cold weather Sam?

[Allen]

I nominate Mags Old soda can stove as the Stove of the Month.

[billinmt]

"Trade Offs" A good looking durable stove in the colder months may not be of much use. Slow bloom time on the bench may mean no bloom in cold weather. What worth is a non blooming stove in cold/cooler weather.

Two years ago I was doing some snowshoe testing for MSR and so I had the opportunity to test the White Box Stove at 10 degrees below zero. The fuel and stove were both cold as I left both outside along the trail for a couple of hours before the test. The fuel started hard like all alcohol fuel does at low temps. The stove took about twice as long to bloom (no primer plate was used) but after that it still boiled water although I didn't time it to see how long it took because I was to cold to stand around and check it every few seconds. Just my opinion but I think the heavier aluminum helps the stove hold heat better than a pop can stove and therefore makes it more useful in cold weather.

The stove has also been used in altitudes up to 11,000 feet. In Montana that is really "up there". There were no problems with the stove boiling water at that elevation.

Remember the heat shield we include with the stove can be used as a primer plate by folding up the edges. This will greatly improve the bloom time of the stove.

I just checked and it is 20 degrees this morning (it was 8 below Monday morning and we set national records that day) so I just put a stove, cook pot with water and a fuel bottle outside to sit for awhile and then I will test it again.

Bill in MT

[zelph]

Hi bill, I agree that all stoves can be coaxed to work in cold temps by using various methods. It's all about what we are willing to do to get ourselves a cup of hot joe or a serving of Ramen. Like you said, when its really cold you don't feel like taking temperatures very often. The same holds true when trying to get a stove to work. When it's cold we want it to start pretty quick and be dependable in that feature of a stove. All features are to be considered when choosing a stove. How it looks and how many pounds will it support, how much fuel it holds, is it an all weather stove, how much it weighs, any loose parts, built in potstand.

[billinmt]

Ok the latest test taken just minutes ago outside. The stove, fuel and cook pot with water sat outside for a hour in 20 plus degree air.

At the start of the test the air temp had risen to 23 degrees.
Two cups of Water with a starting temp 42 degrees in a Primus Tea Kettle
One ounce of fuel (didn't record fuel temp)
Windscreen was used

I used the heat shield as a primer plate and the stove bloomed out in approximately 20 seconds. I don't usually do that but wanted to see how well it would work. I don't have time right now to test it without the primer plate but when I get time I will do it.

I had a full boil at 5:30 minutes and continued to boil for about 3 more minutes.

We all know there are a lot of variables to everyones different test and there is no standard test platform. But the stove did do the job and fairly fast and I've never had a problem using it in colder weather.

Bill in MT

[Mags]

I am anxious to try out this stove in colder weather. I better hurry! It is hitting the 70s here!

My old stove is now used for "demos" on making your own stove. It has many children and grandchildren at this point.

As for the pot...well, it was really destroyed after the CDT! Egads. Too bad..even by my obviously lowe standards. That pot was on the LT, PCT, CT and the CDT. Phew! I did find an identical pot in a thrift store though.

[Skidsteer]

As for the pot...well, it was really destroyed after the CDT! Egads. Too bad..even by my obviously lowe standards. That pot was on the LT, PCT, CT and the CDT. Phew! I did find an identical pot in a thrift store though.

The older I get, the more closely I adhere to the "McManus Principle":

Whenever I find something that I really like and really works well or fits like a glove, etc... I buy as many as I can afford because they will stop making it or screw with the design if it's a good product.

[Ridgerunner]

This topic has been moved from the Cottage Industries to the Stove testing forum where it belongs. We did not have a stove testing forum when I posted this topic and it really does not belong in the Cottage Industries. Thanks for the "Heads up", Skids.

[Skidsteer]

This topic has been moved from the Cottage Industries to the Stove testing forum where it belongs. We did not have a stove testing forum when I posted this topic and it really does not belong in the Cottage Industries. Thanks for the "Heads up", Skids.

Good on ya mate.

[zelph]

This copy of a post has been transfered here from the Stove Testing Forum.

Re: White Box Stove
by samh on Tue May 13, 2008 11:36 pm

I got my White Box out on the trail for the first time two weekends ago. My buddy had the Bushbuddy he'd gotten for x-mas along as well so it was like new toy fest for us. I made a couple cups of coffee, oatmeal and also boiled up a Lipton's Side on the Whitebox. One day it was really, really windy but the stove performed. This is by no means a full review or testimonial (which I won't be able to give until I've taken it for a real test drive) but it is my two cents of honest truth placed here for no other reason than for Bill to read and have a smile.
http://samh.net/backpacking