The Best Way to Pack a Backpacking Stove

The camp stove is a critical piece of backpacking equipment. It provides warm food and drink and may, in snowy conditions, be used to melt snow or ice for drinking water. Finding the best way to pack away a cook stove means both protecting the stove from being bounced around in your pack with other items and making the best possible use of space.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step 1

Disconnect the fuel canister from the stove and make sure the canister is tightly sealed or closed to prevent leaks.

Step 2

Fold the cook stove down to its most compact configuration. Place the stove in its storage case, if it has one.

Step 3

Place the stove inside your cook pot. If there's also room for the fuel canister inside the pot, insert the canister first; otherwise, the canister can be stored separately. Add other "kitchen" items, like eating utensils, camp spices or small food items, if space allows.

Step 4

Stuff your cooking towel, bandana, socks or other small, soft material into the cook pot around your backpacking stove. This helps protect your stove and makes the most efficient use of space.

Step 5

Place the lid on your cook pot and, if possible, fix it in place. Slide the cookpot into a stuff sack reserved only for "kitchen" items, and add any other "kitchen" items -- plates or bowls, cups, utensils -- that didn't fit into the cook pot along with your stove.

Step 6

Place the "kitchen" stuff sack in your backpack near the small of your back, low enough to keep the weight centered and underneath items, like extra clothes layers, that you might need access to before the next stop.

Article Written By Marie Mulrooney

Marie Mulrooney has written professionally since 2001. Her diverse background includes numerous outdoor pursuits, personal training and linguistics. She studied mathematics and contributes regularly to various online publications. Mulrooney's print publication credits include national magazines, poetry awards and long-lived columns about local outdoor adventures.

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