Spirit Burner / Alcohol Stove

An alcohol stove is an excellent choice for a quick, clean, fire while on the move in the forest. My favorite alcohol stove is the TrangiaSpirit Burner, although both Esbit and Solo make a very similar stove. Regardless of which brand you purchase, the price is the same, around 850 Rubles ($15.00).

All of these stoves will burn any type of alcohol greater than 80% be volume. Isopropyl alcohol 91% -99% is often the easiest to find, although I have found the best fuel, in terms of heat and a clean flame, to be Methyl alcohol, often sold as a gas-line antifreeze such as HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze (in the yellow bottle).  One hundred milliliters (100 ml) of fuel burns for 40-50 minutes and will boil a liter of water in under 10 minutes. HEET burns very cleanly, although Isopropyl alcohol can leave a little bit of soot on the bottom and sides of your cooking pot.

Carrying an alcohol stove and a couple of bottles of HEET can let you have a hot meal or drink while moving to your bug-out camp, or when evading in an area where you need to leave limited signs of your presence. It is also worth noting that an alcohol stove lights easily with a fire steel, giving you a quick fire even in wet and humid weather, when dry tinder may be difficult to find. So, consider adding an alcohol stove and a bottle of fuel to your bug-out bag. It adds a lot of benefit for very little weight.