another overnighter: kifaru sawtooth with medium stove.

[JV3]

first trip out with the sawtooth...perfect timing to test the new shelter since it snowed then freezing rain overnight then high wind gust the next day.

within minutes of starting the stove the interior was warm enough to melt the snow on the shelter...i should've used the side tie outs though so i wouldn't have had to get out and scoop out the snow off the walls as much. that's what i like about a hammock setup - set it once and forget it even in heavy snowstorm.

there are cordage and cord locks near the top of the door for venting.

it was four years ago that i sold my supertarp and switched to a hammock full time...i definitely missed a stove's instant heat and no smoke. it's very easy to start too - you can just stuff it with your largest fuel and kindling in one go and more than likely it'll burn the big stuff within minutes.

this medium ikea bag is helpful as a guide for me for how much wood i'll need. if i fill that with hardwood then i know i'll have enough fuel even if i start the stove around lunch time and keep it going until dinner so i usually process about a bag and a half and i'm good for an overnighter with some to spare for breakfast next day if i wanted to.

definitely overdid it with the food again! i only ate half of it.

the only time i used my knife on this trip...i started the stove with just twigs, birch bark and pjcb.

the whole shelter smelled like bacon!

took a nap and woke up to a wet butt...i always keep water in my pants' pocket as part of my psk (forgot to take it off before laying down) and for some reason the cap worked itself loose.

a stove is a game changer...within minutes all my stuff is dry again. it's all radiant heat so no risk of burning your stuff unless it touches the stove directly. i draped my wet blanket (kifaru doobie - not sure if it has a dwr coating but it got wet for sure) over my legs in front of the stove to dry it out.

 

[JV3]

sacred bacon! i couldn't help but think about woods walker...i was actually in the middle of re-watching all his heated shelter videos these past few weeks while i wait for my shelter and stove to arrive when i heard of his passing.

the sawtooth feels easily twice as roomy as my old supertarp both width and height-wise...i'm sitting down on a helinox folding chair and my legs are stretched out and i still have plenty of room to spare front and back...as a bonus my head isn't even touching the roof still unlike in the supertarp if i used a chair...bald folks like me know how big a deal that is!

stuff it full of split wood and it becomes one angry stove! i don't have scientific data but on my supertarp i used a titanium stove and i felt like i had a hard time keeping that stove really hot for awhile. i definitely don't remember feeling too hot in that shelter even after stuffing it full of split oak whereas it was easy to get the interior too hot with this stainless stove if i wanted to...my guess is the stainless steel absorbs the heat better and radiates it whereas the titanium just lets most of the heat escape through the pipe.

the heat becomes unbearable if you open the door...this is perfect if you're coming in from the outside and want to warm up fast.

depending on where you pile on the wood inside you can create a really hot spot for water boiling and a cooler area for simmering your food.

 

[JV3]

a little late night boozing (bulleit bourbon - my favorite) and dessert

i ended up bringing the kielbasa home untouched...i was all bacon'd out.

the only thing the sawtooth needs is an orange cordage on the door's interior zipper pull to make it easier to find it in the middle of the night especially since it's angled away from you. also it got buried in snow and freezing rain froze the first few inches of it and the cordage would've made it easier to break it free...worst case though i would just unzip the top one to get out so no biggie.

orange cordage down! i didn't realize one of the stove pipe ring cordage got pressed against the pipe and melted it.

the next day was very windy so i tied the doors back and pulled all the stakes out except the bare minimum to see how it behaves under high wind gusts...also easy way to dry out the condensation before packing it in.

the left over ash from several hours of burn time.

still had plenty of left over wood - easily enough for lunch and dinner...only con is you will have to do a lot of sawing in exchange for using far less wood compared to an open fire...so i can't say that a wood stove is superior in every way over an open fire...a lightsaber would be a game changer though!

snowstorm and freezing rain (i love the sound of rain hitting the shelter while i sleep!) on the first part but blue skies the next day on the hike out...my kinda overnighter weather!

 

[JV3]

some random videos...boiling water:

cooking bacon...i'm going to play this in a loop when i'm boozing at home

stove door open:

stove door closed…creaking sounds:

windy morning:

 

[heat_treat]

That is awesome. What is the approximate weight of the sawtooth, stove, pipe, etc. and did you pack it all in the backpack shown?

Thanks!

 

[WILLIAM.M]

And another OUTSTANDING trip report with photos and videos too

I look forward to your posts

Thanks again for taking the time to take us along!!!

 

[JV3]

That is awesome. What is the approximate weight of the sawtooth, stove, pipe, etc. and did you pack it all in the backpack shown?

Thanks!

thanks! the sawtooth with poles and 20 msr groundhog stakes (you can get away with just 5 stakes as bare minimum if it's not windy) is 4.5 lbs. the complete medium stove is 5 lbs 4 oz. it comes with a carrying case you can strap down or just carry it as is.

if you don't mind just sitting on a foam pad instead of a folding chair then the supertarp is half the weight. here's my old supertarp from a few years ago. it's short enough you can just use trekking poles to prop it up to save even more weight.

the complete titanium stove for it was just over a pound if i remember correctly.

here's their website:
https://store.kifaru.net/sawtooth-p86.aspx
https://store.kifaru.net/box-stoves-stainless-steel-p87.aspx
https://store.kifaru.net/supertarp-p84.aspx

yes, everything is inside the pack. the only thing strapped on the outside are the extra foam pads and my hammock tarp just in case i did something wrong and burned the whole shelter down since this was it's first outing.

And another OUTSTANDING trip report with photos and videos too

I look forward to your posts

Thanks again for taking the time to take us along!!!

thanks, dr. bill!

 

[heat_treat]

Thanks for the extra info and pictures. I have never had to camp in snow, living various places in the South my entire life, so this is intriguing. The more I see the more I like!

 

[bore]

Very nice you're living the life!!

 

[JV3]

Very nice you're living the life!!

thanks! i'd overnight more often but this is one of those snowless winters again i think unfortunately.

too warm to camp but too cold to ride my
bike...sigh.

 

[22-rimfire]

Looks like a big pack. How did you carry all that stuff to the camping site? I like the idea of the stove if you're willing to transport it in (assuming you aren't parked nearby). Thought perhaps you used a sled or some sort of wheeled "device".

 

[Mikel_24]

Looks like a big pack. How did you carry all that stuff to the camping site? I like the idea of the stove if you're willing to transport it in (assuming you aren't parked nearby). Thought perhaps you used a sled or some sort of wheeled "device".

I checked the pictures wondering the very same thing but I guess he just hauled everything in the backpack. For a sled to work well you need a good amount of snow (the more packed and harder, the better) and somewhat of a flat unobstructed terrain. If you need to go up/down hill, do too many switchbacks, find your way between trees and bushes... the sled will not work ok and it could be more of a hassle.

A couple years ago I bought a "pulka", the norwegian word for a sled, meant solely to carry small kids when ski touring. It has a full size windshield, not-so-padded seat (with retaining straps), and full blanket with a drawstring so the only thing exposed is the head. I was fantasizing with doing now, with my randonee skis while pulling my daugther, what I used to do with her on a backpack while I was wearing snowshoes (and she was much ligther). Problem is I didn't realize my playground does not resemble Norway by any frigging means...

We don't have snow covered flat terrain arround here. If I want to play in the snow, I need to go to the mountains, and guess what, mountains are steep!. Going uphill is no big deal, you just need to train harder. My daugther has even fallen asleep while climbing. But downhilll... is a different story. If the snow is anything but pillow soft... then even while skiing downhill as slow as I can ... the sleds keeps jumping arround and I almost rattle the fillings out from my daugther. LOL. She doesn't like that one bit.

Sorry for the sidetrack. JV3, great outing and beautiful pictures. I have never used a wood stove inside a tent for warmth, but I see that it provides so much more comfort.

Mikel

 

[JV3]

Looks like a big pack. How did you carry all that stuff to the camping site? I like the idea of the stove if you're willing to transport it in (assuming you aren't parked nearby). Thought perhaps you used a sled or some sort of wheeled "device".

our woods is mostly too hilly and wooded for a pulk/sled...areas that are conducive to it here i don't want to go because others will be there as well. the easier the access the more likely it attracts the rowdy crowd...i want to stay away from strangers as much as possible.

ofcourse it's a big pack. half of it is already taken up just by my sleep system (exped downmat 9 and kifaru doobie - equivalent to a 20 deg f bag) and my fleece sweater and down jacket...winter gear is bulky...just the nature of the beast.

what is there to explain? it's a backpack - i strapped it on my back and i just started walking...slowly

i don't like going to the gym so i like carrying a heavy backpack - it keeps me in better shape. afterwards i feel more energized...having strong legs is a must for safety in my other hobbies (like riding a motorcycle for example)...even my edc backpack has a 10 lbs steel plate for exercise but it can also withstand an ar-15 and ak-47 rounds but that's for another thread/topic.

physical fitness is also a survival "skill" and a lot of people overlook that...on that note, it makes me laugh when i see an ultralighter packing 20 lbs (or more!) of body fat.

 

[heat_treat]

Not trying to derail the thread but your last comment and the tie-in to motorcycling made me chuckle. I don't know how many times I have noticed the same thing with someone mentioning how they shaved 3 lbs off the weight of their bike by replacing several items or the exhaust with expensive machined and/or titanium parts and the person commenting is easily 40 lbs overweight...

 

[JV3]

I checked the pictures wondering the very same thing but I guess he just hauled everything in the backpack. For a sled to work well you need a good amount of snow (the more packed and harder, the better) and somewhat of a flat unobstructed terrain. If you need to go up/down hill, do too many switchbacks, find your way between trees and bushes... the sled will not work ok and it could be more of a hassle.

A couple years ago I bought a "pulka", the norwegian word for a sled, meant solely to carry small kids when ski touring. It has a full size windshield, not-so-padded seat (with retaining straps), and full blanket with a drawstring so the only thing exposed is the head. I was fantasizing with doing now, with my randonee skis while pulling my daugther, what I used to do with her on a backpack while I was wearing snowshoes (and she was much ligther). Problem is I didn't realize my playground does not resemble Norway by any frigging means...

We don't have snow covered flat terrain arround here. If I want to play in the snow, I need to go to the mountains, and guess what, mountains are steep!. Going uphill is no big deal, you just need to train harder. My daugther has even fallen asleep while climbing. But downhilll... is a different story. If the snow is anything but pillow soft... then even while skiing downhill as slow as I can ... the sleds keeps jumping arround and I almost rattle the fillings out from my daugther. LOL. She doesn't like that one bit.

Sorry for the sidetrack. JV3, great outing and beautiful pictures. I have never used a wood stove inside a tent for warmth, but I see that it provides so much more comfort.

Mikel

thanks! i appreciate your input...spot on with regards to uphill/downhill...i twisted my knee going down hill when i forgot my microspikes one time...and i've seen similar injuries to others as well.

only risk of uphill is running out of breath so one just has to stop and rest for a bit

 

[JV3]

Not trying to derail the thread but your last comment and the tie-in to motorcycling made me chuckle. I don't know how many times I have noticed the same thing with someone mentioning how they shaved 3 lbs off the weight of their bike by replacing several items or the exhaust with expensive machined and/or titanium parts and the person commenting is easily 40 lbs overweight...

haha, i've seen that as well...the worst offenders though are the bicycle crowd especially roadies.

 

[mndart]

Awesome. All you are missing is the easy chair!!!

 

[SW-EDC]

Pretty sweet man! Looks like an awesome time