Almost got stranded on the Long Trail when my stove gave out

I was about 10 miles north of Killington on the Long Trail in Vermont back in September. It was getting dark and I went to fire up my little isobutane stove and nothing happened. The canister felt full but the valve was just spitting air. I think the cold from the evening temp made the fuel act weird. I ended up digging out my backup Esbit tabs and cooking a sad dinner of cold soaked ramen that took forever. The next morning I started the stove up again and it worked fine after I warmed the canister under my jacket for 15 minutes. Anyone else had a canister fail on them mid trip like that? I'm thinking about switching to a white gas setup for shoulder season trips now.

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1 Comment

jesse843h ago

Did you try shaking it like a polaroid picture before the whole cold soaked ramen disaster? That canister temp thing is real though, I've had an MSR canister totally crap out on me in the Whites when it dropped below freezing. Honestly white gas is a pain to prime but at least it doesn't pull that kind of drama on you when the temps drop.