Video: Optimus Crux Lite In Winter Conditions + Passaround

Yeps, time's up and the five people who get to test the Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook Kit are:

- Joe
- Daimos
- Tomas
- Nibe
- Psycho

All five of you, please contact me via email (its on the right under in the Copyright Notice) and give me your full name and address. I'll make the package ready this week and send it to the first person in line.

I wasn't lazy either, and had the set out last week on a nice afternoon walk, where I shot this video of it. I had a cup of tea and a Travellunch meal, but back home I realized that I had lost my long handled spoon, bugger. So its back to the LMF Spork for a while, till I get a new long handled spoon. Anyway, in the video you'll see my first ever attempt at using a gas stove, and you can observe if I make a fool of myself or not while playing with it.



I also had it out during the trip to Siikaneva where I made my Ramen in it, convenient and fast, though the pot really is small when you're used to a 1,1 l pot. The gas stove did work just fine at -10°C on Sunday afternoon, even without warming the gas canister up before, so I believe that gas is a viable solution also for winter use, the melting of snow and boiling water + simmering of the food definitely was fast and handy. It leaves also out the smoke taste in the water, but I am so used to it that I almost missed it ;) More testing under different conditions is now in the hands of the capable five above!

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9 Questions, comments, observations:

  1. Lightening up...Mar 10, 2010 01:28 AM
    The Optimus gas is Butane/Isobutane/Propane mixture (as most of the gasses sol in Finland). I quess it's around 60/25/15 mixture. The Propane has low boiling point (down to around -40C) and 100% propane works well even in deep winter (but the canister required is quite heavy). The Butane and Isobutane don't work that well in cold. Butane boils at -0,5C and Isobutane at -11,7C. So the gas will work fine at around -10C for a while. This is because it burns first the propane and isobutane but when they are burned... You might be in trouble with the butane not working without constant warming of the canister. This is just for warning as it might turn out to be quite a problem if you rely only on gas stove.

    With an upside-down canister and stove like MSR Winpro the gas would work all the way to around -40C because the higher presured propane would push the liquid butane/isobutane to the stove where it heats, turns into a gas and burns.

    That's at least the physics behind the gas canister but my vocabulary is not that good in physics so I'm not sure if that is understandable... But you might want to try burning a canister of gas untill it's empty in the cold (-10C or colder) to test if the problem I mentioned does exist. You could also weight the canister e.g. after every liter boiled and take up the boiling times. Though that requires some work. =)

    PS. LMF has Spork XM that is long enough to work even with double sized Reiters. And the spoon is also a bit bigger meaning faster and more efficient intake of calories. ;)
    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Hendrik,
    We love your blog. We've never been to your neck of the woods, but reading your blog makes us want to visit, and hike!
    Have you ever reviewed Julbo or glacier glasses?
    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd second what Lightening up said - the butane/isobutane/propane mix works in cold conditions for a bit, but once there is only butane left in the canister then it can be a real challenge to get the stove lit. Inverted canister stoves are much better for very cold conditions.
    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a neat little unit Hendrik. Not the lightest but compact and it has a few neat touches that a lot of the other pots out there could do with, namely the ickle pour spout and volume markings. Looking forward to giving it a trial run.

    Is that a Fireball you've managed to snag for testing too?! Lucky you!
    ReplyDelete
  5. Lightening up, woohoo, that's some detailed information there! I didn't find the % content of the gas canister, but believe you and Wandering Photographer said, might be that it only works for a while. Ah well, its getting warmer, after all ;)

    Dan and Meenakshi, thanks for the comment! Maybe you should stop by in Finland on the way to the Everest Base Camp, and get some practice hikes in here ;) Haven't reviewed the Julbo's yet, coming hopefully soon.

    Joe, I'm curious to see how it fares with you in Norway! Yes, its a Fireball indeed, you we're able to name one Easter Egg, now which one is the 2nd one?!
    ReplyDelete
  6. Lightenign up...Mar 11, 2010 03:09 AM
    The percenteges were pure quess since Optimus doesn't tell them in their material but that might be something a long the way.

    For winter time the 100% propane would be a heavier option (because of larger canister size and heavier canister due the higher presure) but would work like charm if you end up using gas in winter. The shape of the canister is not really good for small sit-on-top stoves but it would work if stucked in snow.

    Propane canisters like this:
    http://www.reittipiste.fi/product_info.php?cPath=31_125&products_id=734
    can also be found from most Prisma markets.
    ReplyDelete
  7. I was wondering if you could light the stove using a sparker of flint? Something like Nanostriker : http://www.exotac.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181 That way you don't need to bring matches.
    ReplyDelete
  8. I was wondering if you could light the stove using a sparker of flint? Something like Nanostriker : http://www.exotac.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181 That way you don't need to bring matches.
    ReplyDelete
  9. Lightening up...Mar 16, 2011 05:08 AM
    The Optimus gas is Butane/Isobutane/Propane mixture (as most of the gasses sol in Finland). I quess it's around 60/25/15 mixture. The Propane has low boiling point (down to around -40C) and 100% propane works well even in deep winter (but the canister required is quite heavy). The Butane and Isobutane don't work that well in cold. Butane boils at -0,5C and Isobutane at -11,7C. So the gas will work fine at around -10C for a while. This is because it burns first the propane and isobutane but when they are burned... You might be in trouble with the butane not working without constant warming of the canister. This is just for warning as it might turn out to be quite a problem if you rely only on gas stove.

    With an upside-down canister and stove like MSR Winpro the gas would work all the way to around -40C because the higher presured propane would push the liquid butane/isobutane to the stove where it heats, turns into a gas and burns.

    That's at least the physics behind the gas canister but my vocabulary is not that good in physics so I'm not sure if that is understandable... But you might want to try burning a canister of gas untill it's empty in the cold (-10C or colder) to test if the problem I mentioned does exist. You could also weight the canister e.g. after every liter boiled and take up the boiling times. Though that requires some work. =)

    PS. LMF has Spork XM that is long enough to work even with double sized Reiters. And the spoon is also a bit bigger meaning faster and more efficient intake of calories. ;)
    ReplyDelete

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