kstone803
Official Meat Getter
I have been looking for a replacement for my Esbit stoves for a while and I wanted to stay away from the gas backpacking stoves, which while light, are expensive and rely on specialized fuels. I stumbled across the Sterno Inferno and decided to order one to try out. At $25 they’re pricier than an Esbit but also offer an integrated cup so I can ditch the stainless one that I use with the Esbit. I received the stove yesterday and upon unboxing saw that when broken down and nested together the whole size is about as big as a standard Nalgene bottle. This size includes the ability to hold a 7 oz Sterno can in the pot (sold separately). The stainless cup that comes with the stove has heat exchanger fins on the outside to help with heating times and I can’t say if they help but they look cool. I filled the cup with 16 oz of tap water then went outside to get a boil time. I couldn’t find Sterno brand fuel so I used another brand that the local Ace had. Total time from when I set the water on top of the flame to a full rapid boil was 8 minutes and 20 seconds. While not the fastest boil time in the world it is acceptable for my needs. And considering a single fuel can will burn for 2 hours or more that is at least 15 boils per can. You could cook each meal on this for five straight days on just one can of fuel theoretically. The only problem I ran into was the lid on the cup became stuck when it was heated up. I had to pry it off carefully with a knife. You could cook without the lid but I have to assume that would make the boil time longer. Not sure how to remedy this yet. All in all my first impression is positive and I plan to use this stove while camping this fall and see how it really shakes out. If it holds up I’ll probably order a few more to swap out the Esbits and a case of Sterno cans to keep in the basement. Anybody else used one of these or something similar? Link to the stove below. And I forgot to take pictures last night but I’ll try to add some this evening.
Sterno Inferno
https://www.amazon.com/Sterno-70138-Inferno-Stove-Multicolor/dp/B0169ZDUOM
Sterno Inferno
https://www.amazon.com/Sterno-70138-Inferno-Stove-Multicolor/dp/B0169ZDUOM