Still Smarter

billythekid wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm I don't drink alcohol when I hike, but I've used the soda can style alcohol stoves extensively. In fact, that's what started my You Tube channel, showing experiments with home made alcohol burners for trail cooking. Carrying 90% denatured alcohol fuel was never an issue for me, and I don't see it as any less safe than carrying Coleman fuel intended for a cook stove. Alcohol as fuel is indeed lighter weight than Coleman fuel, but it takes more of it to get the same BTU's for cooking. So the weight savings mainly comes from using the ultralight soda can stove.

On the issue of using drinking alcohol, certainly you can dual purpose use high proof as fuel in stoves meant for burning it. When at home, my experience is that essences and or infusions in alcohol proofed down to 40% don't come to full flavor until 3-5 days. In which case, if you've found your camping spot and staying there, perhaps the time lag won't be an issue. If you're through hiking, you'd be carrying your drink for days as you wait for the flavors to meld properly. I have yet to be able to get great flavors by infusing 90% alcohol, but, and I haven't tried this, perhaps infusing the water well ahead of time, and using that to proof down your drinkable high proof fuel would work. But, there again, you'd be carrying your infused water around, so not a weight savings.

What may work best, is to use what botanicals you find on your hike as a flavor infusion.

Bill

billythekid wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm I don't drink alcohol when I hike, but I've used the soda can style alcohol stoves extensively. In fact, that's what started my You Tube channel, showing experiments with home made alcohol burners for trail cooking. Carrying 90% denatured alcohol fuel was never an issue for me, and I don't see it as any less safe than carrying Coleman fuel intended for a cook stove. Alcohol as fuel is indeed lighter weight than Coleman fuel, but it takes more of it to get the same BTU's for cooking. So the weight savings mainly comes from using the ultralight soda can stove.

On the issue of using drinking alcohol, certainly you can dual purpose use high proof as fuel in stoves meant for burning it. When at home, my experience is that essences and or infusions in alcohol proofed down to 40% don't come to full flavor until 3-5 days. In which case, if you've found your camping spot and staying there, perhaps the time lag won't be an issue. If you're through hiking, you'd be carrying your drink for days as you wait for the flavors to meld properly. I have yet to be able to get great flavors by infusing 90% alcohol, but, and I haven't tried this, perhaps infusing the water well ahead of time, and using that to proof down your drinkable high proof fuel would work. But, there again, you'd be carrying your infused water around, so not a weight savings.

What may work best, is to use what botanicals you find on your hike as a flavor infusion.

Bill