FIRE MAPLE FMS-F5 TURBO MULTI FUEL STOVE – First Look

In June 2015 I am heading out to madagascar as part of this years BUKE (British University Kayak Expedition) team (https://www.facebook.com/kayakmadagascar2015), (http://www.kayakmadagascar.co.uk/).

One of the key things will be cooking on the expedition. Standard gas stoves would not be feasible in madagascar as getting hold of the gas canisters out there would be impossible therefore we will be taking several multi fuel stoves.

There are a number of different multi fuel stoves on the market such as MSR’s “Whisperlite” and “Dragonfly”, Optimus’s “Nova”, Primus’s “Gravity”  all which come in at £100+

While researching multifuel stoves I also found one made by a chinese company called “Fire Maple” [1] who make a multifuel stove costing £70 (£45 if you buy it from china however I did not have time for it to arrive from china). Initially I crossed it off a cheap chinese rubbish however after reading a number of reviews including this one [2] I was more interested.

The “Fire maple FMS-F5 Turbo” is apparently not a burn anything type multi fuel stove however it reportedly runs best on petrol or white gas. It also has some rather impressive weight specifications:

Stove and pump – 240g
330ml fuel bottle weighs – 112g
Spare parts kit weighs – 24g
Carry pouch weighs – 16g

Total packed weight is 392g which makes it considerably lighter than any of the other multi fuel stoves on the market. The lightweight nature of the stove made it quite attractive for an expedition where we will likely be carrying our boats and kit for several days to access new rivers. For this every gram counts and I am shaving as much weight out of my boat and kit as possible. I therefore i finally decided to risk it an get one of these stoves from ultralight gear [3].

It arrived in 2 days. My initial thoughts were that the stove felt very compact and solid and the fuel bottle was very small and compact (330ml) the pump was the only bit that looked rather cheap and chinese. Made mostly from plastic you have to be careful when screwing it on to the bottle so as not to cross the plastic threads.

Following recommendations I bought a litre of primus powerfuel (a super clean burning petroleum spirit) for £6.30 from Cotswold and tested the stove. For the stove to work it requires primed by pressurising the fuel bottle and then heating up the preheat tube by burning a small amount of fuel <1ml in the priming dish beneath the burner. Priming is very quick (around 20 – 30 seconds) and then you can open up the fuel valve allowing the liquid fuel to pass through the preheating tube and be vaporized as it comes out the burner, Igniting as it is mixed with the air.

The stove burns with a rather scary/satisfying roaring (very hot) blue jet flame and rapidly heats the steel burner to almost white hot temperatures.

I ran a quick test to measure how quickly it boils 1L of water in a pan with a lid and also how much fuel was required to boil one litre including the fuel used to prime it.

The stove boiled 1L of water in 5:45 minutes and used 22g of fuel (~29ml of fuel) This means an entire fuel bottle could boil 11L of water and run continuously for around 1 hour.

I have not tried cooking food on it yet however I will write another post once I have used it more.

[1] – http://www.fire-maple.com/en/index.aspx

[2] – http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/fire-maple-fms-f5-reviewed-by-ultralight-outdoor-gear-i360

[3] – http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/stoves-c12/liquid-multifuel-stoves-c142/fire-maple-fms-f5-turbo-multi-fuel-stove-with-330ml-fuel-bottle-p2000

Sweet Shadrach

For Christmas this year I got a one of Last seasons Sweet Shadrach Dry Cags.

It cost £129 reduced from around £240.

I bought it over one of the more expensive Palm ones as it is made from GoreTex and therefore had an excellent warranty.

I am very happy with the way it has preformed over the last 2 months. It has in no way lost any of its waterproofing and still beads excellently despite being worn every weekend.

The cut of it is very comfy once it is on with no overly tight or baggy areas.

This being said one of the negative points about it is the tightness of the waist when getting it on especially if I am wearing several layers however this is only a minor iritation and one that is defiantly worth it for the comfort once it is on.

The latex neck and wrist seals are well protected under a layer of neoprene and I have never had them leak at any point.

The waist adjustment – which when I ordered it was one of my main concerns, due to it only having a draw cord as opposed to the velcro pads most other makes and even this years version of this cag have – Is really good the rubber on the outer layer of the spray deck tube is really sticky and provides a perfect seal with the deck even when the draw cord is not done up, other than when I haven’t pulled the deck right up under it I have had no issues with water coming in around the waist.

The fabric is as breathable as you would expect in a garment often immersed in water, however it feels much more substantial than many other cags and I have no doubt that it will preform well for a long time.

Overall I am very happy with the Sweet Shadrach.

The link is for this years modal however the only changes are in the colours and the waist adjustment system.

http://www.sweetprotection.com/whitewater-kayak/technical-clothing/?p=shadrach-dry-top&pid=355

Edelrid Kiro ST Stove

I bought this compact camping stove in the Alps last summer and for 29 euros I couldn’t be happier.

It weighs 84g, Has a max Power output of 3kW and has an working gas usage rate of between 80g and 240g per hour.

It is really quick at boiling water. I haven’t timed exactly how long it takes but I am always surprised how soon I can have a brew ready.

Do not expect it to be able to support a large pan as it is rather unstable as it just screws straight into the top of the gas canister and the pan supports are not that large. (the compromise between weight and capacity)

All in all I am very happy with it.

http://www.edelrid.de/en/sports/products/cooking-technologies/kiro-st.html

IR Lucky Charm Deck

So dry!

The Immersion Research Lucky Charm spray deck is brilliant. I have now paddled with it for 4 river trips, 3 grade 1/2 fresher trips and one trip up to the grade 5 tribs up at Deeside. It fits my boat perfectly locking round the cockpit rim like a plastic lid. No water has got in at all despite the deck I got being defect resulting in the seam tape coming off (IR were very happy to replace the deck)

The grab handle is really good. At first I thought it looked stupid but the hard plastic coating prevents it getting stuck under the deck.

The fabric seems very tough and the rubber rand is really tight fitting.

One flaw in the deck is that there is no way you could get the deck off if you couldn’t reach the grab loop if you were for example pinned under a tree on your back deck. The deck could definately have been fitted with a strap across the top to let you get it off with your knees.

All in all a superb piece of kit and for £78 you would be hard pressed to find a better deck.

http://www.immersionresearch.eu/store/#ecwid:category=254322&mode=product&product=745127