Frugal Hiker: Fire Maple Blade 2 titanium stove (similar to Alpkit Koro stove)

$67.50 USD 'Blade 2' stove

e.g. With pot and canister

The Fire Maple Blade 2 titanium stove is available for $67.50 USD delivered on Aliexpress.

Lightweight remote gas canister stove

Pre-heat tube for inverted canister operation

Compact collapsible design

Very similar to the £45 GBP Alpkit Koro stove

Open: 8.9 x 7.5cm diameter

Stowed: 7.5 x 14.5cm diameter

135g

Discounts (USD):

$1 off $19, $2 off $59 at FireMaple Official Store

Fire Maple FMS-117H "Blade 2" is a titanium remote gas stove with a pre-heat tube for inverted canister operation.

It combines elements of the Fire Maple FMS-117T (lightweight titanium) and FMS-118 (preheat tube) stoves.

A remote stove links the gas canister to the burner with a hose for these advantages:

Safety: A windscreen wraps around the burner without risk of reflected heat causing a canister explosion
Stability: Lower center of gravity as the burner (and pot) does not sit tall upon the canister
Convenience: Flame adjustment knob is located at the canister, not beneath the burner (and pot)

At temperatures near freezing, canister gas becomes liquefied, degrading stove performance and efficiency.

At temperatures below -10C, an ordinary canister stove may not work at all.

Inverting the canister allows liquid fuel to be fed into the stove, however requires a pre-heat tube to work.

A pre-heat tube is a loop of piping near the flame that warms the liquid fuel - causing it to vaporize before reaching the burner head.

FMS-117H pros:

Powerful 2800W stove with good a range of adjustment
Lightweight compared with stoves of similar capability
Wide arm stands for pot stability (and larger pots - good for groups or melting snow)
Wide leg supports for stove stability
1L water boils in ~5:40
Mesh bag

FMS-117H cons:

Gap over burner head makes minimum pot diameter 8cm
6cm hose perhaps a bit short
Must be careful when inverting canister to avoid flare ups / stove flipping
Burner base only slightly higher than the feet - difficult placement on uneven surfaces
More potential failure points than canister mounted stoves (tube, valves, o-rings)
Flame adjustment knob is quite sensitive / could be smoother
Pre-heat tube / inverted canister operation not necessary for temps above freezing
Heavier and bulkier than ultralight canister mounted stoves
Mesh bag catches on collapsed stove arms
FMS-117T stove may have a sputtering problem (possible problem with valves and o-rings), unsure if this has been fixed in the FMS-117H
FMS-118 sputters when inverted (possible problem with diameter of pre-heat tube), unsure if this has been fixed in the FMS-117H