Penny Stove Review

I have tried many different types of stoves over the years since I have been backpacking and camping. I have tried just about any type of stove I can think of. My preferred stove is the alcohol stove I made out of Heineken beer cans. It is called a Penny Stove.

I have made several other types of stoves from soda cans and have not been as satisfied as I am with the Penny Stove. The Penny Stove can actually be used as a multi-fuel stove by flipping it over, putting a piece of screen in the bottom and using an esbit, or fire starter.

The stove is very efficient and can easily bring 3 cups of water to a boil fairly quickly. It doesn't require a primer bowl to light it, and is extremely light weight. Can stoves are the lightest weight stoves I have seen. They are much lighter weight than the majority of commercial stoves on the market today.

Though I mostly do boil-in-bag meals, I have tested the simmer ring for the Penny Stove. My impression was that it does exactly as the creator of the stove claims. It takes much longer to burn the same amount of fuel with the simmer ring than without. I was able to easily cook a pot of rice. This was regular rice that takes 20 minutes to cook; not minute rice.

The one issue I did have with this stove is that it must be fairly level on the ground to work properly. The penny must also be exactly over the hole in the center of the stove to properly function. However, this is not enough of an issue for me to discard the stove. I love this stove and plan to continue using it on all my trips.

If you are considering making your own stove I highly recommend the Penny Stove. In fact, even if your looking for a stove to buy, I still recommend the Penny Stove. As of this writing, you can purchase them for about $30 on the internet.

Keep in mind there are may myths about alcohol stoves.