For cold weather use, the brand of gas you buy does make a difference. Typically, gas canisters contain some blend of propane mixed with either "regular" butane (n-butane) or isobutane. Some canister brands contain all three gasses. For cold weather use, you generally want a canister with as little n-butane as possible. Even though propane is the best cold weather gas, I'd take a canister with 10% propane and 90% isobutane over a canister with 30% propane and 70% n-butane. Why? Because the propane will burn off at a faster rate than the n-butane, leaving you with nothing but n-butane toward the end of your canister. Butane is a poor performer in cold weather.
Why is butane a poor cold weather performer? Why do we use blended gas? Why don't we just use 100% propane? That's all covered in my post on Gas Blends and Cold Weather Performance.
What companies have got the best blend? I don't have all the data, but here below is what I have. This data is for the United States of America. Brands and blends available elsewhere may vary.
GOOD WINTER GAS BRANDS (in no particular order)
- MSR is a good winter blend, 80% isobutane and 20% propane. These numbers are confirmed on MSR's website.
- Brunton is reputedly made by the same Korean company that makes MSR canisters and is said to have the same blend (80/20). I have not been able to confirm these numbers.
- Jetboil is also supposedly 80% isobutane and 20% propane. I have not been able to confirm these numbers.
- Snow Peak is 85% isobutane and 15% propane. These numbers are confirmed on Snow Peak's website.
- Coleman Powermax is 65% regular butane and 35% propane. These numbers are confirmed on Coleman's website. Note: This is for Coleman Powermax fuel only and is not for Coleman's regular gas canisters. I wouldn't normally recommend a fuel containing regular butane for winter use, but Coleman Powermax is used in liquid feed mode, so the butane doesn't hurt anything. Indeed, Coleman Powermax fuel is the best winter capable gas blend available in the United States. Only the following three Coleman backpacking stoves can use Powermax fuel: the Xpert, the Xtreme, and the Xpedition. Update on Powermax 07 Nov 2011.
BRANDS NOT RECOMMENDED* FOR WINTER USE (in no particular order)
- Coleman regular threaded canisters (not Powermax) are 30% propane and 70% butane. These numbers on on the side of the canister.
- Primus is 25 % propane, 25 % isobutane, and 50 % butane per their website. I suppose it's better than Coleman brand, but I'd still rather have a fuel with no regular butane at all.
- Optimus brand is 25% propane, 75% butane, as printed on the side of the canister. Since it contains regular butane, I wouldn't use it in cold weather.
- Glowmaster is 20% propane and 80% butane per the side of the canister.
One caveat to the above: If you're using standard threaded canisters in liquid feed mode (in other words, the canister is used upside down) or you're using a canister that is designed for liquid feed (e.g. a Powermax canister), the component gasses are less relevant. In liquid feed mode, the liquefied gas stays blended and all of the fuels burn together at a constant rate. With liquid feed, the propane does not burn off more quickly, and you're not left holding the bag with nothing but crappy (in cold weather) butane left. In other words, with liquid feed, "regular" butane isn't such a bad thing provided that you've got plenty of propane content.
For "normal" (canister right side up) use, avoid "regular" butane for cold weather.
HJ
*Because they contain "regular" butane, a very poor fuel in cold weather.
Related articles and posts:
- Cold Weather Tips for Gas Stoves
- What's the Best Gas for Cold Weather?
- Canisters, Cold, and Altitude: Gas in a Nutshell
- Gas in Cold Weather: The Myth of "Fractioning"
- Canister Stoves 101: Thread Care
- Gas Blends and Cold Weather Performance. (Why not just use propane?)
- Gas Stoves: How Cold Can I Go?
- The "SuperGnat" (Camping Gaz or threaded canisters with one lightweight stove)
- Backpacking Gas Canisters 101
- Gas in Extreme Cold: Yes or No?
- Stoves For Cold Weather I (Upright canister stoves) -- Seattle Backpacker's Magazine
- Stoves for Cold Weather II (Inverted canister stoves) -- Seattle Backpacker's Magazine
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