The PackaFeather Cap

Here's another "make your life easier" stove gear tip:  The PackaFeather Cap from PackaFeather.com, an ultralight gear provider.

Basically, it's just a flip top spout for a bottle of alcohol, but it has a very nice little enhancement:  a nice, long plastic tube is well seated in the spout.  The tube can be pulled out, but it doesn't come out on it's own and is air tight.

A PackaFeather Cap. Note the long plastic tube.

The plastic tube is bent at the point it exits the spout such that it lies flat against your alcohol bottle when the spout is closed.

A PackaFeather cap in the closed position.

In the open position, the tube is basically perpendicular to your alcohol bottle.

A PackaFeather cap in the open position.

It comes with an "O" ring to seal the cap against the bottle, but honestly I don't think you need it.

The "O" ring of a PackaFeather cap.

OK, so why do I say this is a "make your life easier" piece of gear?

• Fueling.  Got an alcohol stove with a tiny, little fuel opening?  No sweat.  Insert that little straw straight into the fuel port.  See photo below.
• Measuring out alcohol.  When I dispense alcohol into my little medicine measuring cup, this straw allows me to squeeze it in really smoothly without a lot of turbulence.  It's easy to see exactly where the meniscus lies against the measurements on the cups.  I also have very precise control.
• Oops!  Did I squeeze out too much alcohol?  No problem.  Squeeze the bottle a little bit, dip the straw into the alcohol, and use the straw to suck up the excess alcohol.  Sweet.
•  Priming.  That straw is great for getting alcohol into hard to reach old stoves that you'd like to prime with alcohol.

Tricky fueling that little alcohol stove?  Problem solved.  Fueling the little MBD Nion 3 simmering alcohol stove.

Now, could you DIY something similar? Sure.  If your flip top pour spout has a round cross section, piece of cake.  But PackaFeather has already done a really good job and produces a quality product.  Someone passed this tip along to me (thanks, Nick!!), and now I pass it on to you.

The PackaFeather cap.  It just makes life easier.

HJ

Note:  I have no relationship with PackaFeather, financial or otherwise.  I am merely a satisfied customer sharing his experience.