Feedback on the Ion

[fly.fast]

SGT Rock, had the Ion out for a 3-day hike over last weekend on the Buffalo River Trail, AR. We had some cooler weather than anticipated for May 1. The low on Sunday AM was about 38*.

I cooked 4 meals on the Ion. I've previously taken it on a couple of overnight outings as well. My impression is that this is a smart design and a well made stove. The TiPod is a very cool gadget.

The performance in the field was excellent. The stove brought 10-12 oz. of water to a boil in roughly 5 minutes. (Just a SWAG as I don't time things in camp). The fuel efficiency was remarkable. It appears to only require about 1 oz. of alcohol to bring that water to a boil. We had moderate wind for a couple of those meals. The windscreen does a fine job even when there is a less than perfect seal with the ground. I am using the Ion with a Snow Peak 900ml Ti pot.

In moderate temperatures performance appears fine. In colder weather piecing together the TiPod would likely be a challenge even before getting the stove lit.

When I get my other PC back up and running (BSOD today), I'll forward you a picture of the stove in use.

Thanks for a great product that works as promised.

[SGT Rock]

Thanks for the feedback. Stuff like this helps me make it work even better.

[JPW]

I used the Ion for 11 trail days. It worked great. I wasn't too concerned about time. I would start it and go about my business setting up or packing up. Still playing with how much fuel to use on one burn. A few times I had a roaring inferno, and a few times It just simmered ( think I had some moisture in the stove before start up ).

[SGT Rock]

I used the Ion for 11 trail days. It worked great. I wasn't too concerned about time. I would start it and go about my business setting up or packing up. Still playing with how much fuel to use on one burn. A few times I had a roaring inferno, and a few times It just simmered ( think I had some moisture in the stove before start up ).

You bring up a good point that is something I have also noticed which is how getting some condensation or rain or whatever form of moisture into the stove before cooking seems to cause longer boil times. I've noticed this on a couple of occasions and I now have taken to sticking the stove in my pocket for about a minute to let my body heat warm it up before I use mine. I think this problem may exist with other alcohol stoves, but with the volume of fuel they use and the heat they produce it isn't a noticeable issue; but since the Ion uses such a small amount of fuel to be diluted by a little moisture, and the heat it produces is so low, that the results can be a noticeable drop in performance to those of us that watch the darn things.

Something else to consider that I have also found out the hard way living in humid climates is that methyl alcohol is hydroscopic - it absorbs water from the air. So never leave your fuel bottle open longer than needed or you can be screwing up your alcohol fuel.