Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

I've been told that I make things much more complicated than they need to be. Essentially, if there are more than two or three steps to something, I will find a way to make it take much longer than it should. When fire is a factor, I usually find a way to inadvertently up the "ka-boom" factor as well.

This is why Brunton's Vesta stove is such a great little peice of gear-it's so easy, I can do it. Brunton's Vesta is a lightweight, butane-powered peice of cake. Instead of the usual priming, pre-igniting and whatnot that comes with liquid fuel stoves, all you do with the Vesta is screw the fuel canister into the control head, turn it on, then light it with a match or lighter, and set your flame with the simmer control. Done.

Also, the burner head is held up by three support legs, giving it a nice, stable base, and the pot supports are wide as well, which keeps boiling water in the pot rather than on my lap. The supports fold up to save pack space, and the whole deal (sans canister) weighs in at about half a pound.

It's a sturdy backpacking stove that's lightweight and easy to use. What more could you ask for?

• backpacking
• camping
• butane_stove