Sterno Portable Folding Stove

Next up in the alternate field cooking series is the Portable Folding Stove by Sterno. Sterno is both the brand name and the word used to refer to the fuel itself, a denatured and jellied alcohol. Sterno or "Canned Heat" is intended to be burned directly from its can. While Sterno fuel is most commonly used to heat buffet dishes, it can also be used as field cooking and heating fuel.



I purchased my Sterno folding stove for $5.97 at my local Walmart. The Sterno fuel cans can often be found in 2 or 3 packs as well, the latter available at a cost of around $10. Sterno can be stored almost indefinitely if left sealed. Once opened and used, the fuel can evaporate or harden over time. The low cost and long shelf life makes Sterno a viable option for stockpiling.

The Sterno brand has expanded to offer a number of camping and emergency preparedness products. This includes: candles, firestarting gel, and several different models of stoves and cooksets. I'll be reviewing Sterno's Camping Stove with mess kit in another post.

Back to the folding stove. It is a simple folding stove that weighs about half a pound. Assembling the stove is straightforward.

Fuel stowed, with the excellent GSI Halulite Ketalist on top.



As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Sterno Portable Folding Stove to boil 2 cups of water in the GSI Ketalist. The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day, and I performed the test on my concrete patio in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.



As you can see here, Sterno fuel is purple with a jelly-like consistency.



Fuel ignited, trap door closed.



Like with the Esbit cookset previously reviewed, over 12 minutes elapsed without the Sterno fuel bringing the water to a full boil.





Like with the Esbit review, I don't consider the test to be a failure. The water was plenty hot to make instant coffee or prepare a freeze dried meal. If a full rolling boil is your requirement, look elsewhere. It would appear as though Esbit and Sterno fuels, while a great option to heat water or food, is not capable of burning hot enough to bring water to a boil. I'm going to be taking a look at some other setups using Esbit and Sterno fuels. Stay tuned to see if the results are consistent.