Review: Budget Friendly, Compact Alcohol Stove to Use Indoors or Outdoors
Morgan Rogue 05.01.23
Typically I’m not a huge fan of alcohol stoves because they use a liquid. And because of this, I don’t like carrying around liquids (extra weight) when I go hiking or backpacking. While alcohol stoves are efficient, it’s just not something I’ve wanted to do.
However, when I was looking for another alternative cook system that could safely be used indoors for emergency preparedness purposes, an alcohol stove kept coming up as a good option.
To clarify, an alcohol stove using anything other than Denatured alcohol, would be unsafe for use indoors. Inhaling the fumes from rubbing alcohol is dangerous and it creates a lot of soot. You can use other alcohols if you plan to use it outdoors, though look out for the extra soot, as well.
However, Denatured alcohol is clean and safe and can be used indoors without harm. You can find Denatured alcohol at hardware stores.
Living in Alaska I had a heck of a time trying to find an alcohol stove that would ship to my location. Unsure why since it wasn’t shipping any alcohol, just the stove itself.
Anyway, I finally found the DZRZVD Mini Alcohol Stove.
This is a lightweight, but durable, option that can easily be used for backpacking or home use for emergencies.
It comes with an aluminum stove stand which also acts as a windscreen and is sturdy enough to place pots and pans on top.
The stove itself also comes with a lid and a snuffer. It all compacts down nicely into itself then inside of a little carry pouch for easy and manageable storage.
Using it is really a no-brainer. Open cap, pour in liquid, and light with a match or lighter. It will be tough to see the flame at first, give it a little bit and you’ll see some flickering. If you don’t see the flickering, it may not be lit, but it usually lights up pretty quickly. In general, it could be difficult to see the flames, and this is totally natural. The flames shouldn’t be too tall, either, they’ll be a perfect height to reach the pot or pan.
I decided to break out my camping cook pot, fill it up with snow and see how long it would take to melt the snow.
It took about 5 and a half minutes to melt the pot full of snow. Of course, boiling and cooking will take a little bit longer. Cooking in this manner tends to take slightly longer than with other methods, but the fuel source is efficient. Over that 5 and a half minutes, I think I barely used 1/4 of what I put in there.
When you’re done, use the provided snuffer to snuff out the flame. Let it sit for a bit to let it cool completely before packing away.
I feel really good about having this option around. It can go into my bug out bag, RV or be used in case of an emergency. The alcohol will last years, as well, especially when kept in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and high heat. Of course, always keep it away from anything combustible.
You can carry the fluid inside of the stove with the sealed lid if you so choose or inside of a sealed, leak-proof bottle.
At $12.99, this mini alcohol stove is a fantastic budget-friendly alternative cooking option for preparedness, survival, backpacking, hiking, camping and just about anything else you could think of!
