6.24.2014

A Cooker from Oregon

Last February, I received a stove in the mail. It was from Tom Bennett, a Portland-based engineer. He collaborated with Zdenek Zumr and others in the Portland State University's School of Engineering Machine Shop to produce a fast-burning, lightweight cooker for me for Iditarod.  Upon arrival, I took it outside to run a comparison test with my old cooker. Needless to say, its clever engineering and smart design outperformed the old cooker in nearly every way. I had hot water in 15 minutes; it took another 10-15 for the old stove to reach the same water temperature.  I think it was about 15F out. 

It fits perfectly in my sled bag and worked great on the race. I received several compliments on its sleek design & efficient performance. After 1000 miles and ~30 times firing, it is trail tested and approved! 

Tom organized a Mazamas (Portland-based Mountaineering Club) excursion to Talkeetna at the end of March. I was happy to have the opportunity to thank Tom & Zdenek in person. They educated me on the dynamics of the stove and already had some improvements in mind for next year. 

 I want to extend a huge thank you to Tom, Zdenek & Co. for building such an innovative, impressive stove! Excited to see what Version 2.0 has in store! 

Stove Comparision Test. Same amount of snow, 2 bottles of Heet. 
Stoves at work.
Sleek design.
After 15 minutes...
Also at 15 minutes.

Stove (at left) at work in Nikolai. Photo by Kenneth Dåbakk
The stove cooked many meals on my 24 in McGrath.
Photo by Anja Radano.

Meeting with excursion members: Lizzy (holding Major & Fezzik), Anna, Debbie, Ally, Tom (holding Goofy), Zdenek, & Jon. (fyi, not everyone is pictured ;) )
Tom, Zdenek & Lisbet examining the stove, post-Iditarod.
Goofy, Tom, Lisbet & Ruby. and cooker! 
Lizzy supervises snack time on a beautiful day in Talkeetna, AK. Tom & Lisbet mug for the camera. 

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