Alpkit BruKit – Part 2

As mentioned in part one, I’ve been out to the Peak District and tested the BruKit in more extreme conditions. The temperature where I tested was at around 2C. Factoring in a wind of 15-20 mph and the temperature was running at about -5C to -7C.

Initial attempts in the open, to actually light the stove failed. The wind was just too much for the gas to ignite. The area I was in was along side a couple of collapsed stone buildings. Once I got down by the side of the rubble the stove ignited. So it won’t ignite in 15-20 mph wind. But once a little sheltered it is fine. I kept the stove in this area, out of the main flow of the wind and started a boil of 500ml (just a little over 2 cups) of water. The water was very cold and I could hear that the flame in the BruKit was being constantly buffered by the wind.

 

 

So what was the time to a rolling boil? It was 10 minutes and 15 seconds. This was to be expected I believe as the stove was on the limits of it’s performance. The severe buffeting the flame was having to cope with meant that it was struggling to maintain a constant jet. It was so windy that the stove was constantly wobbling. I think this boil time, considering the conditions is acceptable. My Jetboil ZIP constantly managed 3 minutes 20 seconds in cold weather, but there was no wind. If it had been very windy, I’d expect nearly double that time. So the time differences between the ZIP and BruKit would be pretty consistent.

 

 

So the BruKit isn’t as fast as a Jetboil, but it is a third of the cost, and enough for two people. If I was buying a stove from scratch I would favour the BruKit. And support an independent British company.