Hi All,
I recently came across an interesting product by a Danish company (no financial interest in it) that claims to boil water using...well...I dinno. Looked like some sort of exothermic reaction involving a bottle and a "HeatStick that heated water inside the bottle with no (well, few) visible traces of the operation. The company site has wonderful Mission Impossible-flavored footage of Commando Guy sneaking through the woods as his water heats. The company website claims the process cannot be seen on infrared or night-vision goggles and the only trace of external heat is ether light condensation or warm air escaping which can be felt with a bare finger ("Nuh-uh! Not
my finger, not if the water is boiling!
You poke it!"). The company website is pretty quiet about the specifics of the fuel and heat source.
Still, the eight year-old boy inside me was pretty intrigued.
Curious, I did poke around some more (on the 'Net) and found a fuller explanation here:
http://www.gizmag.com/heatstick-backpacking-stove-alternative/22385/Apparently, the FuelStick heats itself up using a propane and butane mix. Inserted into a proprietary water bottle, it heats the water indirectly. Since it is flameless, it must work as a catalytic heater. Sort of like throwing a hot rock into a bucket of water.
Kind of nice for heating water as one rides along, then stopping to make soup from dehydrated mix in a zip-top freezer bag and a Reflectix cozy. No having to stop, no building a fire, just start the process, "go commando", and your hot water is ready in a trice on a non-stove weighing 470g.
Here's the catch: It costs in the neighborhood of USD$416/Euro320/GBP258 (DKK2,379.00).
Still kinda neat.
Best,
"My Sherpa's stealth black; I'm halfway to HeatGear Commando!" Dan.
