Experience with Beer Can Cooking

Rob Interviews Tenaya, a Teenage Backpacker

R: Was this your first backpacking experience?

T: No the time before I went with heavy gear I was carrying 35 lbs. I liked the backpacking but hated the weight on that trip.

R: How was it going ultralight? (Note: tenaya's pack started out at 18 lbs, with water and food and everything.)

T: It was really different. I loved how light it was. It still had some glitches, but I think it was definitely an amazing improvement. (her prototype tent collapsed in a windstorm)

R: What was it like to use the Beer Can Cook Stove?

T: It was great. Half way though I sat on it, but I popped it back into place and it worked find next time. I don't think I'll ever go back to a normal cook stove.

R: How come?

T: More weight, and it isn't more useful. The beer can is so convenient how it packs up so tiny.

R: What was shopping and cooking like for you?

T: The shopping was fun. It was nice to be able to shop for so many small things I knew would make my day of eating. And it was kinda of fun tallying up the weight. I ate twenty ounces a day. My food was perfect and I had zero food at the end of the trip and was full.

R: What was it like to be cooking for yourself every day?

T: It was a snap. All you did was get water, filter it, stick it in the pot, pour in whatever you were eating and light it. Washing it was easy too. It was a heck of a lot easier than doing dishes like I have to do at home.

R: Did you feel limited by the foods you could cook?

T: Not at all. There is really wide variety of stuff you that you can just pour into a pot and cook. Probably made for all the bachelors in the world. There is such a wide variety, you can get all different types and never get bored.