The Core PUK Stove has all the features that ultralight backpackers want, packed into a single, high performance stove system.
- The complete stove system weighs under 1 ounce at only 25 grams!
- It can boil 2 cups of water in only 4:35 seconds and then Auto-Simmer for another 15 *additional* minutes... with only 1 oz of fuel!
- Its tune-able for a long slow burn or Hot then Auto-Simmer, with no extra parts!
- Its got a lid! So fill it up before you go, and save the left over fuel when you're done!
- It's stable and can be used with or without the optional stabilizing foot.
- Its compact and efficient; all parts snap together for easy storage in your pot!
- The fuel it burns is cheap and you can get it at any gas station or hardware store!
- Its small enough that when you're done cooking, you can just blow it out!
- It works with any pot or pan so you're not just stuck to just one proprietary pot!
- Its made from titanium so its tough and dependable and will practically never wear out!
- It's Made in the USA and Finished and Formed by Hand!
The Core PUK stove has some really unique features that make it really fun and enjoyable to use.
Its really easy to use, easy to fuel, easy to light and it makes a large flame that combats the wind. It's also easy to snap the pieces together into its storage position and it stores any fuel that you don't use for next time!
The complete stove system is super light at only 25 grams and packs down into a compact package that's easily stored in your pot. All the parts nest down into each other and snap into place, and it only takes a couple seconds to set it up!
The burner has a screw on lid and it can store up to 1 oz of fuel without spilling which is enough to cook an entire meal! For one night trips you can just fill it up before you go. When you're done cooking, its easy to blow it out with a single puff! Then screw the lid on and save the rest of the fuel for next time :)
The Core PUK's foot provides a stable base. It's got an arch as you can see below which allows the clamps to open up wider so its easy to put the burner into it. However, as soon as any weight is applied, such as putting a pot of food on the stove, the weight pushes the stove down causing the clamps to grip the burner above the belt and hold onto it.
With a little effort the Core PUK stove feet can even be bent to contour them to whatever terrain that you want them to grip onto, and gram weenies can even use it without the foot!
The pot stand supports were designed to flex slightly outward when a really heavy pot is placed onto it. This provides more stability for wider pots and also brings the pot down closer to the flame which widens the flame and provides more even heat distribution across the pot.
The pot stand height was kept as low as possible for stability but also tuned for maximum efficiency, and it's the perfect height for the fastest boil times. It keeps the pot closer to the ground so you don't need a gigantic windscreen like you do with taller gas stoves :)
The titanium pot stand height is perfectly tuned to the burner for the fastest boil times, but the secret of the Core PUK's Boil-Phase is the outer wick that unfolds like the petals of a flower to allow a larger oxygen-fuel interface for a really big, hot flame that contacts the cooking surface from the center and spreads outward for nice even heat. The outer wicks petals draw fuel up from its own separate fuel chamber which allows it to burn for up to ~6+ minutes, full blast, without sacrificing simmer time; which is plenty of time to do some real cooking. If you're just boiling water for an instant meal, it'll boil 2 cups in only 4:30 seconds!
Unlike most ultralight alcohol stoves that have weak, small flames that are really sensitive to the smallest breeze and take seemingly forever to boil water, the Core PUK's Boil-Phase makes a very large, hot flame that resists wind and quickly pushes a ton of heat into the pot, without sacrificing an ultra long simmer time!
Because it's a wick stove, it doesn't require any bloom time or extra fuel to get it going, and unlike other jet type alcohol stoves, it'll start easily even in the coldest temperatures!
The outer wicks Carbon Felt petals can be extended for a really large hot flame, or folded down into their storage position for a smaller, more focused, longer burning flame.
The inner Auto-Simmer wick is Ceramic Fiber so it'll practically never wear out! It's got its own separate fuel tank and it conserves its fuel until the outer wick runs dry.
Auto-Simmer requires no extra simmer parts or pieces to bring or lose, it does it automatically, just when you need it!
When your food is nice and hot and the outer wick finally runs out of fuel, the stove automatically goes into Auto-Simmer mode and starts burning from the inner wick. The outer wicks dry petals act as a barrier to raise the oxygen air interface closer up to the bottom of the cooking surface. That allows the fuel that's held in reserve in the inner wicks fuel chamber to maintain a low but ultra efficient, long duration flame against the cooking surface for a nice, hot simmer that can last 15 MORE minutes on only 1 oz of fuel!
Auto-Simmer is awesome for preparing any type of food because first you get the hot even heat that you need to get cooking fast, but then you get the low heat across the center bottom of the pot that you need to keep it hot. It works excellent for making noodle dishes or soup, or for making coffee or coca and keeping it hot. It works great for soup because in the boil phase you can easily saute the food and then add the water and get it up to temperature, and then automatically simmer it for another 15 minutes until its done!
The CORE PUK Stove's fast boil time combined with the ultra long simmer time, no priming fuel or time required, and it's ultra low fuel consumption means that it has THE BEST combined boil and simmer time of ANY ALCOHOL STOVE ON THE MARKET TODAY while using only 1 oz of fuel!
Mark from Spiguyver Backpacking has tested just about every popular alcohol stove system out there in his excellent Youtube Alcohol Stove Test series, so he really knows his stoves. Out of all of them, he chose the Core PUK Alcohol stove for his 2019 Ultralight Backpacking Cook Kit... and we didn't even bribe him :) Thanks Mark!
Core PUK Specifications
Weight: 25 grams
Material: Titanium and Aluminum
Total Burn Time with 1 oz of fuel: High ~6 to 7 minutes, then Auto-Simmer ~15 more minutes.
Storage Configuration Dimensions: 3.25 inches L x 3.5 inches W x 1.5 inches High
Fuel: Denatured Alcohol or Heet
Tips and Tricks
Slow Boil Time? Give it some oxygen!
The Core PUK burns lots of fuel during the Boil Phase, so it needs a lot of fresh air to burn efficiently and hot. If your windscreen is too close or doesn't have any ventilation at the bottom to allow lots of fresh air in, then the fuel will burn cooler and evaporate more quickly because its extra hot in there. So give it some space and some fresh air from below and it'll perform better.
Also, the top of the flame is where its the hottest. So instead of raising the pot UP, just cut the wick Down. The Core PUK will do this automatically after many uses as the wick erodes; so you might notice your boil times get better as the wick gets shorter!
Lengthening the Boil Phase Burn Time
The typical boil phase for the Core PUK stove lasts about 5 to 7 minutes. After that, it switches to Auto-Simmer mode and starts burning the fuel in the center wick. If you'd like to lengthen the boil phase burn time, you can poke 4 (or more) *tiny* pinholes around the side walls of the Auto-Simmer wick container (maybe half way up) to allow that much more fuel to leak out into the outer wick. This of course will reduce the Auto-Simmer wick's burn time but it may be better in windy conditons to have more high heat, for a longer period of time.
