Ortik Heat It Hanging Stove Kit

$79.95 | www.rockexotica.com | 5 Stars

True innovation—coming up with an entirely new idea and not just tweaking an existing concept—is as precious as discovering a diamond in your pocket. The Ortik Heat It is such a find. Made of fireproof fabric and rigged with cables, the Heat It converts just about any canister stove into a hanging stove, and improves stove performance and safety. To attach the Heat It, simply place the burner inside the fabric housing and the gas canister on the outside. Screw the two together through the opening in the base of the Heat It and you are set to jet.

I tested the Heat It with a Brunton Raptor stove and an eight-ounce canister of MSR Isopro fuel, at 7,500 feet with an air temperature of 28 degrees F. The insulation of the Heat It improved boil efficiency by 15 percent. In colder temperatures where the Heat It’s encapsulation and insulation become more of a factor, you can expect a 40-percent-or-better improvement, according to Ortik.

The Heat It is one of the best pieces of new gear I’ve used in recent memory. It is lightweight (6.4 ounces), folds flat as a Frisbee and works wonders. Because the Heat It encases the burner, it is a high-functioning windscreen that works so well, in fact, that it can snuff off the oxygen supply if you use the Heat It with a large pot, crank the stove to max volume, and pull the Heat It’s top drawcord taut. Ortik recommends using the stove at a low setting; I’ll add that you should keep the drawcord slacked off. It takes about 30 seconds of fiddling to figure these things out.

Other benefits: The Heat It’s fireproof fabric helps protect you from burns (I cup my hands around it and use it as a hand warmer, in fact) and keeps food and brews hot longer when the stove is off.

I recommend the Heat It for big wallers craving hot chow, as well as alpine climbers and mountaineers looking to solve the age-old problems of increasing stove performance in cold weather and wind, and minimizing stove danger when you are forced to cook in your tent’s vestibule. Then again, the Heat It is just as good for plain old camping—it works as well sitting on the ground, and on top of that, it functions as a stuff sack for your sooty pot.

—Duane Raleigh

• Converts canister stove to hanging stove.
• Fireproof fabric boosts stove performance and safety.
• Excellent windscreen.
• Lightweight and compact.
• Ideal for big walls, alpine climbing and expeditions.