My first hanging stove was a a strange modification of the MSR firefly stove. This was a somewhat ineffectual, tippy, and scary system which I only used once. Since that time, I've used a Bibler hanging stove, a Markill hanging pot set with a number of different cartridge stove burners, and a Markill hanging pot set designed to work with the Coleman/Peak1 "Multifuel" stove, which burns white gas and kerosene.

Bibler Hanging Stove:  (30.2 Ounces)

This is a no-frills hanging stove. It's a primus burner mated to an aluminum windscreen with a nested aluminum pot. It hangs suspended from a single point. You can sort of stand it up too, but it isn't very stable in its non-hanging mode. It comes with a single large non-stick pot, blackened to absorb heat. Two pots would be nice, but one pot is all you really need if you are climbing, which is what this stove is designed for. Heat output is good, as the burner is large and comparatively powerful. The integral windscreen extends almost entirely up the sides of the pot, providing good protection from the elements.

It runs off of threaded butane/propane canisters. It performs well in warm temperatures, but like all butane stoves, its performance falls off below freezing. You need to warm up the canister before you light it, and warm it occasionally during use. I've read lots of stuff about creating a heat exchanger by pounding copper tubing flat and winding it around the canister, leaving part of the tubing in the flame. I've never tried this however. The Bibler so far has been reliable, so long as I keep the canister warm. Dipping the canister in a pot of hot water works well once you get some hot water.

Markill Hanging Stove Kit  (19.3 ounces with "Devil" burner)

Markill makes both the "Stormy" hanging stove, and also a hanging pot kit which can be used with a number of different types of burners. I have the hanging pot kit, not the "stormy" stove.

The cook kit consists of a wind screen suspended by three points, and a large and a small pot which nest inside the wind screen when cooking. When packed up, the windscreen fits inside the large pot, and the small pot forms a lid.

One of the first things I did after I bought this cook set was to replace the chains which are used to suspend the system. The problem with the chains was that the links tended to catch on the lip of the pots, making it difficult to take the pots in and out when cooking. I used thin wire cables to replace the chains, using cables and crimp fasteners I bought at the hardware store. The smooth wire cables made moving the pots and lids easier.

I've used the cook kit with three different stove burners, the Epigas Micro, the Markill Devil, and the Olicamp Scorpion. The Epigas Micro did not work well at all, it inexplicably kept going out. The Markill Devil works well. The Olicamp scorpion worked ok, but requires some sort of suspension for the fuel canister, as the scorpion burner is connected to the canister with a flexible tube. The Markill Devil is currently the burner I use with this kit.

In use, the Markill works well. It is a well put together system. With the "Devil" burner, I have had reliable use from this stove. It suffers from the same sensitivity to cold temperatures as the Bibler.

Markill hanging stove kit for Coleman/Peak 1 multi-fuel stove.  (40.8 ounces including Peak 1 stove)

The Peak 1 multi-fuel stove is a traditional "lunar lander" shaped stove with an integral fuel tank. It burns white gas, Coleman fuel, and Kerosene. This stove is the integral tank iteration of the Peak 1 "Apex" stove. In operation, the necessity for priming is reduced when compared to other liquid fuel stoves I've used. To start the stove, you pressurize the fuel tank with a pump, then light the stove. After a minute of fuel burn, accompanied by minimal flare-up, the generator heats up and vaporizes the fuel, leading to a controlled blue flame. There is no need to use a separate priming paste or other primer. Heat output is good, similar to other liquid fuel stoves I've used.

This stove requires a fair amount of pumping to keep it going. Particularly when the fuel tank is low, you need to pump the stove every 5 to 10 minutes to maintain adequate pressure. The Markill hanging kit for this stove consists of a single pot, a lid/pan, a windscreen, and hanging chains. The chains should be replaced with wires to make moving the pot in and out of the windscreen smoother.

When not in use, the stove nests inside of the pot, and the whole kit fits together to make a single packed unit. In use, the hanging set up works well, however the windscreen only shields the lower portion of the pot, so efficiency drops off in windy conditions. The pot holds more than two liters, so it is large enough to boil enough water for several dehydrated meals at once. 

The big advantage of this stove kit is its cold weather performance. Unlike the other hanging stoves, which use butane cartridges, this liquid fuel stove is unaffected by sub-freezing temperatures.

The other advantage this stove has is that it is very stable when used in non-hanging mode. Its low, squat shape and wide burner head make it a superior stand-alone stove when compared with the other hanging stoves.

Disadvantages of this stove are the flare-up potential when priming (dangerous if using it inside a tent) and the weight. The stove itself weighs 22 ounces, due mostly to the heavy steel fuel tank. The Markill hanging kit for the Multifuel Stove weighs an additional 18 ounces. Compare this with the much lighter weight of the cartridge stoves: The Markill kit with the "Devil" stove burner weighs 19 ounces (not including the fuel cartridge), and the Bibler hanging stove weighs 22 ounces (not including the fuel cartridge). The Bibler also has superior coverage with the wind screen, which provides more efficiency in windy conditions.

The integral fuel tank of the Peak 1 Multifuel stove has enough fuel capacity for about 2 people for 2 days of snow melting/cooking. If you are going on a longer trip than this, you will need to carry an additional fuel bottle.

The biggest problem with this stove system, however is that the Markill hanging kit is difficult to find. They were not ever widely distributed in the U.S., and your best chance of finding one is from a European seller. This hanging stove is the best option I've found for a cold weather hanging system. It has decent heat output for melting snow, is unaffected by cold temperatures, and is relatively easy to operate.

Markill vs. Bibler

Cartridge Stoves:

The Bibler has better heat output than the Markill, as the Primus burner on the Bibler is substantially larger than that of the Markill Devil burner. The Bibler boils water faster than the Markill. Both stoves are very weather proof, but the windscreen on the Bibler extends higher up the sides of the pot, almost to the top, providing better efficiency compared to the Markill, where the windscreen extends only about half way up on the large pot.

The Markill packs more efficiently into a tall, thin package which I find easier to fit into a pack than the squat, wide Bibler. When packing it up, the Markill is self contained, and doesn't require a stuff sack to keep the parts together. The Markill provides two skinny pots, rather than the single wide pot of the Bibler. The large, wide Bibler pot excels for one pot dinners. The two skinny Markill pots are convenient when you want to cook soup in one and still have a clean pot for boiling water for hot chocolate.

The Bibler weighs in at 22 ounces, the Markill at 19 ounces (not including fuel cartridges).

There isn't much to choose between the two systems. I lean a bit toward the Markill because of its more streamlined packed shape, lighter weight, and two pots, but either one works well.

The Achilles heel of both of these stoves is cold weather performance because of the limitations of a butane burner. This is where the Markill/Peak1 Multifuel system really shines. Extreme cold temperatures do not affect the operation of the white gas powered Peak1 very much, so this is my hanging stove of choice for winter operations, in spite of the additional weight.

The Reactor and Jetboil vs these "Old School" stoves:

I sort of hate to say it, but the advent of the Jetboil and Reactor (particularly the Reactor) have made these hanging systems somewhat obsolete.  Since I got my Reactor (and coupled it with the Jetboil hanging kit,) I haven't used any of the stoves on this page.  The Reactor is just too hot, too efficient, and too lightweight.