Bushwalk Australia

Just noticed on bpl that Fire Maple is making the FMS-117H Blade 2 for AliExpress. It doesn't appear on the Fire Maple site. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Fire-Maple-Blade-2-Upgrade-Split-Gas-Stove-Ultra-Light-Titanium-Alloy-Outdoor-Cooker-Gas-Burner/2801108_32793644574.html?spm=2114.12010608.0.0.TnQUV6 which is the 117T/118 merge.

Has anyone got a FMS-117H that they would care to comment on? Seems to be to be a quite suitable canister stove for winter.

I know this is an old thread but after knocking over my dinner while using my old Pocket Rocket I just ordered that FMS Blade via Ali-Express.
It was a good bit more than I like to pay but I trust the judgement of members on this one

Moondog55 - I've had the FMS-117H "Blade 2" since October 2017. I didn't take it to NZ with me in January, but have used it since.

I have quite a few Fire Maple remote stoves now (my old FMS115 now retired and donated along), and in this design, I ended up getting the FMS-117T which I onsold after getting the FMS-117H, and the cheap FMS 117 clone I got 3 years back is still going strong viewtopic.php?f=63&t=20780 I like these remote stoves for shorter squatter pots, which I have more of, rather than the tall thin pot styles.

Regarding my FMS-117H Blade 2, I took some photos and meant to do a review but forgot to get around to it. I've only taken it up above snowline once, but test it with inverted canisters, and with the "hairspray" canisters and adapter forcing a liquid gas through the stove.

The one thing I thought was a production error was the pre-heat tube which seems to be at an angle away from the stove burner. I will find my photos to better explain. I thought it might have been bent in transit, but it is apparently the way it was designed. The pre-heat tube does not sit perpendicular to the burner, and sits at what seems to be an awkward angle.

But despite this, it does work as advertised once the pre-heat tube is sufficiently heated - this took me about a minute with the liquid gas feed but it was not far below freezing. I haven't tested it enough to notice if the sputtering issues with the FMS118 also happens on the FMS117H.

I'd get a "Hairspray" adapter if I thought I could trust unbranded Chinese goods, ditto the standard remote adapters.
I thought it was time I invested in something more stable that the too tall PocketRocket after knocking my dinner over last month. At 0C how long will I need to allow to burn before inverting? A full minute can seem like an age sometimes

Moondog55 wrote:I'd get a "Hairspray" adapter if I thought I could trust unbranded Chinese goods, ditto the standard remote adapters.
I thought it was time I invested in something more stable that the too tall PocketRocket after knocking my dinner over last month. At 0C how long will I need to allow to burn before inverting? A full minute can seem like an age sometimes

I haven't tested at various temperatures, and it was my first time trying it out above snowline, so it wasn't exactly a scientifically timed test. I had read others in Europe mention it was under 30s to get the preheat tube warmed up.

I have meant to get up and do a few more snow walks this year but time is getting away from me.

Kovea make a good butane "hairspray" cannister adapter. The Chinese copies are generally ok, but I've noticed some have minute dimension differences in the screw valve, which can stop the Fire Maple stove from working correctly. On one I tried, I think it was slightly too long so wouldn't let the FMS stove valve needle press in the adapter valve fully.

Is the cost of the Kovea Cobra adaptor worth it tho?

Moondog55 wrote:Is the cost of the Kovea Cobra adaptor worth it tho?

And where could you buy it in Australia? None of the usual suspects seem to stock it online, beyond the usual dubious/overpriced knockoffs on ebay.

My two Fire Maples stoves (117T and 118) have been troublesome. Great when they work but I don't feel comfortable relying on them so I recently bought a Kovea Spider. A bit heavier but I think worth it for peace of mind. Maybe I'll still use the 118T when we're a group with multiple stoves.

LachlanB wrote:

Moondog55 wrote:Is the cost of the Kovea Cobra adaptor worth it tho?

And where could you buy it in Australia? None of the usual suspects seem to stock it online, beyond the usual dubious/overpriced knockoffs on ebay.

A few genuine units on eBay
Overpriced as they have not been made for a while. Also I note that the Kovea only has the hairspray adaptor and no control valve and the Brunton/FireMaple had a control valve.

I just started a Frankenstove build or at least I will when stuff arrives

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=28316
As for reliability I'll just have to hope my stove wasn't assembled on a Monday or a Friday [ or the Chinese equivalent there-of] if it gives me problems I'll ask for a warranty replacement or refund and/or do the disassembly and clean / reassemble thing

This is the pic of my FMS117H Blade 2. The angle of the preheat tube looked odd, so I thought it was bent in transit, but the box was not damaged.

Moondog55 wrote:Is the cost of the Kovea Cobra adaptor worth it tho?

I don't know anything about the Kovea Cobra - the adaptor I was referring to is the butane adapter http://kovea.com/product/butane-adaptor/

Drew wrote:My two Fire Maples stoves (117T and 118) have been troublesome.

What issues have you had? I'm curious for the FMS117H taking above snowline. I haven't had any issues with the DPower clone for about 3 years, and the FMS117H seems ok. I have read about the gasket at the valve control failing on the 117/118, but haven't experienced that yet.

OK I just ordered one of those Butane adaptors, but in the G-Works branded variety.
The Cobra adaptor is a Butane to stove adaptor that allows you to use the stove remotely, the very similar unit from Fire-Maple/Brunton was for use with standard canisters and had a control valve

What issues have you had? I'm curious for the FMS117H taking above snowline. I haven't had any issues with the DPower clone for about 3 years, and the FMS117H seems ok. I have read about the gasket at the valve control failing on the 117/118, but haven't experienced that yet.

You can read of my travails in the earlier pages of this thread. The 118T has worked fine since I got the replacement parts, but I just don't have much faith in it. I did take it to Peru and it was fine there thankfully.

My stove arrived today and I fired it up, works fine but the flame goes a bit yellow when cranked to maximum, but then I have no intention of ever using it cranked to 11+.
141 grams in the supplied mesh bag, a fraction heavier than the 135g noted on the box but without the mesh bag 134 grams on our scales Close enough really.

Last year I replaced my failed ( as in failed badly on a winter trip, leaving me with no stove at all) MSR Windpro with one of these ( the heavier version). It's great. Couldn't be bothered fluffing around saving a few grams and extra $ for the lighter version, given how much my winter ski touring stuff weighs anyway.

6g is about what a fart weighs!

A

Well of course today they are on sale a lot cheaper
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/produc ... 44574.html
I just thought it was time I started trying to go a little bit lighter even tho the weight saving was minimal