Any Recommendations?

3-5 days
not any real high altitude 12,000 and below (may go to CO. some day)
I have no preference on fuel type (but hopefully you do)
Good food is important so we like to cook things other than just dehydrated food.

MSR Pocket Rocket. Great, realiable, very affordable little stove.

My first (and current) stove is an MSR whisperlite. Great for boiling water, and that is about it. It does it better than any other that I have tried, but it really doesn't simmer well.

If you don't mind liquid fuel, the $40 coleman special at WalMart isn't bad. My old man got one from his favorite son a few years back and it is still going strong. Like this one but green...

The MSR canister stoves or The Jetfuel system is in my wife's bag, as well as mine on hikes where the food isn't completely dried, only to be reconstituted. Cooks very well, but you have to pack out the empty canisters.

Just some thoughts... let's see what the others may have to contribute.

MSR wisperlite or wisperlite international. Absolutley bomb-proof and puts out a ton of heat. Easy to strip down and fix in the field. I've had mine over 10 years and its still going strong. My roomate last year bought a "broken" one for 5 bucks and I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes. The only downside is that it is very hard to simmer (although it is possible with practice).

Since you like to cook things other than freeze dried, you may want something that has a more adjustable flame. The Brunton optimus nova, MSR simmerlite, and MSR dragonfly are all quality stoves that simmer well. I prefer liquid stoves to canisters but for 3-5 days it is purely personal preferance.

edited because i didn't read the OP all the way through

[This message has been edited by ccard257 (edited 12/18/2007 4:50p).]

If you ever want to go ultra-lightweight, I suggest making your own stove.

http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html

Check out the soda can stoves.

I've made one of these before but haven't used it on the trail yet. Preliminary test show that it works very well. One of the instructions shows you how to make a simmering mechanism.

Becareful with whisperlites, they tend to wear out o-rings, which seems to cause a problem. Something about leaking fuel and open flame. I use a whisperlite and as mentioned, it is good for water. Just besure to check the o-rings for wear before each outting.
The simmerlite by MSR is great, IMO. It is good for cooking more than water as it can actually simmer.
I have a buddy who has switched to just using alcohol stoves, homemade alcohol stoves. Like this one

sorry, boredatwork already beat me to it... That's what I get for not being bored! [/edit]

[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 12/18/2007 6:07p).]

Oh come on! The massive flare-ups are the coolest thing about owning a wisperlite! That reminded me that one of my favorite things about the Brunton stove i mentioned earlier is that the fuel pump is designed so that if the stove is engulfed in flames flipping the fuel bottle over will cut off the fuel. FWIW

This thing is so freakin easy and eas to clean. Very efficient imo and quick.

I have used a few different, but I just thought this was the easiest.

I've used an MSR Whisperlite for about 15 years and it still works great.

A friend of mine has started carrying a Kelly Kettle instead of a stove to boil water for freeze-dried food. Has anyone else tried one?

I have an MSR Superfly that's been a great stove ... It's small (fits inside my pot), light, and simmers like a champ. As mentioned earlier, the only downside is packing out the empty fuel cans. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

Some sticks and a flat rock....

all of these are really great. I have been looking at the MSR stuff and they all seem really awesome.

I really would like to be able to simmer and the more i look at it the more i think re-usable bottles would work best for me.



[This message has been edited by RB1985cj7 (edited 12/19/2007 3:30p).]

I've had the same problem with whisperlite stoves... it went up in flames this last trip to colorado, but it was 15 years old or thereabout, I still bought another whisperlite to replace it.