Cooking Made Simpler

Choose a ridged-bottomed pot (right) over a smooth-bottomed pot (left) or wrap a few cents' worth of wire around the pot supports

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The Pot Stops Here

The pot supports on some stoves, but especially the widely used MSR Whisperlite, are quite slippery. Unless the stove is absolutely level, vibration caused by boiling will make smooth-bottomed pots slide sideways of their own accord. The results are potentially disastrous!

The pot bottoms will be less slick if a small amount of carbon has accumulated on them during use on a campfire. A great excuse for not polishing the bottom of that blackened pot, but not an option for most stove users!

The best solution I've found is to wind some thin steel wire around the pot supports as in the photo. I use the common"mechanic's wire" or utility wire, which is soft and bendable enough to make the job easy, and of course it has no insulation to melt or burn.

Buy the wire from a hardware or automotive store. It'll probably be black in color. Avoid the light gray galvanized wire since it gives off nasty fumes when heated. If the wire is too stiff to wind easily, heat it red-hot in the stove flame and allow to cool slowly before handling.