How to Boil Water When the Power is Out

June 10,2024

It goes without saying that the ability to boil water ranks right up there among both at-home and backcountry necessities, whether you’re looking to cook a meal, prep the (all-important) morning coffee or tea, or purify water for drinking. An electric stove or coffeemaker sure makes the process easy, but what do you do when the power’s out, or when you’re deep in the wilderness? To many folks, the answer may seem obvious. But we actually get asked this fairly often, "What about if the power is out at home?" Well, whether it’s a weekend backpacking trip or a genuine survival situation, you’ve got plenty of options. With help from some of our Mountain House Ambassadors and the #mhjusaddh2o hashtag, we’ll use this blogpost to run down some ways to heat water without electricity: using primal, millennia-old technology as well