Cascade Designs signed an exclusive agreement with Vapore, Inc., a California-based technology startup, to manufacture the Capillary Force Vaporizer (CFV) for portable stoves. CFV technology enables a stove to operate with the performance of liquid fuel and the convenience of canister fuel, providing high output without pressurization.

“This is a fantastic milestone for our stove business”, said Drew Keegan, Cascade Designs’ stove product manager. “We introduced this remarkable technology to the trade last August at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City and it was the talk of the show. You can imagine how disappointed we were at Cascade Designs when Vapore informed us that they had decided not to manufacture the CFV unit.”

Under the agreement, Cascade will immediately set up a CFV manufacturing line at its facilities in Seattle, Washington. Kelly Brodbeck, CEO of Vapore, commented: “Vapore is very pleased with our restructured partnership with Cascade Designs; the new arrangement emphasizes each company’s strengths and will facilitate creation of innovative new products.”

During the past last 11 months Cascade and Vapore have worked together to build and field test CFV stoves under funding provided by the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate’s Equipment and Energy Technology Team at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. Leigh Knowlton, project manager at Natick comments that, “the combination of light weight, efficiency, compact size, safety and ease of use are a potential leap forward for our troops.”

Cascade Designs plans to re-introduce the stove to the commercial market next year after fulfilling its commitments to the Army. “This technology revolutionizes portable combustion”, says Keegan. “Imagine a liquid fuel stove where you don’t need a separate fuel bottle, and the fuel pump and fuel line have been replaced by a device the size of a thick U.S. dime. Imagine the convenience of a canister stove that isn’t affected by cold or altitude and where you can see how much fuel you have left to burn. Imagine efficiencies substantially greater than any stove currently in production. That is what this new MSR® stove with CFV technology represents.”