Thanks for the good questions. First, to clarify, we are talking about two different types of canisters. You mentioned the Coleman Powermax cartridges. They were exclusive to the Coleman X-series stoves and lanterns and were, in our opinion, better in every way than the threaded isobutane/propane canisters now in common use. Unfortunately, I say “were” because the Powermax cartridges were never licensed out, got betamaxed by the threaded canisters, and are no longer made. If you have some, cherish them. When they are gone, Coleman makes a Powermax adapter which will allow you to use the threaded isobutane/propane canisters with your X-series stoves and lanterns. It’s a little klugy, bulky and heavy, but it works. Incidentally, MSR, Coleman, Jetboil, Primus and others all market the threaded canisters and they are completely interchangeable. However the formulations are, in some cases, slightly different and we are in the process of testing to see if this affects performance. Stay tuned.

Thanks for sharing this! I’m really, really glad your little “adventure” ended without any mishaps. Happy endings are always good–especially when we can all learn a life lesson from them! Looking on a map I can see exactly what happened to you and your daughter, and how you could have gone even “wronger” if you’d made another bad choice along your route. I wish everyone could get a little “reminder” like this and take the lesson to heart before they got into real trouble.