Camp stove: Looking for opinions and reviews

I've recently started researching camp stoves for taking along on extended trips, and I was hoping to get some opinions and reviews from people in the community who have used them. So far, there have been some pretty good reviews on the Primus OmniFuel stove (liquid fuel is my preference), but please feel free to add your comments on whatever stove/s you think are good and why.

This thread probably belongs in the Equipment/Gear Forum.

Yes, choose your fuel, but you should also define 'long' and where you will be traveling.

MSR Dragonfly, can burn different fuels I have only used naptha. it has good flame control. I've had mine about 10 years on many canoe trip and tours. You can find replacement parts in lots of locations but I haven't needed to replace anything yet.
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/gourmet-cooking/dragonfly/product

I currently use a pocket rocket with self igniter and it works very well, but am thinking of a Jetboil as it is compact and has everything in one basic container.

I have been using a Dragonfly for several seasons, excellent stove. Boils fast yet simmers nicely. I have cooked many a meal and have had no issues with range of heat or control ability. But be fore warned it is very LOUD! I am the but of a lot of loud stove jokes at Rally's.

MSR XGK II. it's the predecessor of the Dragonfly and is designed/built to be absolutely reliable. I bought mine in '95 and it's still my only camp stove.

+1 on the dragonfly. It burns high octane gas fairly well.

I've also used a Snowpeak lite max and really liked it. Very small and compact, but fuel could be bulky.

Jet-Boil has worked well for me. Compact for easy packing.

I like my Jetboil too. Very easy to use, but I only boil water in mine or use crock pot liners in it for cooking other food. I like the ease of use and compactness. If you don't like the butane stoves, I highly recommend the MSR Whisperlite International. I had mine for 15 years and it still worked 100% when I sold it to a fellow inmate a couple months ago.

I have the handheld jetboil, but its only good for boiling water, have been using it to cok som things but have to hold a pan above it which is a pain in the backside. Would go the MSR stove that allows you to put any fuel in it, if I did it again. The handheld jetboil IMO is really only suited to ultralight hiking when you are using dehydrated meals.

TBH the design of the igniter is not well thought through as when packed inside it tends to bash against the top of the container. It has now stopped working and I have to start it with a lighter.

It depends on what you cook on trips. If you are the type that likes to fry eggs and bacon, or get creative in the culinary arts, I'd agree with that summary. But I'm not that type. Nor can I tolerate dehydrated meals.

What I use are foil pouches that you warm by putting the whole intact pouch in boiling water. There are a couple of stews in pouches that aren't bad, but generally I stock up on Taste of India pouches for $1.25 each. The JetBoil has them ready to eat in four minutes (from cold water to a hot meal), they are healthy, taste really good, and can be eaten with a spoon right out of the pouch. On those rare occasions when I need to be civilized, I pour the contents into a bowl then let Barley "do the dishes."

Look at a compact alcohol stove. Featherweight, cheap, no moving parts, silent, fuel available everywhere. There are multiple threads here on them, and a few inmates offering them in the Vendors section. They will not explode or flare up, either, (being non-pressurized or very low pressure) so they are safe.

You can make your own pretty easily.

There are some good ones here:

https://www.minibulldesign.com/productcart/pc/home.asp

Where do you get these tasty foil pouches you speak of? :)

There is a bit more to an alcohol stove, and you have omitted several important points.

1) alcohol stoves don't come close to the heat output of a kerosene, LP gas, or white gas stove, and alcohol stoves require a LOT more time to boil water.

2) the flame from alcohol is very hard to see. This makes it easy for an uninitiated person to get a nasty burn.

3) Kerosene or diesel or unleaded gasoline are all much easier to find in out of the way
places.

4) a stove which uses cartridges of pressurized fuel is quite safe, and the suggestion
that stoves might explode is the sort of misinformation I'd expect from someone's grandmother.


.

I don't know where to get them in Europe, but in the Northeast US, they can be had at Ocean State Job Lots. They are good.

However, the manufacturer is:

Kohinoor Specialty Foods India Pvt. Ltd

www.Kohinoorindia.co.in

Worst rescue I've ever been on was from a gas stove explosion, thanks. Six camp kids with third degree burns on their hands and faces in the White Mountains. Your post is both rude and supercilious. I said that an alky stove was an option. I did not intend to write a dissertation, as there is plenty of info here. I spent my first full summer in a tent in 1968, and have had or been around dozens of stoves. Even when I carry a gas stove, I carry a little alky burner as a back up.

Google "camping stove explosion." You'll find evidence for both gas and cartridge stoves, as well as accident reports and fatalities.

Kiss my grandmother, and learn some manners noob.

msr stoves are good, simple and proven - just make sure to bring a few extra parts and learn how to field clean etc. (this is true of any gas stove). If you're a boil the water chef then I would check out the esbit stoves - they're tiny and easy to preplan your fuel. The time to boil water isn't that much slower than a gas stove.

If you're going on a loooong trip and out of country, go gas

Svea Optimus all the way. You must pay attention to a few basic safety principles, but I find none better. You can get hurt with any stove, but the risks can be minimized pretty easily. (specifically: prime it properly and DON'T sit in front of the pressure relief valve)

I've owned mine for 40 years, and it still works like the day I first used it.
Wish I could say that for my crank.....

MSR XKG purchased 1985 for a two week trip in the Tetons. has never let me down ... still performs with the latest stoves.

i've used a msr whisperlite for many years. it has always been reliable and simmers well.