Camp stove: Looking for opinions and reviews

[Okie Preacher]

I have a MSR Reactor that works great. Boils water faster than anything I have ever been seen. I have used it a sea level to 12,000 feet, hot or cold, wet or dry. Coffee and oatmeal in the morning, soup or any of the dehydrated meals in the evening. I have used the same 8 oz. can of the MSR Isopro fuel all 2012 and can't seem to use it up! I carry a spare, but this thing sips gas and only burns for a couple of minutes at a time.

It isn't elaborate and would not "cook" or simmer well, but if you need hot water and want it fast, the MSR Reactor is a great way to get it.

http://www.rei.com/product/736977/ms...r-stove-system

[rjsurfer]

Originally Posted by Dr. Doofenshmirtz

Just as a general rule you don't want a stove that requires a special canister. Your not going to find it at some little country store. You also don't want to have to take multiple canisters on a trip. Find a stove that you can burn unleaded in because you'll find that at every gas station.

"find it at every gas station"

I carry my own 3.9 gallons with me

+1 for the Coleman dual fuel stove.

Ron W

[dutchjohn]

got one for x-mas this year have played around on the patio with alcohol burner. I also got the gas burner which is faster and hotter then the alcohol. it was a windy day and the built in wind break works great! still want to play around and cook some things at home and practice up for the trail! and you can find heet in the yellow bottle anywhere for alcohol, just dont drink it
lol

Originally Posted by hansi

Had a few gasoline stoves over the years, Coleman and MSR mainly. Got tired of the ball of flame that is required to preheat the stoves in fire sensitive areas here in the west, the smell of gasoline in your sidecases after dis-assembly and packing, the jet-engine noise on beautiful morning at the campground, lots of components to fail, and so on.
Switched to a Trangia 27-5, will never regret that. Look here:http://trangia.se/english
Great piece of kit, very compact, well thought out.

[Aaen]

New here, but i do a lot of traveling for work and hiking and regularly use a one piece stainless steel alcohol stove on the road and sometimes at home when i feel like it.

The guys name/handle is smokeeater908

http://www.outdoortrailgear.com/cott...ater908-store/

These are very similar in design to the minibulldesign ones, however are one piece stainless steel., versus a piece of silicone holding the stove together, less to lose parts wise. They can be burnt off of denatured alcohol, heet (yellow bottle) and high proof alcohol, believe this was previously mentioned though. Either though are very well built.

They are very efficient, you can use them as a boil water type stove, dry bake muffins/biscuits, use a frying pan, etc. these guys cater to the ultra light backpackers/gram weenies, but the stoves they produce are absolutely amazing. Granted alcohol stoves are not for everyone, i suggest thy be brought a long as a second option. Actually i would have an alcohol as a primary, nd a small wood stove as a back up.

Oh and if you are a boil water type kind of person and dislike most of the current offerings(mentioned earlier on), i can highly recommend packit gourmet foods, probably the best tasting dehydrated grub out there. Try the chili, doodies chicken dumpling soup and gumbo, mmmmm.




Steve

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[jon_l]

I use:

2 burner propane for canoe-camping in large groups, with a 5 lb refillable tank. No need for photos, since this makes no sense for motorcycle use.

MSR Superfly cannister stove - I like this model because it uses all brands of cannister, while most stoves require a particular type of top to mount. Boils fast, cannisters last a long time, simmers well, zero maintenance.



Steverstove alcohol stove - for trips when all I need to do is boil water for coffee, tea, oatmeal, Ramen noodles, backpacker just add water meals. $10 stove with Heet fuel, super light weight, ideal for short trips.



I know everyone has their favorites. This is a good read:

http://www.pmags.com/stove-comparison-real-world-use

Personally, I don't like liquid fuel stoves, but I'm glad I have friends who do, since sometimes they are the best option. We're going snowshoeing in 3 weeks, and one of these will come along, as it is the best cold-weather option.

For extremely remote areas, below freezing, or extended duration motorcycling, multi-fuel, liquid-fuel stoves make the most sense, since fuel supply will never be an issue.

For my shorter trips in North America, a cannister stove is ideal: they set up faster, boil faster, simmer better, doesn't smell, doesn't require priming, and suits my lazy style. I have friends with liquid fuel stoves that get pleasure from the starting process, and that is fine, but I don't.

You can mail cannisters, if supply is a concern http://gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel.htm

[mrt10x]

Originally Posted by jon_l

I use:

2 burner propane for canoe-camping in large groups, with a 5 lb refillable tank. No need for photos, since this makes no sense for motorcycle use.

MSR Superfly cannister stove - I like this model because it uses all brands of cannister, while most stoves require a particular type of top to mount. Boils fast, cannisters last a long time, simmers well, zero maintenance.



Steverstove alcohol stove - for trips when all I need to do is boil water for coffee, tea, oatmeal, Ramen noodles, backpacker just add water meals. $10 stove with Heet fuel, super light weight, ideal for short trips.



I know everyone has their favorites. This is a good read:

http://www.pmags.com/stove-comparison-real-world-use

Personally, I don't like liquid fuel stoves, but I'm glad I have friends who do, since sometimes they are the best option. We're going snowshoeing in 3 weeks, and one of these will come along, as it is the best cold-weather option.

For extremely remote areas, below freezing, or extended duration motorcycling, multi-fuel, liquid-fuel stoves make the most sense, since fuel supply will never be an issue.

For my shorter trips in North America, a cannister stove is ideal: they set up faster, boil faster, simmer better, doesn't smell, doesn't require priming, and suits my lazy style. I have friends with liquid fuel stoves that get pleasure from the starting process, and that is fine, but I don't.

You can mail cannisters, if supply is a concern http://gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel.htm

excellent post and I agree with everything you said.. .Only thing that confused me was your comment that the MSR stove can use any type of fuel bottle "while most stoves require a particular type of top to mount" I have several fuel canister style stoves and everyone of them can use any of the cannisters by any company?? Can you clarify what you meant?

[Eladbern]

I bought an Msr whisper lite internationale . Burns pretty much anything that will combust and burns it anywhere. I keep a small bottle of white gas and a large bottle of unleaded that way if somebody screws the pooch and runs out of gas on the road they have some and if I'm on a long enough trip to run out of white gas I have fuel without having to drain the tank. The msr is self cleaning And fully field serviceable in a matter of a couple minutes. If you decide to burn something weird you can change to kero/jet fuel jet in a matter of minutes and fully packed with a small bottle of white gas,both windscreens, spare o-rings(just in case) a couple boxes of matches and the stoves tool it all fits in the tiny compression sack that came with the stove. All packed away it is roughly the size of half a loaf of bread.(to me space taken to carry things motorcycle camping is a sticking point)What more can you ask for? I've heard complaints that its hard to make simmer but frankly all I do is boil water for coffee and camp meals anyway and it boils quickly enough for me. How quickly depends on your fuel choice naturally. This stove was replaced last year after being in production since 1982 with the msr universal that will burn all the same fuels plus can be set up for propane leaving these little beauties available at a nice cheap price. I think they are 89 bucks new. Hope you find the info useful!

[Idle]

I have a sno-peak rocket stove. It works well, but for just making coffee on a day ride I leave it at home and take my alcohol stove. It just packs smaller and is no problem to set up.

The stove, a 30ml bottle of fuel, enough coffee for 6, the press, and "igniter" and windscreen packs in a ti 700ml snopeak cup, the press screen I poached from my kitchen press, it fits perfectly in the pot and makes good coffee, I drink it out of the pot.



No pot stand needed with a penny stove, just put the pot on the stove. I made a safety wire spider thingy (pictured).
It eliminates the heat sink of the cold pot on the stove.

KISS..

Haven't got a multi day trip in yet, but will bring more alcohol and the canister stove aswell when I do.

[jon_l]

Originally Posted by mrt10x

Only thing that confused me was your comment that the MSR stove can use any type of fuel bottle "while most stoves require a particular type of top to mount" I have several fuel canister style stoves and everyone of them can use any of the cannisters by any company?? Can you clarify what you meant?

When I selected the Superfly (10 years or so ago), it was the only stove in the store that said the connection to the bottle was designed to fit the common brands. Others, like the Primus Gravity and MSR's Pocket Rocket indicate you need to use their brand of cannister.

You said you have several stoves and the cannisters interchange, so maybe I was seduced by MSR's description. I would expect manufacturers would prefer that consumers buy their consumables, like inkjet printers. The connection to the cannister looks different on the Superfly and the Pocket Rocket, so I assumed it is true.

From MSR's (Cascade's) website, re: the Superfly:

The SuperFly canister stove’s adaptable, Multi-Mount™ interface makes it our most versatile canister stove when traveling internationally. It’s compatible with most self-sealing fuel canisters and sturdy pot supports add stability for larger pots. A broad flame delivers even heating and makes the SuperFly stove one of the fastest boiling stoves available. Available with or without piezo auto-ignition.

Universal: Multi-Mount™ interface fits most self-sealing domestic and international canisters.
Fast: Boils 1 liter of water in 3 minutes.
Full Flame Control: Glove-friendly controls allow precise flame adjustment, from a simmer to a boil.
Broad Flame: Disperses heat for better cooking performance.

[terryckdbf]

Another satisfied Trangia user.

Terry

[jeepinbanditrider]

I picked one of these up and it has now replaced my Coleman Max backpacking single burner. 8 bucks takes a bit to come in from China but this is a really cool little unit. And unlike my 25 dollar Coleman has a pizeo ignition system. You can get a hell of a flame out of it to boot.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s00_i00

Runs on standard Iso Butane/propane canisters

Flame is adjustable from very low to Saturn V

[vagueout]

I have gathered a growing menagerie of camping stoves usually picked up second hand. The clear winner for me is the coleman feather . Runs on my bike's fuel , fires up in a few seconds, no dribbly priming , and a super clean non sooting flame with a fair degree of control. Love the little bugger.

[H96669]

Originally Posted by vagueout

I have gathered a growing menagerie of camping stoves usually picked up second hand. The clear winner for me is the coleman feather . Runs on my bike's fuel , fires up in a few seconds, no dribbly priming , and a super clean non sooting flame with a fair degree of control. Love the little bugger.

Me too and the 1.5 L fuel bottle I now carry saved me a couple times from running out on the bike. I used to carry a 750ml but not enough, had to also pour the fuel from the stove back into the tank years ago. Ran out a few feet from the gas pump.

I sure looked at updating but will just install my new regulator and a new pump and good for another 20 Years of looking beat up and LOTS of heat.

Looking for fuel canisters on the road, I am so glad I left that behind 20 years ago.

Coffee has to be fast in the morning, more time to sit and look at the maps.

[jeepinbanditrider]

I've never been left without a canister but I don't cook large meals on it either. Just stuff for me and MAYBE one other person.

I usually carry the canister I'm currently using plus one spare and I can't think of a time I've ever had to break out the spare canister while on the road. I usually give it a shake and if it sounds low or almost empty I'll take it out back and put a hole in it then toss it into the recycle bin.

The canisters usually last a pretty good while. At least in my experience. And even if I did happen to run out somewhere I have yet to go into a wal mart and not find them on the shelves.

[burmbuster]

I have been tossing my choices around a bit and have settled on carrying two stoves. An MSR Reactor and a Steverstove for simmering. For what I plan on eating, the MSR Reactor will be used for breakfast and dinner. The Steverstove will be used for dinner when I actually want to "cook".