[2DOGS]

I am planning on doing some camping/hiking this year and trying to get gear ready before my older Brother returns from a trip to Thailand,,,next item on the list is camping stoves but which one?
#1 Snow Peak Litemax at 2oz.
#2 Primus Express at 3.5oz.
#3 Optimus Crux Lite at 2.6oz.
#4 MSR PocketRocket at 3oz.\\
#5 Brunton Raptor at 5.6oz.
All have their pros and cons,,,all are less than $65.00,,,anyone have any actual usage experience with these and would you recommend it. I have no knowledge of them and would appreciate any help....SEMPER FI:thumb:

 

[die_trying45]

I've used the MSR Pocket Rocket and the Brunton Raptor, both of them perform very well, but if you want to save some cash, the Coleman MAX Micro stove (Peak 1) ($25) that is sold at Walmart has the same exact performance, its just a little heavier. It all depends on how hardcore you are with your packing weight I suppose.

 

[lost in utah]

I've had them all and used them all but the one I've kept is the optimus crux Its a great stove I like the heat options and the way it folds and stashes under the bottle I use it along with a MSR titanium kettle and a large or small canister and stove fits nicely in it

 

[HeadBanger]

Light light light. I hate heavy stoves. I bought a cheap gas one about 10 years ago for $18 and I've only just had to replace it (and even then it was because it was caked with sand.)

I don't know if that really has any relevance, but not all cheap stuff is bad. It's light, compact and very efficient.

 

[graf56]

Look into the Kelley Kettle with cooking add on option, many think its only used for boiling water but the base makes a great stove along with the grill feature. I have 2 one small and the large unit. Yes alittle bulky thats why I chose to purchase the second one for packing (smaller unit), and then I have a pop can stove as another option free to build and cheap to run.

 

[ski.ninja]

I take it you've settled on a canister stove without a simmer function. That's fine if you don't mind not being able to refill the canisters. They're usually available in North America . I have a Snow Peak GigaPower that works very well for three season backpacking. It's sturdy and light, but like all canister stoves it doesn't work well in the cold or higher elevations. Everything else I've tried is too flimsy to hold a 2 L pot well (the pocket rocket especially). JetBoil makes a fantastic stove that comes with a pot/heat exchange and is very efficient on fuel. If you're going the canister route then this is probably your best option. http://www.jetboil.com/

You might consider looking into a white gas stove. The fuel is available anywhere, and some versions will burn kerosene and diesel. The MSR whisperlite is the industry standard for white gas and works in all seasons and conditions, though it only has one setting: jet engine.

 

[Macfly]

I also used the MSR pocket rocket and am glad to find that im not the only one that had pots and things fall off the burner . I invested in a Jetboil stove and am very happy with it after its first trip out also was very glad in the high wind that it has a built in igniter.

 

[corndogggy]

If you are just boiling water, look at a jetboil. The flame is too concentrated for cooking other stuff though.

 

[stigz]

Do you have your heart set on a butane/propane stove? A hobo stove, made from a can, is far cheaper and lighter. Just add wood.

I don't have any experience with the stoves you've mentioned. I use hobo stoves or my coleman two burner.

 

[705]

If you have the money I would go with a Jetboil. Wonderfull stove will work in any weather conditions, very light weight, and has a French press attatchment for your moring brew.

http://www.rei.com/product/791308

http://www.rei.com/product/760629

 

[YukonPete]

If you use it in areas where you won't need a windscreen they work well, but you can't use a tight windscreen on the canister stoves. The canisters can overheat and explode. I had purchased a remote stove stand for my brunton so I can use a windscreen if nessessary for around $20.00.

http://www.rei.com/product/777514

I have used my Jetboil in some fairly strong winds during deer hunting and it works fine without a windscreen.

 

[Texas Pete]

I still have not figured this obsecession with miniture light weight stoves. what is wrong with a good old fashoned camp fire or dakota fire pit. It sure is a hell of a lot lighter than any stove and fuel you have to pack. Besides it gives you something to do besides pitch a tent when you set up camp.

 

[YukonPete]

I still have not figured this obsecession with miniture light weight stoves. what is wrong with a good old fashoned camp fire or dakota fire pit. It sure is a hell of a lot lighter than any stove and fuel you have to pack. Besides it gives you something to do besides pitch a tent when you set up camp.

For me it is a gadget obsession. They are great if everything is normal but to rely on them during any type of SHTF situation would be foolish. I agree with you and I believe everyone needs to know how to use and cook over a open fire or firepit.

 

[Gallo Pazzesco]

Jetboil is my favorite too ... cooked a bunch of meals on the Jetboil and yeah, 8 out of 10 times you boil water either to add to a dehydrated mountain house or for cooking beans and rice or boiling stew or making coffee or cocoa or just purifying water or boiling a cup of hot water for bullion or warming up some water for a morning shave and a bird bath in freezing weather.

I still have not figured this obsecession with miniture light weight stoves. what is wrong with a good old fashoned camp fire or dakota fire pit. It sure is a hell of a lot lighter than any stove and fuel you have to pack. Besides it gives you something to do besides pitch a tent when you set up camp.

I've heard that question asked a million times and the same scene in a short story that I read as a young boy, not much older than my boy is now, comes to mind every time to answer the question:

To Read Jack London's Short Story: "To Build a Fire," MASH HERE

Excerpted as follows (but I highly recommend all survivalists read this very very short and famous story)

At last, when he could endure no more, he jerked his hands apart. The blazing matches fell sizzling into the snow, but the birch-bark was alight. He began laying dry grasses and the tiniest twigs on the flame. He could not pick and choose, for he had to lift the fuel between the heels of his hands. Small pieces of rotten wood and green moss clung to the twigs, and he bit them off as well as he could with his teeth. He cherished the flame carefully and awkwardly. It meant life, and it must not perish. The withdrawal of blood from the surface of his body now made him begin to shiver, and he grew more awkward. A large piece of green moss fell squarely on the little fire. He tried to poke it out with his fingers, but his shivering frame made him poke too far, and he disrupted the nucleus of the little fire, the burning grasses and tiny twigs separating and scattering. He tried to poke them together again, but in spite of the tenseness of the effort, his shivering got away with him, and the twigs were hopelessly scattered. Each twig gushed a puff of smoke and went out. The fire-provider had failed. As he looked apathetically about him, his eyes chanced on the dog, sitting across the ruins of the fire from him, in the snow, making restless, hunching movements, slightly lifting one forefoot and then the other, shifting its weight back and forth on them with wistful eagerness.

 

[ski.ninja]

I remember that story too, Gallo, though I haven't thought of it in years. I'm glad you brought it up.

Texas Pete, in regards to your question I carry a stove (small and light or otherwise) for many reasons ranging from company policy to fire hazards to leave no trace ethics. There's one reason that tops all of them, however, and it comes down to the terrain in which I spend most of my time: When you're above the treeline at 3000m in the middle of a winter storm, there's nothing to burn and nowhere to burn it. Application is everything.

 

[AKpredator]

Keep in mind that they were all meant for just heating or boiling water, not cooking. Heat up water and add it to your food or drink, that is all I have ever used them for. I have a Jetboil, Brunton Raptor, Snow Peak and an older Coleman white gas.

 

[corndogggy]

I still have not figured this obsecession with miniture light weight stoves. what is wrong with a good old fashoned camp fire or dakota fire pit. It sure is a hell of a lot lighter than any stove and fuel you have to pack. Besides it gives you something to do besides pitch a tent when you set up camp.

As for fires and the dakota fire pit...


It's messy due to the soot.

It's inefficient, as open fires aren't too great at boiling water in any respectable amount of time.

It's harder, as you have to dig a hole for a dakota fire pit.

It's heavier, as you have to carry around a shovel and a much heavier pot since you're actually putting it in the fire or at least extremely close.

It's larger, due to the shovel and heavier pot.

It's less safe, as you don't have to rely on building a fire in the freezing cold pouring down rain in order to be able to eat.

It's illlegal, since many national parks ban fires.

 

[2DOGS]

I still have not figured this obsecession with miniture light weight stoves. what is wrong with a good old fashoned camp fire or dakota fire pit. It sure is a hell of a lot lighter than any stove and fuel you have to pack. Besides it gives you something to do besides pitch a tent when you set up camp.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on the camp fire but on parts of the Appalachian Trail you are not allowed open fires except in certain designated areas or where fire rings were previously,,,SEMPER FI:thumb:

 

[Barking Dog]

The Primus Omni-Fuel is a bit more money but it burns anything



Primus' most advanced stove. Runs on LP-gas canisters, white gas, gasoline, kerosene/paraffin, diesel and other petroleum-based fuels. A new and even faster preheating system saves both fuel and time. OmniFuel is a sturdy stove that works with LP gas, gasoline, diesel and kerosene - even aviation fuel. Omni-fuel has a very exact flame control and three jet nipples for optimal combustion. Includes ErgoPump, multi-tool and stuff sack. Fuel bottle NOT included. Precision simmering. Dimensions packed: 6.5"x 3.5"x 3.4". Output: 3,000 W/10,500 BTU. Weight: 12.8 oz. (w/out pump), 16.4 oz. (with pump). Does NOT include fuel bottle.

http://store.everestgear.com/319295.html

http://www.basegear.com/primusomnifuel.html

http://www.campinggeardepot.com/sto...-and-windscreen---FREE-SHIPPING_41627834.html

 

[denvernative321]

I am planning on doing some camping/hiking this year and trying to get gear ready before my older Brother returns from a trip to Thailand,,,next item on the list is camping stoves but which one?
#1 Snow Peak Litemax at 2oz.
#2 Primus Express at 3.5oz.
#3 Optimus Crux Lite at 2.6oz.
#4 MSR PocketRocket at 3oz.\\
#5 Brunton Raptor at 5.6oz.
All have their pros and cons,,,all are less than $65.00,,,anyone have any actual usage experience with these and would you recommend it. I have no knowledge of them and would appreciate any help....SEMPER FI:thumb:

I currently own 4 out of the 5 stoves listed and have to say im most impressed with the snowpeak. It seems to out preform in freezing weather and heats faster than the others. In high altitude I would not leave home without the snowkpeak. I was so impressed with it I just bought a second one to replace the MSR pocket rocket in my BOB.