Which camp stove to buy?

I have to agree with the Optimus Nova. We looked at the MSR but the Nova won out on a few counts:
1. Packs smaller
2. Takes more types of fuel
3. Has adjustable temperature
4. can switch fuel bottle over so fuel runs out and no spills in bag
5. easier to clean (for me)
i know its been said above, but just repeating it - cos its so good!

A little heavy for ultra lite backpacking, but perfect for the motorcycle------JETBOIL

i worked at an REI for many years in college as a shop tech and backpacked my ass off (including deep-wilderness in ID and WY).

while working in the shop i wrenched on bikes and tuned skis/boards but also rebuilt tent poles and stoves.

the MSR stoves are very nice because they are light, pack small, and should you have a problem you can find parts at many (dare i say nearly all?) camp stores, including all 60 or so REI's (REI owns MSR) who will next-day you parts if you're stranded or repair it if you're nearby. back in those days you had to prime most of the MSRs-- fill the small cup under the burner with some fuel, light it, and once the burner is hot it will draw the fuel itself. from the looks of it, not much has changed. i had the whisperlite which, as noted, was good to boil but not to simmer. i never found this to be a problem given what we eat on the road (mac and cheese, raman, dehydrated mealpacks, rice in a box, etc which all use boiling water). you do need to keep these MSR's clean. this takes about 2 minutes with the kit they sell. carbon and fuel residue will gunk them up. fuel bottles available in many sizes. the fuel bottle can be kept outside of your panniers so no spills occur.

i also had a coleman dual-fuel stove which was pumped and needed no priming. the burner sits on a small fuel tank which makes it possible to travel for a 3 days without needing extra fuel. it's a good stove to take when you're planning on eating out but want a stove to take 'in case'. the fuel will hold for several weeks without incident. one drawback: they are hard to work on. dare i say they aren't really designed to be worked on-- at least in my time. should they go bad you'll have a hard time getting things replaced... more difficult than the MSRs, anyway. that being said, i didn't see that many come across the work bench. the ones that did were rightly fucked and many never worked again. the fuel tank sealed well and many never had an issue with a spill. still, they sell a bag with is both padded and will contain any fuel spill. if you're planning to place this thing in your pannier, take care unless you really enjoy the smell of petrol.

be aware that some stoves were dual-fuel, some multi-fuel. some would work on any sort of gas (maybe you'd have to change a jet) and some would work only on 2 sorts, white gas and kerosene. anyway, you get the point-- make sure you get something that will work with white gas and unleaded. some of the MSR's would burn anything approaching petrol-- great for europe where bad fuel or even bootleg vodka maybe you're only hope.

as far as the optimus stoves (and there were a few other euro stoves out there as well, some were optimus stoves but re-branded) they worked very well and seemed fairly easy to work on. the parts werent' always easy to get in a timely manner, but we didn't need a lot of those either. most had a small fuel tank as well and some folded into their own little package, very slick, very well used by the mountaineering crowd. the most common downfall of these stoves was the fuel being left in for months-- sometimes years, and crudding everything up. i did get one from the 1950s (?) to work again after cleaning the varnish from what was left of the fuel out of every tube and valve. i saw one that had to have been used as a military cookstove. i never owned one but i can attest to their performance.

i never liked the propane cannister stoves. simply put, if you run out of fuel and there's no store near that sells that brand of cannister, you're stuffed. aside from that you're tossing out another piece of trash. i've never used one so i've little to add. i can say this... i've never worked on one either, if that tells you anything about their simplicity.

http://cheaperthandirt.com/ZRW170-297-1391.html

Click on image



eBay...60 Bucks
These don't break
I actually carry and use it.
Optimus discontinued

Get the JetBoil. Lite, small and FAST. I've been through a lot of stoves over the past 20 years and I'm so glad I switched ot the JetBoil 3 yrs ago.

+1 Optimus Nova

I've got the MSR whisperlite and love it. It's saved my butt stuck in avalanche shutes at 9000ft in a tent for 4 days, it'll work for you. Burns damn near anything but Yak butter, and is easily maintainable in the field. Doesn't simmer worth a damn, but I'm no gourmet. I like the practicality and the heat, and the shaker jet works great.

A couple people mentioned these, but heres a link to do it your self

http://zenstoves.net/

I have been watching this thread for sometime, hoping someone else would ask this question, in case there is some kind of obvious answer that I overlooked.

Before camping with my motorcycle, I had always just used a small bottle of propane with a single burner stove. Is this dangerous to take on the bike? Is it just an outdated way of cooking these days, or simple an issue of storage? I hate to spend money on something new, if my old stuff will still work for me.

Thanks,
Jim

Jetboil - integrated, efficient, simple.

If it is working for you, then it works.

JetBoil +1 jabillion!!!

I put off buying my JB for the longest. I used alcohol stoves and even some ultra light burners... But when I started traveling by bike and camping, I decided to give it a shot... but what REALLY got me to switch is when camping with a buddy, he pulled out his JetBoil and had coffee in like 2 minutes. It was amazing.

Also, someone said above that the fuel does not last long... I have been on the same small canister for at least 10 uses. It cooks SO fast - you don't burn much fuel. It gets hot quick.

Someone else said not to believe the hype. I was that way for the longest till I saw the thing in action. It became clear, my way of thinking was a little one sided.

Everything - fuel and even the french press for coffee fits in the boiling cup. Nice and compact... not backpack ultra light compact, but good for traveling.

You can't really cook with it though... heat up beans or a can of soup. It gets too hot. Maybe some have had luck with it... I just won't try it. NOW having said that, there may be an attachment for the thing allowing a full range of uses. I get the dehydrated stuff and add hot sauce to it... pretty good. Easy to clean.

I found mine at 20% off with one of those online coupons. So shop around and you might get a good deal on one.

Dragonfly all the way.

The heat out of them is awesome and I've never had a problem simmering. Last week I whipped it out for a brilliant fondue.

From what I've seen many folks are too hamfisted when it comes to selecting the finer settings for simmering. MSR does suggest to use less pumps to maintain a fine flame but I found it easy with the standard 20 pumps and the last 1/16th of adjustment. You only need to understand the flame at a low pressure.

+1 On the Primus Optimus Nova Multifuel stove http://www.rei.com/product/752658 I've used this stove on multiple trips in the middle of nowhere and it burns everything not to mention it's built like a friggin tank! The jets are easy to replace and the parts are easily replaceable. If you want to make it even more bombproof, it easily fits in an Otterbox 3500 container w/foam!

http://www.optimus.se/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=33

Very versatile and will run on near anything.

I am chiming in with either the Jet Boil, MSR Reactor or the MSR Pocket Rocket. As a climber/mountaineer I have found these to be dependable. The Pocket Rocket is your best bang for your buck - around $30 USD, boils a quart of water in under 3 minutes. I have used at 17000 feet and still worked awesome.

These are great for small go-bags, or something where desperation is a motivator. I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet though. Hasn't anyone smelled the tabs after awhile? That smell can go through any bag and it is more then horrible! Concealing one in the flower pot of a nasty motel clerk is about the only use I have found for the tabs these days


Z

My tactic, also. I have a venerable Svea. It has no pump, so to get fuel flowing it must be heated a bit. I use an eye dropper to squirt a bit of fuel onto the stove and light. the heat starts the fuel flowing, but you also get a brief nova of campfire that adds a bit of excitement, if amigos are not prepared.

Depends what kind of tablets you're using, there are probably half a dozen different ones. I like the coughlans because you can fit 12 of them in the stove while its collapsed. Also because its $2 for 24 tablets. The esbit branded ones offer you less for more $ and they don't burn any longer or hotter, at least not enough for it to really matter.

I only use it to make a cup of coffee in the morning or a tea in the evening when i don't feel like unpacking my stove or using the jetboil.