From what I could gather online, it "appears" that those knock-off stoves and the MSR brand come from basically the same factories?

IF that is true, then the big mark-up MSR puts on them helps explain why they can afford to give the great service they give.

I've never used canister stoves, and when I posted this, I didn't know that there are two different valve configurations for the different fuel blends.

arnesr clued me into that with his post about the adapter(s) you'd need if you wanted to be able to use the cheaper propane cylinders I was interested in.

I also see they make a couple of different canister bases that give stability to your set-up which if you ever had a stove tip while cooking, you know is something you want.

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I also found mention the use of homemade heat shields if you used your canister stove for prolonged simmering because of potential overheating/fire issues at the connection point.
I hardly ever use my Coleman Multi-fuel at full temp, I prefer a low simmer and work the cooking/boiling water time around my camp chores/ set-up/ breaking camp.

Yup, I don't want to add to the garbage in the environment with empty fuel canisters, but being steel/alloy, I'm sure if you want you could find a re-cycle center that would take them.

Even Coleman fuel comes in gallon metal cans/ quart plastic bottles. How many of them wind -up abandoned in the woods or are put in plastic trash bags and wind up in landfills unknowingly?

A small wood burning stove using dead wood has it's critics too, more air pollution and all that.

I'll probably get a burner assembly/ adapter and either buy or McGyver a base for a 1 lb propane cylinder.
I'll do a home test and see how I like it compared to my old friend the Multi-fuel.
I'll weigh both set-ups and decide from there?

Thanks for info and comments.

The Pocket Rocket has served me well on many trips but has some potentially serious safety issues......

The user is depending on the "base" of the canister for stability........add in that the pan supports are rather modest and the potential for wearing a pan of hot water or worse, hot grease, on a sandal clod foot are a distinct possibility.

I have decided that the remote stoves as being far more desirable for canoe camping. Much safer (lower to the ground) and larger over all flame distribution yield better cooking results as well.

The larger MSR fuel canisters last a reasonable amount of days.......at least 4 days solo without fires so it is not that big an issue IMO.

The pocket rocket will continue to be in my arsenal however.......the stove of choice for backpacking or when wanting to go ultralight.

This is a dandy choice and quite reasonable as vs the MSR Windpro (I own both, they are quite comparable)........good reviews and helps the economy of South Korea as well  ........the stove has excellent flame dispersion as well as nice simmering qualities. 

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I think MSR stands behind their products because they can afford to - for the most part they last, at least the ones that I've been using.  My pocket rocket, for instance, is better than 10 years old and still going strong. I don't see replacing it anytime in the foreseeable future.  Now that might be true for the knock offs as well.  I'm just sayin'.

Increasingly more and more things are made to be disposable instead of repairable. If MSR is replacing items for you under warranty it is really no different, it all ends up in the landfill/recylcing at some point.
 
If spending more money on a name brand item gives you peace of mind, go for it. 

I guess it depends on how you feel about throwing stuff away.  Me, I'd rather make less land fill than more.

I'm looking at those adapters too.
The more research I do, the better my old Coleman Multi-fuel is looking.

Sometimes you need to look at something new to apprecciatte what you have.

More I read about issues with fuel cartrideges getting dangersously hot while cooking (simmering) for long periods and other problems with cannister type stoves, the more I'm thinking I might like one for a basecamp type trip but not for everyday use?

If I went the heavy Coleman propane cylinder route, I'd set it up once/twice on a basecamp type trip and not worry about it.

Still if you like those type stoves, it's nice to know there are far cheaper options out there.

Great service isn't to be taken for granted, but for 1/2 the price and what looks to be the same item/mfgr, you have to wonder if it's not cheaper to buy a couple and throw them out when/if they crap out?

I haven't tried a propane adapter, though I do see there is such an animal available.
Propane Adapter:
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I do have one of these adapters though, which allows me to use use a canister stove like a remote canister stove with cheaper butane cartridges.

Butane Adapter:
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Cheaper Butane:
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I also have one of these adapters for my remote canister stoves to use the cheaper butane:
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Read this blog post for SAFETY information about the butane cartidges and adapters and the proper way to orient the cartidge:
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If you are using a liquid/multifuel stove with a fuel vaporization tube(generator) you shouldn't have an issue once the stove is warm, but with these cheap canister stoves there is no generator.

That one looks a lot like a Fire- Maple FMS-103, also made in China, perhaps at the same factory.

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I have a couple of these similar China knock offs for backup/emergencies and they seem to work quite well for the price.

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Deal site for a similar stove linked for comments/reviews:
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I still prefer a remote canister stove for stability and windscreen purposes though.  There are some good China knockoffs out there of these as well.   This being my favorite:
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It does look like a knock off.  However, do keep in mind MSR's incredible customer service (in my experience anyway.)  I have had several pieces of equipment that developed problems long after the warranty ran out or because of something boneheaded that I did and in every case MSR simply replaced the item no questions asked.

I'm considering trying another stove after 20+ years of using my old reliable Coleman Multi-fuel.

I'm not dissatisfied performance wise in any way, but IF I can avoid the hassle of liquid fuel and still have the reliability/ weight of my current set-up, I thought this hard water time would  be a good time to explore options and maybe do some McGyvering and come up with my own take on a propane stove.

Not looking for stove recommendations, old posts pretty well cover them. I do know some here are fans of the MSR Pocket Rocket.

I found this item at Smoky Mountain Knife Works.
It sure looks like the MSR stove, but for considerably less.

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I'm going to pick one up soon and will do a little test to see how it performs.
I plan to find a way to use full size Coleman 1 lb propane cylinders instead of those expensive smaller ones.

If I can keep the weight down and not lose what I love about the Coleman, I'd be happy.