QuietJourney Forums - Backpack Stove

Jun 9^th, 2026 at 2:11pm (UTC)

QuietJourney Forums › Boundary Waters / Quetico Discussion Forums › Strictly Gear - Gear specific reviews and ideas. › Backpack Stove

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Backpack Stove (Read 21512 times)

ManBearPig Lurker Offline Posts: 3 Location: Illinois Joined: Feb 3^rd, 2011	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #10 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 4:52am	Quote Print Post
	These posts are all helpfull and have given me some great points to think over. I think mostly it will be used to get a percolater going on cold mornings before we go out laker fishing. It will be used for canoe trips primarily but I would also like to take it on some high altitude backpacking trips. I am willing to sacrifice noise for compactness and boil speed but it needs to be able to cook and simmer too. Maybe I am asking too much but I will keep looking. Thanks again for all the help.


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marlin55388 Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1230 Location: Watertown, MN Joined: Mar 6^th, 2009	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #11 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 5:12am	Quote Print Post
	DentonDoc wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 4:47am: marlin55388 wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 2:04am: DentonDoc wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 1:20am: I travel with either a Simmerlite or a DragonFly as my primary stove. My back-up stove is a Peak 1 ... generally the "all-in-one" rather than the component equivalent. The Coleman stoves are generally superior to other stoves for simmering. They just tend to be a bit more bulky. As I recall, the Snow Peak Giga has a roarer-type burner like the DragonFly ... at least that's the configuration of my white-gas version. Good burner, but typically a bit noisy. dd The snow peak white gas (not to be confused with the giga which is a iso-butane stove) has a "whisperlite" style generator so it is not as loud as the dragonfly, a little more complicated as it has one more knob...and the base is not as big as the dragon fly... Both the dragon fly and the snowpeak white gas are fabulous simmers and more packable the the coleman stoves....I have run them all....the dragonfly has way more hours on it in my book but i have high hopes for the snowpeak product due to its quietness... OK. I was lazy and had to go dig out the Snow Peak. Well, you are right (and I am right). My model does indeed have the "waffle plate" style burner elements, like the Whisperlite stoves (altough the overall burner head is just about the size of a DragonFly). However, my model (both on the stuff sack and fuel bottle) is labeled Snow Peak Giga Power WG Stove. Maybe I should use the Snow Peak on the next trip ... 4 legs might be better than three. dd (Stovaphile II) YOU soooo funny ") The four legs aint better than the three for the pot pith IMO; I suppose it is a bit hard to switch up the perspective after being so darn spoiled by the dragon fly....it is issue of the decibels for now, it packs down a bit smaller too. Your right your right. You know though I still wish I was a machinist Consider the glades; I think it could be some fun...but I will draw the line at becoming bait


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DentonDoc Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 3468 Location: Central Texas Joined: Dec 27^th, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #12 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 5:27am	Quote Print Post
	ManBearPig wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 4:52am: These posts are all helpfull and have given me some great points to think over. I think mostly it will be used to get a percolater going on cold mornings before we go out laker fishing. It will be used for canoe trips primarily but I would also like to take it on some high altitude backpacking trips. I am willing to sacrifice noise for compactness and boil speed but it needs to be able to cook and simmer too. Maybe I am asking too much but I will keep looking. Thanks again for all the help. So how high altitude are we talking? Colorado high, Denali high ... a bit more than that? The noise versus compact is the reverse ... the smaller the stove, generally the louder it is. Give us a heads up when you get your list narrowed. I'd bet someone around here has some feedback on particular models that might be useful. Marlin - So, how many stoves to you have? dd


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ManBearPig Lurker Offline Posts: 3 Location: Illinois Joined: Feb 3^rd, 2011	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #13 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 6:21am	Quote Print Post
	I think I am sold on the dragon fly now. Watched a few videos on youtube and it does look like a pain to get the whisperlite to simmer. I am not sold on the top of canister stoves seems like they have a high center of gravity and could easily get knocked over. Anyway the dragon fly looks like the bees knees, though pricier. DD - colorado high so not much over 14k.


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DentonDoc Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 3468 Location: Central Texas Joined: Dec 27^th, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #14 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 7:06am	Quote Print Post
	Since it mostly peaks that push to 14K, its more likely that you'd be camping/cooking at something more like 12K. But the MSR XGK EX is actually listed as the high-altitude version of their stove. In reality, it is the same burner and they have run a portion of the fuel feed line over the top of the burner to pre-heat the fuel before it gets to the burner. However, you can achieve much of the same effect with the DragonFly by using the wind screen, even when its not windy. It will help reflect heat back toward the burner assembly which will also help warm the fuel. Another advantage of using the wind screen is that you can conserve fuel because less heat gets dissipated via air movement. The effect improve dramatically if your pot just fits inside the wind screen. The MSR 2 liter titanium pot is just about perfect for this (but also pricey). It has the additional advantages of quick heat transfer and light weight. One downside is that it transfer heat so quickly that food will have a tendency to scorch on the bottom of the pot if you don't stir with some frequency. dd


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Snow_Dog Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1858 Location: Twin Cities Joined: Jul 11^th, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #15 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 7:45am	Quote Print Post
	Check into the MSR Simmerlite and the Brunton Optimus stoves before you buy. I used to use a Dragonfly but these two are my primary stoves now. Both simmer well, but the Brunton is about as good as it gets for fine-tuning the heat. Both are quieter than a Dragonfly though the Brunton is the noisier of the two. I'm known to be somewhat of a gourmet kinda guy on the trail but I also travel hard, so versatility and light weight are key to me. The Brunton is like cooking on your stove at home and the Simmerlite is about as light as you can get for a white gas/multifuel stove that still has adequate simmer control. It's a pretty good tandem.


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DentonDoc Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 3468 Location: Central Texas Joined: Dec 27^th, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #16 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 8:01am	Quote Print Post
	Snow_Dog wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 7:45am: Check into the MSR Simmerlite and the Brunton Optimus stoves before you buy. I used to use a Dragonfly but these two are my primary stoves now. Both simmer well, but the Brunton is about as good as it gets for fine-tuning the heat. Both are quieter than a Dragonfly though the Brunton is the noisier of the two. I'm known to be somewhat of a gourmet kinda guy on the trail but I also travel hard, so versatility and light weight are key to me. The Brunton is like cooking on your stove at home and the Simmerlite is about as light as you can get for a white gas/multifuel stove that still has adequate simmer control. It's a pretty good tandem. It that the Brunton Optimus Nova or one of the other models? The Optimus burner look nearly identical to the DragonFly ... but you've got to love those swing out feet. And its not like you're going to damage the pump on a trip ... one of the few that's nearly all solid metal! dd


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marlin55388 Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1230 Location: Watertown, MN Joined: Mar 6^th, 2009	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #17 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 1:00pm	Quote Print Post
	About six years ago just before I pulled the plug on the purchase of my MSR dragonfly I bought a Optimus....think it was a nova...the persuasion that snowdog is speaking of. Made it through one trip (a long weekend) as I was tearing it down after every meal to unclog the jet; the same fuel was running through the whisperlite without issue. The first stove I ever owned was an Optimus, a great simmer. I have a lot of hours on the MSR plastic pumps and they are without question bullet proof, even though they are plastic... A good simmering stove has a method of fuel control reasonable close to the jet, like on the peaks, dragonfly, optimus, and snow peak giga wg. The msr dragonfly, optimus(svea), and the old msr firefly have a cone style generator/burner and that is what makes the noise, a good tried and true design but loud. The whisterlite/simmerlite and coleman style burner has a tube generator and burner design which quiets them down a bit; but the whistlerlite/simmerlite lacks the jet control near the jet (it is back on the fuel pump) so they simmer like doodie...good stoves but not simmers....lite weight and efficient water boilers...the snow peak giga white gas sorts some of that out...I just dont have the hours on it yet to know whether of not I can place it higher on my charts than the dragonfly...my dragonfly has been in service for over 250 trail days without any issue versus the 20 on the snowpeak...but I have hope 12,000....any of these stoves will work...and a windscreen will make them more efficient and a heat diffuser will make them more user friendly-DD is right Back packer pantry has a nice one that goes with there outback oven, another fun and nifty gadget that requires a well simmering stove.


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Mad_Mat Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1549 Joined: Apr 21^st, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #18 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 2:19pm	Quote Print Post
	pretty much any backpacking stove on the market will fit your requirements - choose your fuel type, and sort out from there. I live in Colorado and backpack some for hunting. I've used my Jetboil (iso-butane cannister stove) enough times camping at 11,000" at frosty temps with no issues ( not sure what the lowest temp was - might have been approaching 20) - if you want to go cannister, there are a couple of newer models that have been tricked out to run efficiently at colder temps and higher altitudes. Only other stoves I have are a Coleman Peak 1 and Feather 442, which also work under those conditions - I've taken all of them on Quetico canoe trips at one time or another main difference is the type of fuel - cost per use, messisness, and volume. oh, I forgot about one other stove - a burner that sits on top of the 1# propane cannisters, that I use occasionally - cheap and effective as far as the stove goes, and somewhere in the middle as to fuel. I've used it on weekend canoe trips here, but not in Quetico - too heavy and bulky overall. all of the empty cannisters can be recycled - simple enough to punch a hole with a nail in the butane cans, and shoot holes in the green colemans I will say, that for ease of use, no mess-no fuss, fuel efficiency and compactness, I like the Jetboil best


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Snow_Dog Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1858 Location: Twin Cities Joined: Jul 11^th, 2003	Re: Backpack Stove Reply #19 - Feb 4^th, 2011 at 2:38pm	Quote Print Post
	DentonDoc wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 8:01am: It that the Brunton Optimus Nova or one of the other models? The Optimus burner look nearly identical to the DragonFly ... but you've got to love those swing out feet. And its not like you're going to damage the pump on a trip ... one of the few that's nearly all solid metal! dd Yup, the Optimus Nova. Still noisy, but somewhat quieter than a Dragonfly. My Dragonfly constantly clogs which is why I replaced it in the first place. Field-stripping and cleaning it on a nearly daily basis got old fast. When it's running right it's a great stove. Mine's got to be defective somehow because I know many others have had great reports on them.


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