Hot stuff and Cool too! Enter the Dragon(fly).
Written: Jul 12 '02 (Updated Mar 15 '03)
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Pros: MSR build Quality and field maintainability. I can hear you now!
Cons: Expensive stove & slightly bulky, theoretically the plastic pump could burn or melt.
The Bottom Line: MSR's new Paradigm: From dainty simmer to "Go for Throttle Up" (Shuttle Challenger). Treat yourself if you are tired of full on or off type stoves. It reduces cooking hassles.
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| zlotmachinskyr's Full Review: MSR Dragonfly Multifuel |
Well MSR has ruled the liquid fuel stove market for many a decade. I purchased my first one just so I could tear it apart and examine that plastic fuel pump too, hoping to discredit it for some fatal flaw. After reassembly of my first MSR stove and subsequent ignition without a hitch, I realized that I had discovered what all those nerds at REI were so enthusiastic about regarding MSR stoves. It can't be all that damn good I thought but there it was running away quietly and damn hot for super long run times on that 22 oz fule bottle I was using. That stove was an MSR Whisperlight and it was so very quiet but able to run for very long times in comparison to my Svea 123 which is still manufactured and a classic stove loved by many diehard campers.
The MSR foil windscreens seemed kind of stupid and cheap but in actual use work pretty well plus the foil is relatively thick and certainly lightweight. Don't make the mistake of putting hard creases in the foil screen when you fold it up for transport and it will hold up for lots of use and abuse. It also has the advantage of keeping the heat off the fuel bottle. MSR stoves are much safer than many other antipersonell camp stove designs by having provided distance between fuel and fire. This innovation is universally copied today.
MSR plastic fuel pumps work very well and they are made of a very tough engineering plastic. Like any pump one must keep the leather pump cup lubricated to make a seal, use their lube or vaseline ect. The spring loaded rubber ball acts as a oneway valve to maintain the pressurization within the fuel bottle. OingO BoingO the O-ringO if you don't keep the fuel pump o-ring lubed during insertion of the fuel line connector. Do it with saliva and spin some saliva around the nipple before insertion into the pump to increase the longevity of that critical connection.
The large o-ring under the pump that seals the pump fuel bottle connection is fairly durable but I worry about it tearing when I open a pressurized bottle to dump the pressure before packing up to get back on the trail. If you rubber band a plastic bag over the fuel pump it can go into a vertical pocket on a backpack still pressurized but unless you wish to practice self emolation while backpacking, it is advisable to depressurize the fuel bottle before packing it. A maglight or that cute little squeeze light pushed tightly into some pocket could ignite your pretty "little" posterior.
Enter the Dragonfly stove.
This stove is touted as being good at simmering. It is indeed! This stove is expensive too. This stove is well built like all MSR stoves are. This stove is quiet when toned down from a full on burn so one can have a conversation while sitting around the camp kitchen and as such it is great to keep my scalding hot dish cleaning or beverage water ready for my final soapless dish dip. This saves fuel by being able to keep the stove ignited and turned down to a very light simmer.
The stove is a unique design in that the burner pivots down after its three pan support legs pivot out from the main aluminum extrusion. The stove provides a large stable pot or pan support. All the materials are first class which is an MSR standard protocol. They use aluminum, stainless steel, brass and expensive metal braid on the fuel line. The burner cup appears to be made of bronze which is a metal known for corrosion resistance and hardness as well. Would brass melt if used for the burner cup? Probably not since it seems to work on just about all the stoves out there.
This is a good stove. This stove also is liquid multifuel capable similar to the MSR XGK MkII. I just use white gas (i.e. naptha) but I am comforted by the thought that this cooking wonder will also burn gasoline (preferably unleaded), kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, high proof alcohol (ETOH = ethanol), dry cleaning fluid, ect. I don't think that I would be as free with fuel choices with this stove as with the Redoubtable earsplitting MSR XGK stove. I worry that the dragonfly fuel inlet line may not take as kindly to any old thing. Gunked up fuel line should clear using the standard MSR stove tool to loosen the flame control nut and unscrew the flame control needle valve. Clean the three groves at the end of the flame control needle valve with one's thumbnail or your friend's if they will hold still for you, wipe off with fuel soaked paper towel and carefully reassemble it. Shaker jet keeps the jet clear but a cleaning needle needs be taped to the fuel bottle as with nonshaker jet MSR stoves of past vintage since one is supplied with the dragonfly for really tough clogs. If the stove is still clogged pry out the foam filter inside the end of the fule inlet line with repair kit safety pin and push in a new one supplied by the maintenance kit. This stove does not have the standard stainless steel fuel line filler that other MSR stoves have.
The stove comes with a jet changing and maintenance tool, some spare parts, non-white gas fuel jet, instructions, pump-cup lube, fuel pump, aluminum foil wind screen plus heat reflector, a nylon storage sack.
You will need to buy an MSR fuel bottle too, 11 oz, 22 oz or their 30+ oz size. Use MSR bottles so as not to have a separation of the unwanted kind. And forget their titanium fuel bottle unless you have money to throw away, most of us do not. The dragonfly all folds up and fits into some of the larger MSR pans. That's where my MSR stove lives on the trail. An MSR Heat exchanger for MSR pans would be advisable for winter camping to improve fuel efficiency for snow melting.
Recommend use of optional sintered bronze fuel line filters available from MSR for their stove pumps and one of their dedicated o-ring and spare parts kits as much of it will fit nicely into an empty 35mm film canister.
Ignition ("Go for Throttle Up!")
After having pumped up the fuel bottle the recommended number of strokes and assembly of stove and fuel line the operator of this gem may proceed. Just open the fuel valve a bit and let a few drops of white gas drip into the burner cup and turn off the fuel. The burner cup has a hole in the bottom with a wick underneath. Light the burner cup wick with a match and it will flare up as it warms up. As the preheat fuel burns down then the stove operator can gradually open the fuel supply on the pump. The stove will straighten out when warmed up and cook without flaring.
Addendum: Gee folks there are some competitors out now by Primus, Optimus, and Snow Peak. They all look pretty good too and the Primus Omnifule can burn liquid and compressed gas if you change the jet. But they are all more expensive, some heavier, the Snow peak burns only white gas, and all of them certainly less stable. A tribute to MSR's leadership in quality, ahead of their time, competition stomping engineering macho. I'll bank on MSR when push comes to shove or pump for that matter. You learn your MSRs and it is like cooking at home. So why bother with anything else, MSRs are just too good to pass up.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
zlotmachinskyr
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Location: California
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
People deserve good stuff. Read me, avoid unnecessary buyers remorse. So listen up, OK?
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