One of the Lightest and Most Packable Backpacking Stoves
Written: Dec 15 '03 (Updated Nov 07 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Incredibly Light, Easily Packed, Easy to Operate and Fast Cooking
Cons: Not much adjustibility to flame - otherwise none
The Bottom Line: The MSR Whisperlite is a great basic stove that will meet most backpackers needs, while remaining more than light enough to easily pack and carry
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| jps246's Full Review: MSR Whisperlite Liquid Fuel Stove |
Looking for a simple, easy to use and light backpacker stove?
The MSR Whisperlite is a great basic stove that will meet most backpackers needs, while remaining more than light enough to easily pack and carry. There are a few drawbacks and depending upon what you are looking for in a backpacking stove, the Whisperlite might be your savior or might slightly annoy you, but on the whole the Whisperlite fills a need that is out there in the backpacking world – that is for a reliable, easy to use, light, and easily packed stove.
The Basics
The Whisperlite is a basic one-burner backpacking stove. When you buy it, it comes with the stove portion and the pressuring pump/blocker for the gas bottles. This basic equipment is very light, weighing in well under a pound.
The stove is simple – it consists of three base legs that connect to a burner and the gas line enters from the bottom, wraps up and into the burner and back out to the pan section. The pressurizing pump portion for the gas bottle consists of a screw in piece that fits in the top of the gas bottle that allows you to pump the bottle and pressurize the gas within the bottle. This connects to the burner assembly through a metal braided hose that is flexible but not breakable.
The Whisperlite runs on white gas (Coleman fuel) and the gas bottles are available in a variety of sizes, depending upon the length of your backpacking trip.
Lighting the stove is fairly simple, though the first few times might give you a jump or two. After pressurizing the gas tank, a small amount of the fuel is allowed to drip into the pan surrounding the burner and the gas is then closed off. You ignite this fuel with a match or a lighter and allow the burner assemblage to warm up and continue to pressurize the gas line. Once sufficiently warm, the fuel line is re-opened and the Whisperlite putters and spurts to life. After a few seconds of sufficient heating the large flames that are possible at first (don’t use this baby inside a tent) die down and you are left with the hot blue flame in the burner area only.
The Whisperlite also comes with a wind block that is generally required to be around the burner assemblage when you are using it. This shield has two purposes – to keep the wind from blowing out the burner and to focus the heat from the Whisperlite onto the pot that is being cooked.
The noise level with the Whisperlite is not overbearing. It tends to sound like a little jet engine without any pots or pans on it – when you are cooking, the pot muffles the sound of the burner.
How’s it work in the field
The Whisperlite is light!
It’s small enough to easily fold up and pack away into any backpack. I tend to keep it folded up and inside my cookset, to protect it from any bumps or bangs while it is in my pack. I generally carry a 1-liter bottle of white gas with me – either completely or partially full depending on the length of my trip. Lately most of my trips are overnights – so I take a ½ a bottle or so with me.
Setup is easy and quick – within five minutes of starting, the Whisperlite can be setup, the gas can be primed and you can be ready to start it. The startup process of warming the burner with the fuel takes a few minutes and like I said produces a big flame so be very careful where you place the stove. It should not be used inside a tent and should be kept away from anything else that is flammable (tarps, etc...).
The stove can be moved once you start it, however I really would not advise that you try because the entire burner assemblage can get quite hot and would be a challenge to move.
Once you finish with the Whisperlite and let it cool, taking it apart and putting it away is quite easy. The burner assemblage folds down and the pressuring pump portion is unscrewed from the fuel bottle. I would suggest keeping this portion in a separate ziploc bag so that you keep any of the white fuel from getting in contact with any of your other gear.
The pluses and the minuses
Like I said this stove is light and that’s the biggest thing going for it. Many other camp stoves are heavier and clunkier, making them harder to pack and more weight for you to carry in your backpack.
The stove design is simple which makes it easy to operate and should something happen while you are in the field, it also makes it easy to repair. MSR offers maintenance kit that includes replacement parts and cleaning instruments (soot can build up on the burner assemblage clogging where the fuel enters the burner). This kit is a must have, as you don’t want to be stuck out in the woods with a non-functioning stove.
On the minus side – there are really only two settings with the Whisperlite – “off” and “hi.” There really aren’t any in betweens. The Whisperlite is for cooking fast and hot.
While it can be adjusted, the ability to adjust the flame is fairly limited and therefore if you are attempting to cook something that requires simmering it may be difficult to complete. Whenever I’m out camping with the Whisperlite, I make sure I bring meals that really only require boiling water – that’s what it’s the best for and that is what it does extremely well. Should you really need good burner adjustability, you will not be happy with the Whisperlite and you should be looking elsewhere for your stove.
My Final Take…
Until something else as light and packable as the MSR Whisperlite comes along in the backpacking world, I’m unlikely to trade in my Whisperlite for another camp stove. In the meantime, while there is not much adjustability to the burner once it gets going, if you plan your meals with this in mind, there should not be any problems. The Whisperlite should be a welcome addition to any overnight backpackers stash of supplies.
Recommended:
Yes
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