Selecting a Camping Stove

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Posted by bheiser1 on August 10, 2007 at 4:12:40 pm EDT

Hi everyone,

I find myself in the market for a new "camping" stove. I did quite a bit of backpacking years ago (dating myself here, I'll mention that I used my trusty SVEA 123R back then:). In recent years I've been doing mostly 'car' camping. Actually it's Jeep camping - so even then compactness counts (there's not much storage space in a Jeep). Lately I've been feeling an urge to start doing some backpacking again. So I want a stove I can use for either type of trip.

For the past couple years I've been using a Coleman Peak 1 stove (an earlier version of the Exponent Feather 442). But it's starting to give me trouble (pump not working well, and I think the regulator is failing, judging by the poor flame quality).

I'm thinking of moving to a true backpacking stove which will be compact for Jeep camping, and light for backpacking. However I'm having trouble making up my mind which one will be "best".

I am sure I want a liquid fuel stove, for a variety of reasons. But I'm not sure which one. I boil water of course, but also need a "simmer" capability.

I've read some good things about the MSR Dragonfly, but the plastic pump in MSR stoves really turns me off (actually, it scares me). The Optimus Nova Plus (the new version) is intriguing, but a few reviews leave me skeptical it works well. The Snow Peak WG model almost sounds like the one, but there are very few reviews out there, so apparently it's not well known, or not popular (and not stocked many places, so spare parts/repairs may be a problem).

So, as you can see, in spite of lots of reading, I haven't been able to zero in on a decision. I'm wondering if any of you have been through this process recently, and might have some thoughts to share as I close in on a decision Real Soon Now.

Thanks!
-Bill

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