MSR SuperFly

Summary

Robust pot supports and a wide burner head bridge the gap between minimalist trail cooking and gourmet campsite cooking. My go-to stove, even if I'm car camping.

Being a car camper, I didn't quite need to be able to fit my stove into my pocket.

I'm a car camper, so while smaller is always better, it wasn't the best choice when it came to finding a stove. I wanted something a little larger and more substantial than anything with the word "Rocket" in the name.

The MSR name speaks for itself. Everyone, from mountaineers to thru-hikers, rely on their stoves.

Why couldn't a car camper?

My first camping stove was the typical, two-burner Coleman. 

Big.

Heavy.

But my main problem?

Crowded!!!

When you're cooking in the great outdoors, and your "kitchen" doesn't have walls? Why the heck would you still want to be cooking elbow-to-elbow with someone? Wasn't working for me!

TIPS

I actually own TWO of these SuperFly stoves. Basically think of them as a detachable two-burner unit. This allows us to divide the picnic table in half and give us our own prep areas. Moreover, since we're operating on two separate fuel bottles, if one unit runs out of gas, we can still continue to cook on the other.

SIZE AND PACKABILITY

They're considerably smaller than a Coleman (4.9" x 4" and 4.6 ounces), and each pack into their own individual MSR stuff sack.

ASSEMBLY

Easy as easy can be to assemble and use:

Screw the plastic mount collar all the way down the threads.

Slip the plastic collar over the canister.

Tighten the stove down, holding the collar in place, until flush with the canister.

Turn the pot supports 90 degrees to evenly support all four quadrants of the pot.

Flip out the fuel adjustment toggle, and done.

STABILITY

The pot supports are large and robust. I don't worry about a meal tipping over if it's cooking atop these. Stable as stable can be. I don't know if MSR makes a more stable, direct-to-canister, backpacking stove.

DEXTERITY

(This stove has no trouble finding a groove to dig into)

IGNITION AND WIND-RESISTANCE

Ignition's a cinch. I've never once had trouble lighting it, or keeping it lit - even with 40 to 50MPH winds that ripped grommets from my tarps! Although a "autostart" piezo igniter's a nice idea, I'm a firm believer in "The Less Moving Parts, The Better" school of thought, and a BIC (or even a match) works just fine.

FLAME CONTROL AND DISPERSION

The burner head is large and better disperses the heat more widely than some of MSR's smaller models (PocketRocket, MicroRocket). This is a matter of preference and cooking needs, but I like that I can simmer meals on this stove. The large, wire valve control is conveniently large enough to use if operating the stove while wearing gloves.

BOIL TIME

If you're in a hurry, it'll boil a liter of water in 3 minutes. If you're not, it'll do it anyhow! There are worse problems.

FUEL USE AND EFFICIENCY

It sips fuel, and frugally at that. I can't tell you how many meals I cooked on this thing after I was absolutely certain I was out of fuel. One stove and one 8 oz. canister of IsoPro will easily get ya by for a weekend trip. 

DURABILITY

However, after cooking over a hot flame and after getting some miles put onto this stove, you'll find the pot supports will warp. Now, by "Warp," I mean the metal will expand and make the supports a little harder to turn. Keep the unit clean, and they'll move freely again with a little elbow grease. 

MY TWO CENTS

This stove probably ranks right next to my tent as far as favorite gear goes, and proved to me why the MSR name is as popular and long-lasting as it is.

I needed a new stove and was leaving on a trip that day so I picked this one up at REI. The stove worked great. Easy to setup and easy to carry.

I agree with the others on this stove for the most part. One of my favorite features is it can adapt to just about any canister. I haven't found one it won't work with. I have also used it to an altitude of about 10,600 feet and it worked perfectly fine.

As far as winter camping goes (yes in the snow) I had no issues with it when I used the IsoPro fuel. Though I haven't used it below about 14 degrees farenheit. I have 4 years on this stove myself and it gets used a minimum of at least once a month.

We were on an 8-day family trip for the 6 of us and our Coleman 2 burner propane went down on us the morning of day 3. We used the SuperFly to boil water, cook breakfast the rest of the trip (and lots of foil meals over the fire). It is an excellent back up. One of the best parts is how sturdy the pot stand is. I have had issues with a few others. It is a winner.

This is a great stove. I've found that this stove is easy to light and has great temp control. I was also surprised by how stable I found this stove while using an 8 oz fuel canister. My only gripe (and it's a minor gripe at that) is that the pot supports can be difficult to move, but again this is only a minor gripe.

I have used this stove for about four years now and prefer it over my WhisperLite, mainly because of the attributes others talk about. It's fast, easy, requires no pumping and no pouring. It's frugal with fuel and exceptionally dependable. The age old drawback is that canister stoves are not good in the winter...so, the WhisperLite is a great backup.

Good price and GREAT with fuel. I cooked about 7 large meals involving a few courses each and still had plenty of fuel left on one 250 canister. On hikes it's very light and pretty durable. Also, it is quick to boil.

Very easy to set up, no pumping or clogging of fuel. Fast boil time and the fuel canisters last longer than expected.

Very easy to carry and light. A warm weather stove. (Below about 50 degrees, remember to sleep with the canister.)