User Review: MSR WhisperLite

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August 25, 2012

Canoer Chris
13 reviewer rep

Rating:
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $90

Summary

Good little stove, but could benefit from being more compact.

Pros

Fairly small
Can purchase different size tanks
Boils water in a couple minutes.

Cons

Can only be run off Naptha.
A bit bulky when packed and could be easy cruched in pack.
Takes a while to set up, position, pump tank, set up heat sheild and use.
Must wait for entire stove to be cool before putting it back in the nylon bag.

I owned this stove for five years before selling it. I took the stove on over 10 back country and canoe camping trips. The stove worked great once it was all set up and setup can take up to 10 minutes, which can be annoying after a day of hiking and all you want to do is eat or have a hot drink.

It requires a fairly flat piece of ground to set it up on and lined it up with the fuel tank. Just like any naphtha stove the tank must be pressurized and which is done by pumping it by hand. If you are using a large pot everything must be level and you will have to set up your heat shield to decrease boiling time.

Cooking is great on it, as it has a wide base and I never had an issue with my pot slipping off. Also, it was very good on fuel and one small tank of naphtha would last me the whole week when I used it to cook two meals a day.

My biggest pet peeve was the tear down and storage of the stove. Once it was all packed away it was fairly large and I was always worried that I would crush it in my pack or bend it. The fuel line is not that flexible and I was worried about it getting broken.