User Review: Optimus 8r

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April 5, 2012

Grey Eagle
81 reviewer rep

Rating:
Source: bought it used
Price Paid: varies, have 2 of them

Summary

Bullet proof and it will SIMMER! Easy to light.

Pros

No pumping
Very stable base
Easy to light
No empty butane canisters to deal with

Cons

Not the lightest or most compact stove
Not the highest heat output
Fuel tank on the small side

I have 2 of these, both purchased on eBay. They both work great and are easy to light. I prefer priming with alcohol as it prevents the excitement if over primed! The down side to that is the flame is hard to see in the daylight.

They provide quite sufficient heat for all my cooking and most importantly for me, they will simmer which fits my type of trail food. The base is quite stable being 4" by 4" and a flat 16 sq. in. surface.

I haven't timed the boil times but then again, I'm in no rush when I'm out enjoying the great outdoors! I think they're rated at 4700 BTU's. It's much more important to me to be able to simmer than how quickly I can boil water!

The fuel tank is on the small side but I carry a small fuel bottle for extra fuel. I also use a small filtered funnel.

There are smaller and lighter stoves available but these are so reliable that when the chips are down and you're really counting on a hot meal/drink, these will NOT fail you. No need to carry empty butane cartridges around and no recycling issues either.

I do have the pump and special fuel cap for that, but only use it when the temp gets very cold. Insulate it from cold ground or snow.