User Review: Snow Peak GigaPower BF Stove

Snow Peak GigaPower BF Stove
Above: The current GigaPower BF Stove, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed July 2, 2007 by revcounter

Rating:
Price Paid: $70

The directions recommend boiling pots no larger than 6 liters. It looks like an MSR XGK that's been to fat camp. Shapes and finishes are superior to pretty much anyone else.

Snow Peak advises against any field repairs of any kind ever. They also warn about radiant heat from the unit starting fires around the stove. So in the dry Eastern Sierra I doused the area around the stove prior to ignition.

The directions volunteered that the push-button piezo ignition might not work in cold weather, requiring a match.

In 35 F degree weather it roared to life with one push.
At times there were minor fuel atomization issues exhibited by coughing noises. It however never flamed-out or stalled.

'Quiet' is not how I would characterize this stove.

If you aren't careful the fireball at ignition will burn away the hair on the back of your hand. Opening the valve (mounted at the tank connection) just a millimeter or two prevents this.

REI's fuel consumption stat of 110 grams per 30 minutes at full throttle is a bit awkward. I never needed anywhere near full throttle to boil my 2 liter pot. We got a bit over three days' breakfast/dinner with a dishwater boil at each.
It simmers like a dream.

My titanium pots, made by Snow Peak's corporate compatriot Mont Bell, scorched and warped in the face of such ferocious power-11,200 btu's max. Malto-meal burned onto the bottom virtually on contact.

The packed size and weight are more than reasonable for what you get in performance. The unit's four leg/stands are stout and stable. At no time were we worried about it tipping over or flexing.

The fuel hose does require centimeter-by-centimeter straightening when the machine is unpacked to get maximum separation of stove from canister. There's a trick to wrapping it around the stove body for re-packing too.

A nice touch here is the concentric swivel fitting at the valve.

The unit's wind guard, hyped on the package, does a fine job keeping the flame alight in wind. I am not persuaded that it concentrates heat for fuel efficiency.

Fuel canisters are bulky. The canister internal pressure drops toward the end of its lifespan, confining the machine to 'simmer'. Not sure about poking a hole in a dead one and smashing it flat with a rock...

I really like this brand and will probably buy a piezo canister mounted Giga-Power down the road to supplement this little tiger.

To me it is a vast improvement over white gas. Gone are leaks, pumping, priming, flooding, fuel on your fingers, soot of any kind, and the hopeless simmer abilities that fuel gives.