caorach
Well-Known Member
Recently I acquired an MSR Windburner stove and I've now used it on 3 or 4 days so thought to write a little mini-review in case anyone is thinking of a stove. Someone on here mentioned that some of the competition to MSR take an "anti hunting" stance and so that was part of the reason I went with MSR but I also have 2 other MSR stoves and they are usually well thought out and very good at what they do.
The wind burner claims to use the same technology as the MSR Reactor stove and it doesn't have an open flame as such, it is almost like one of those catalytic burners. The "stove" comes as a sort of cooking system with a specially designed pot, a burner that screws onto a gas canister, a little stand for the canister to make it more stable, and a handy lid for the pot. The combination of the design of the pot in conjunction with the burner seems to be the key both to making the stove so fast and efficient and also to making it relatively windproof. Now, it is far from being completely windproof, but if you use common sense and get it into a sheltered spot then it will light and keep burning in the real world plus it doesn't see much decrease in efficiency under those conditions. The key thing is using your common sense - it simply won't work if exposed to anything you might call real wind but I've never been in a position with any stove where I've not been able to improvise some shelter and I spend a lot of my time in what is recognised as the most windy inhabited place on earth. Where the Windburner wins is that not only can it keep burning in relatively windy conditions but it doesn't take a big hit in efficiency in those conditions, with many stoves the wind simply blows the heat away and it is a struggle, or even impossible, to actually boil water even with a wind shield.
The whole stove system along with one of the small gas canisters packs away into the pot and it makes for quite a neat job, ideal for dropping into the rucksack. It probably isn't the lightest solution for simply boiling water as the pot has a design involving fins and various holes for airflow that makes it work well but probably adds a little bit of weight plus the burner is a relatively substantial item. A canister with one of the very tiny screw on "stoves" plus a lightweight standard pot would certainly shave off some weight, but isn't as good a solution in the wind or in terms of efficiency and speed.
I have a few other stoves and they are handy if you want to simmer stuff, and that is sometimes the case. However, if all you want to do is boil water quickly and efficiently then I don't have anything to match the MSR Windburner plus it is handy to carry, packing away into its own pot, and all my MSR gear has been reliable and well thought out in terms of real world use. So, for certain well defined situations it has a good advantage over the competition, or at least the ones I've tried, and I really like it and have a feeling it will be taking its place as my "go to" everyday stove when I'm in the Hebrides.
The wind burner claims to use the same technology as the MSR Reactor stove and it doesn't have an open flame as such, it is almost like one of those catalytic burners. The "stove" comes as a sort of cooking system with a specially designed pot, a burner that screws onto a gas canister, a little stand for the canister to make it more stable, and a handy lid for the pot. The combination of the design of the pot in conjunction with the burner seems to be the key both to making the stove so fast and efficient and also to making it relatively windproof. Now, it is far from being completely windproof, but if you use common sense and get it into a sheltered spot then it will light and keep burning in the real world plus it doesn't see much decrease in efficiency under those conditions. The key thing is using your common sense - it simply won't work if exposed to anything you might call real wind but I've never been in a position with any stove where I've not been able to improvise some shelter and I spend a lot of my time in what is recognised as the most windy inhabited place on earth. Where the Windburner wins is that not only can it keep burning in relatively windy conditions but it doesn't take a big hit in efficiency in those conditions, with many stoves the wind simply blows the heat away and it is a struggle, or even impossible, to actually boil water even with a wind shield.
The whole stove system along with one of the small gas canisters packs away into the pot and it makes for quite a neat job, ideal for dropping into the rucksack. It probably isn't the lightest solution for simply boiling water as the pot has a design involving fins and various holes for airflow that makes it work well but probably adds a little bit of weight plus the burner is a relatively substantial item. A canister with one of the very tiny screw on "stoves" plus a lightweight standard pot would certainly shave off some weight, but isn't as good a solution in the wind or in terms of efficiency and speed.
I have a few other stoves and they are handy if you want to simmer stuff, and that is sometimes the case. However, if all you want to do is boil water quickly and efficiently then I don't have anything to match the MSR Windburner plus it is handy to carry, packing away into its own pot, and all my MSR gear has been reliable and well thought out in terms of real world use. So, for certain well defined situations it has a good advantage over the competition, or at least the ones I've tried, and I really like it and have a feeling it will be taking its place as my "go to" everyday stove when I'm in the Hebrides.
I have an MSR Dragonfly which is a multi fuel stove but to be honest I've always run it on "white gas" or "Coleman fuel" or whatever you want to call it. I've never used the MSR brand fuel for it, but I've never tried running it on petrol or diesel either as I always have the white gas to hand and it burns very clean and so should extend the life of the stove.
