Originally Posted By phat


Better is all about the context - it depends on what you are doing.

I in fact use both - frequently. I also use an alcohol stove.

My "usual" thing for a weekender will be an alcohol stove.

If I'm going to be out for more than 5 person-days i take a snow peak canister stove

If I am in the winter or shoulder season, I usually take white gas - most often my SVEA 123, sometimes my Borde Bombe, or for deep winter with lots of need to melt snow for water, the MSR whisperlite.

I do prefer white gas in cold weather.


I have found that i do have problems with the jet boil in the winter. So i have been looking at a MSR whisperlite universal. I hear that the ability to inver the canister helps the system run better in the cold. However by biggest two issues with my jetboil and almost every other canister stove I have found is

1. it requires you to keep a very close eye on the burner at a low setting. if you are running it at a low setting it will "wink out" after a minute. This make keeping something at a boiler but not over flowing very hard
2. There is a definite lack of adjustability in the burner control. For a few handle that has four to five turn total range its usable adjustability range is about 1/8th to a quarter turn at most. Very annoying to get the right amount of heat.

I'm looking at a few stoves: I may end up getting them all but tell me what you think.

First one I like is the Soto OD-1R Micro Regulated Stove, this is a canister stove. the major feature I love is the regulator. this sounds like it would solve at least my first issue with my jet boil. I also think I could carry my jet boil with me and use this stove with it.

Second ones is the MSR WhisperLite Universal Stove. I like the fact that is can do both cans and white fuel. But I haven't seen it in action and I don't know how it work in respect to my 2 major problems with the jet boil.