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I am thinking about buying a new cook system.
I am torn between the Dragonfly or Windburner.
My main goal is to be able to cook food more than just boil water. Mainly I want to use a fry pan. Should I save some money and just add a one egg wonder to my current setup?
I currently use a knock off pocket rocket and aluminum 1.8L pot.
I've tried to think out the negatives and positives. It seems to be 50/50. Just looking for some suggestions.
The Dragonfly is great for group cooking as it has huge pot supports. No problem putting an 8 liter pot on it. I would never backpack with one unless I was a guide cooking for a group or it was part of a Scout setting where everyone is splitting gear across the troop or patrol). It is also LOUD. Like, twice as loud as a whisperlight. And they are not quiet either.
Ok, thanks.
Either way, both stoves are around $150ish. I know the Windburner is probably better than my fake pocket rocket. I would still hate to spend the money on the same stove.
Maybe I'll just add a pan to my current system?
I don't know how many people you are cooking for. Our scout troop also uses a Windpro 2, it has a wider flame pattern and can do inverted canister for winter cooking. If only cooking for yourself and looking to move away from canister top burner you have now, I can recommend the kovea spider. I use it in cold weather. (Otherwise I use a snowpeak litemax).
Dick's Sporting Goods is selling the Whisperlite at 50% off. $45.Quote:
Originally Posted by OhioHiker
Might work for you.
Wayne
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That is a great price on a Whisperlite. That is the stove I use for really cold weather (near zero).
Lots of canister type stoves out now. Pocket rocket type run full bore and cook hot an fast and use up canisters. I have a Coleman F1, it simmers, it is very efficient, 1 small canister lasted me springer to end of smokies and I cooked breakfast and dinner and made hot water bottles for sleeping. Can I cook in a frying pan? I can heat casadea's in a titanium fry pan but doing pancakes is an ordeal, still to hot in small spot, top to runny to flip. Eggs, I boil them. To much oil in fry pan takes to much effort to clean after frying eggs.
I wouldn't bother with a white gas system unless my goal was simmering when it's below 0 degrees fahrenheit on a regular basis. I have the MSR Reactor which originated the burner technology used in the windburner. Some advantages over your current setup.... It's almost impervious to wind. You'll be able to boil water when it's howling out (but you'll be boiling it for your friends too - because their stoves won't be working at all). Since it has a regulator that pocket rocket knockoffs don't have, it's also very fuel efficient. You can get the last dregs of fuel out of each canister because it runs at a very low pressure. Unlike the Reactor, the windburner can also simmer (actually, I can simmer with a little practice on the reactor too) so it'll be good for doing eggs with the frying pan accessory. Even if the really cold weather performance is important to you, I'd still opt for a Windpro II (it's my cold weather gourmet option) or a Kovea spider running inverted canisters. Much less hassle than a white gas stove imho.
I converted to Alc stove last year and will never buy another fuel canister again. simple, fast, cheap, stupid light and I have boiled water all the same as I ever did carrying a canister and stove.
I'm not really sure an "all in one" system such as the Windburner would be the best choice and a Whisperlite may be a too heavy compared to what's on the market today.
JetBoil now makes a burner that does not need to join with a put. In other words they have a line of pots and pans that can be interchangeable (including a frying pan). Another option is the Kovea Spider which is a remote canister stove. The one thing to definitely keep in mind is using a stove with a wide enough pot support.
I'm a whitegas fan. Have a soft spot for the old Coleman peak ones and the svea 123's sure lighter options but they work for me. Have had canister stoves before to and never had any problems frying eggs on them. Hell I've used a small cast iron pan on a primus worked just fine. I personally dislike the canister well for the obvious of having the canister hate having to throw them out. Eh each their own whatever works for ya
Not too many folks thru hiking with white gas stoves any more. But they were the norm up until maybe 20 years ago. Less of an issue for casual overnight hikes or people not so determined to "make miles".
The problem with white gas stoves is they often don't like to simmer very well. What they are good at is getting cold water to boil in a hurry, which is why they are preferred winter stoves.
Coleman Peak One have a reputation for being fire bombs. The fittings would loosen up, then leak under pressure. This usually wasn't apparent until trying to relight the stove after it has sit for a bit and was sitting in a puddle of fuel. I had to drop kick a few of those out of the cabin I was caretaking. However, when they did work right, they were one of the few white gas stoves which did do a decent simmer.
At Tomas Knob shelter I saw someone set fire to his Whisper light fuel bottle with a jet coming out of the pump assembly. He kicked that flaming mess out of the shelter, right on top of someone's pack! (thankfully, no serious damage was done). And this guy claimed to be a former thru hiker, but turns out he only made it a few 100 miles.
I cooked for years on my SEVA 123 stove, but mostly to make pasta. Everything else went into the microwave. Didn't have a real stove where I was living. The SEVA had two settings, full blast and not so quite full blast.