On our fall caribou hunt a few years ago, we used a propane canister style backpacking stove. Those work great under temperate conditions but the propane is not very efficient in cold weather. This led to excessive fuel consumption and long waits to heat water. Plus, it was hard to find the cylinders for the older-model stove we had. So, we knew it was time for a new stove.
For our awesome winter snowshoe trip I knew we needed white gas, so I got a Coleman exponent. Regrettably, the Exponent has taken a bit of a nosedive since I last used it as a Boy Scout many years ago. The quality is worse and it is difficult to use. More than once we had a small white gas fire all over our cabin table due to leakage.
Heather did the research and decided on a new stove for us: the MSR Dragonfly.
Overall, we were very pleased with the Dragonfly's performance on Kodiak. I fed it with standard Coleman camping gas.
PROS
The stove was really easy to use for white gas. Many white gas stoves are a bit tricky. We both found the Whisperlite to be simple to operate. There's no need for fire paste and I'd say we got it lit on the first time more than nine times out of ten.
Max heat was good and we could boil a liter or two of water quickly. Also of note was the ability of the Whisperlite to simmer. It actually works pretty well at lower heat settings although I think it consumes more fuel. We had no issues at colder temperatures.
Fuel consumption was about as I calculated. A small 11 oz bottle lasted for three days of generous usage (about 6 qts of water per day) and still had another day or two left over. We used a larger 20 oz bottle for nearly a week straight and had fuel left over as well.
The stove is a bit heavier than a bare bones propane model but it is definitely backpackable. We rucked it up to spike camp and then from there actually carried it up to our spotting knob some days. Its nice having the ability to make a cup of tea near dusk on a cold evening and helps you stay out glassing.
The legs are very stable and so is the cooking surface. We had no issues using the stove on a variety of less-than-optimal surfaces.
CONS
The wind screen provided is a bit flimsy. It worked but I don't know how long it will hold up.
OVERALL
I have no real complaints about the Dragonfly. It worked like a champ as expected. The price is even quite reasonable, especially when you figure in that a gallon of white gas is only $10 (even on Kodiak) compared to expensive proprietary propane-butane cylinders.
To add...
ReplyDeleteWhen I was researching new stoves, I had a few priorities. The first was that it took white gas. The second was that it was stable and able to function in high winds. The third was fuel efficiency.
The dragonfly was clearly the standout, given those criteria. Yes, it's a bit heavier and more bulky than many stoves, but we never came near to accidentally knocking it over. It held up well to the wind and rain we got on Kodiak, and the fuel efficiency was very good. What Chris didn't mention when discussing fuel use is that most days we ran that stove for 20-40 minutes to use our bakepacker and make pancakes for breakfast. If we hadn't used the bakepacker, I think our fuel use would have been twice as good.