The dragon fly is like a mother in law; If you treat 'er right, she'll shut up and cook......Otherwise, she'll make your life hell.............
I have taken the Dragon Fly to Denali, Rainier, the Tetons, etc.. It out performs nearly every other stove, but preventative maintainence is crucial. (Clean the carbon deposits out often, and only burn high quality fuels. It had a problems starting at 18,000, but then again, so did I......... Love the stove for expeditions, but it is overkill for 1-2 night forays......

Similar Products Used:

MSR XGK, Primus, Bibler Hanging stove

Excellent value. If you are going alpine or routinely do more than heat water read on. If you are weight conscious or just heating water then the Dragonfly is probably overkill for you. While the price may appear stiff, this is one product that lives up to the hype and the cost. I have used this stove on several winter trips on Mount Washington during 1999. While the priming feature (7-10 seconds of liquid fuel flowing into the crucible and into a wick) can produce flare-ups, the Dragonfly always fired right up! Due to the adjustable flame, unlike most other alpine stoves, the amount of fuel used was consistently less than the Whisperlite. (Read weight/space savings!) Used with the heat reflector supplied and the optional Trillium stove base, the Dragonfly worked well atop packed snow and ice. The MSR supplied wind/heat shield is lightweight and versatile but after a few outings you will want to get the shears out to 'tweak' the fit of the shield. Downsides: when the Dragonfly is running full tilt you will think that a miniture jet turbine has been installed. Only the wind outside (60-85 mph) is louder! The repair/maint. kit is not interchangeable with other MSR stoves. Overall, the Dragonfly is worth the extra bucks, skimp somwhere else on the equipment list. If you are going and staying above treeline, then you need a stove that must work or ...!

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MSR Whisperlite

A great stove. The nice part about this stove compared to the XGK is it conveniently stores within my pots. It heats up fast when it's not too cold, primes easily and produces a great flame. The priming feature is awesome. The only drawback is heating up when it's cold. The XGK definitely functions a little better for melting snow. I use the Dragonfly on 99% of my climbs.

Similar Products Used:

XGK II

I have used the Dragonfly stove in both summer & winter conditions and find it to be very reliable, easy to start, flame adjuster is a fine tool to heat foods warm w/o burning them to the bottom of the pots. The only complaints that I have is when the flame is turned up it is quite loud, and it takes a long time to melt snow even when useing the wind/heat sheild that comes with the stove. I have had no malfuntions to date with any of the mechanisms.

Customer Service

No problems.

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MSR Denali snow shoes.

I like my Dragonfire and have had many compliments on it. It's very controllable, which has enabled me to make perfect M&M pancakes on an aluminum pot lid. While on trips with others who were using Whisperlites and other stoves, it consistently used less fuel than the others, and has been the stove used the most on those trips. The plastic pump is rather fragile - you have to be careful not to rip the plunger out of the pump body as I have. It would be nice if MSR could beef it up some. A word in defensse of the plastic pump, however. On one trip last summer a Whisperlite caught on fire, and soon was engulfed in flames. We beat a hasty retreat, anticipating that the fuel bottle would explode. Instead, the pump melted, allowing the pressure to vent , and the fuel to burn off(although it was still quite a fireball). It might be good if MSR could add some metal at the critical points without doing away with all the plastic.

Customer Service

They have cheerfully replaced pumps for me.

Similar Products Used:

Whisperlites, Coleman stoves

Having used the Coleman products exclusively in my formative camping years, I was unsure about trying my friend's MSR Whisperlite for a week in the bush. I was pleasantly surprised, and decided to make it my next stove. Upon comparing the price difference of the Whisperlite and the Dragonfly, I opted for the more fancy, albeit more expensive of the two. As it turns out, the simmer feature on the Dragonfly was well worth the additional expense! The fine-tuned fuel control even made rice cooking a breeze, without having to worry about caked-on crusties at the bottom of the pot.
Having praised the stove to this disgusting degree, I feel that I should mention it's two faults:
1. When the fuel control is cranked right up, it sounds like a mini-jet engine cooking up your macaroni.
2. It's a little bit pricey.
All in all, an excellent stove, and a whole lot of bang for your buck. I'd highly recommend this stove to anybody without reservation!

Similar Products Used:

- MSR Whisperlite
- Lots of Coleman stoves, from the Big Green Monster, down to the Peak 1
- Flint and tinder

absolutely wonderful! a very stable and sturdy stove. after 8 months of constant use, it still works like new. I've used kerosene, gasoline and white gas in it with no problems whatsoever. this stove is a workhorse (and it sounds like it, too! it's loud!) Pretty efficient and with an awesome range of temperatures, it's perfect for a group of 2-6 hikers or even single. the only thing that detracts from an otherwise perfect stove is the sound volume. this beast is loud...not conducive to a quiet meal preparation. But when you can easily saute veggies, simmer sauces, and boil water in minutes, who cares? i recommend using this stove with the MSR Alpine cookset. they were made for each other!!

Customer Service

i've never required customer service...no problems yet.

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MSR whisperlite internationelle, ZIP stove

I have only used this stove with white gas, and not in very strong winds.
The ability to easily adjust heat was well worth the extra money. I turn the flame down to the size of a candle flame to keep my tea warm. It's very stable. Good fuel efficiency. A bit noisy when the fuel pressure is high. The red plastic ring around the pump broke off almost immediately, but it doesn't seem to perform any important function. People have criticized the plastic pump, but I believe this preventts people's fingers from freezing to the pump in very cold conditions.
Five stars when used with white gas.

Similar Products Used:

MSR Whisperlite
some Coleman

I love this stove it lights every time in seconds. it can go out fairly easily if its not turned up high enough. it may be a more expensive stove but i think is worthit

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None

The MSR dragonfly is about the best all around stove available. It is multifueled, very stable, light, and compact. The pump mechanism on the fuel bottle is concerning because it's made out of plastic, but it hasn't failed on me. The price and loud noise are also also drawbacks. Very nice simmer control.

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Peak 1 Apex multifueled.