Overall a popular and reliable stove. I bought it by the recommendations of all the books and mags I read, as well as after having seen it. It's kind of hard sometime to set the base straight but an accessory base could help with it. I'm sure that the shakerjet helps in preventing clogs, but I've still had some. Best of all, if it breaks and you don't have a repair kit, chances are that other campers/backpackers will!

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I am pretty pleased with this product. Very innovative. One can of fuel seems to last forever! I love how compact and light the stove is. My only complaint is that there are some other stoves which are much hotter and heat quicker. I'm pretty patient though so it doesn't bother me. Maybe I need to oil the leather seal like the last review said.

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GAZ
Peak

very good stove. havent had much trouble with it. When you first get it, be sure to grease the leather seal before taking taking it camping, or it will add half an hour to your cooking time. havent had any real trouble with it, very easy to maintain. just a bit touchy with control valve, making it hard to simmer. also the plastic pump could be improved, though i havent broken it, it seems to be flimsy.

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Excellent piece of kit... Really efficient and easy to use.
Shaker Jet thingy rocks... what a great idea!
Reliable.

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camp fire, coleman, MSR XGK (more a rocket launcher than stove)

The best thing you can buy; aside from a compass. I use the stove all the time for cooking, heating the tent, and it has replaced torching the fragile tundra with campfires. My girlfriend was less excited about it at first,(she loves campfires) but has succomed to the beauty of "Leave No Trace" camping. I have used it for over 2 years and have never dealt with a failure. It's a workhorse at all altitudes.

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Titan cookset.

The Internationale has earned a reputation as a reliable and venerable piece of gear over the years. For my own experience, this stove falls short in only one category: simmering. (Simmering is indeed possible, but with a delicately learned technique.) Overall, the stove is lightweight, very field maintainable/reparable and the fact that it burns several fuels is a bonus (however, I've never really been at a loss to find white gas anywhere in the US -- hence the stove's name, ""the international""). Thoughtful construction/design. My complaints: a more supportive base (which is solved by using a separate stove support base) and better simmering. Melts snow slowly at altitude (~10K ft, 10-min boil time).

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MSR Shaker Jet: much easier to light and simmer - but the nonrefillable pressurized containers are a bit of a pain.

Good because: great longevity, great heat output, pretty much guaranteed to work, simple design, actually does simmer if it is cleaned and in good running shape

Bad because: awful in cold weather, borderline dangerous priming, can be very temperamental, gets caked with black soot

Word of caution: Be very mindful of the orange piece on the pump that acts as a receptacle for the fuel line. I've had it work it's way loose twice now, with disastrous results the second time (cooking in vestibule, fuel leaked and tent and I suffered severe burns)

Overall: This stove was great years ago, but just because it's still around is not because of ingenious engineering, there are much better stoves out there, go out on a limb and get something different.

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Had a chance to compare it against gas stoves on the trip: MSR is impossible to adjust for simmer, smells bad (if not used properly) and takes 2 minutes to start.

At the same time it boils water 10 times faster than gas stove and who cares about simmering - if you are above 4000 meters all you need it for is to boil water and one would be prepared to give up a lot for not waiting for 20 minutes to get a cup of tea in sub zero temperatures.

Would not buy any supped-up versions of MSR stoves - if you are not looking for fast and simple burner - get a gas stove.

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I've owned this stove in the past and have had nothing but misrable times with it. Priming is a pain, simmering is nearly impossible, and the fuel is very messy to work with. When I go into the woods it is to enjoy nature and not smell like I worked at a gas station. Not only is gasoline a messy toxic fuel in the bottle but it also pollutes the air through unburned fuel and evaporation. Also, the fuel could leak all over your pack. It happend to me once, thank god it was on the outside or I would have went hungry for the last 3 days. As it was I had to cook over a fire because I had little fuel left. I sold it after that.

Gasoline stoves are the most counter environmental stoves on the market and go against the whole notion of connecting with nature.

Customer Service

REI ownes MSR but they do not control them. Just like they own Walrus, Moss, OR, and most recently Arc'Teryx. They are separate companies. Any complaints/suggestions should be aimed at MSR and not REI.

REI is the best there is. The customer service is top notch and the 10% dividend and various member discounts are nice too. Being a co-op means that most of their profits go back to their members (over $32 million last year). Unlike EMS which is owned by a rich family oversees.

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ZZ Manufacturing, Inc Sierra Zip Stove (burns twigs, never have to worry about running out of fuel)
Coleman Xpert (canister fuels don't leak and are very clean burning. I only bring this stove as a back up in cold weather.)

Before you buy this piece of crap, compare it against a Primus Himalaya Vari or Multi fuel. We need to hold REI's (they own MSR) feet to their unrelieable, unstable fire and force them to produce a product as good as the Primus.

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