Borrowed this from a friend for a month long car camping trip to Vacouver. This stove never failed to fire up for me & was very fuel efficient. This stove is over five years old and has never needed fixing. Go easy on the pump and it should last you a while. It worked well in the wind & rain also. This stove has basically two settings. On and off. When it's on it puts out a very hot flame. Great for boiling water but not for cooking anything that might need a little finesse. If you're looking for a reliable stove and eat mainly freeze dried meals this would be a good stove for you. If you want a good stove that also simmers well go with the MSR Dragonfly. I recently bought the Whisperlite Internationale but, after some thought, decided to take it back and pay the extra cash for the Dragonfly.

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None

One of the most straight forward and easy to use liquid fuel stoves out there. Don't bother getting a propane/butane stove - the Wisperlite will get any job done you need. You can control the flame (simmer) by limiting your ego and only pumping up the sucker a few shots at a time. Also to help prevent forestfires, once you see fuel in the primer cup - turn off the fuel. unless you're in freezing temps, only a small amount of fuel is needed to heat the fuel line up to operating temp. also if you want to keep your wind screen nice and easy to set up, just wrap it around your fuel bottle and hold it in place with those ponytail elastics (rubber bands will rot and break after a while). this won't work with the small fuel bottle. also, to help reduce carbon (soot) build up, let the primer flame go out and then light the stove. one last thing: try to avoid using coleman fuel, it's one of the dirtiest white gases out there and will lead to quicker carbon build up. Camp fuel and MSR (expensive - but the best) fuel is much better and will reduce the amount of maintainence needed.

Customer Service

very easy to get replacement parts for.

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None

I've been using Whisperlights for about 15 years, and, for my money, there's no better basic mountain stove on the market. My wife and I even brought two to our marriage, and both are going strong (and so's the marriage). If you're in cold or high conditions where a cartridge stove is unreliable, this is the best of the four inexpensive stove brands I've owned. However, despite the extra $50, I do prefer my new MSR Dragonfly for its flame control, heat output and multifuel ability. Still, as long as you have a good supply of white gas, the Whisperlight is a proven value for entry-level pumpable stoves.

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Svea, Optimus, Gaz

I love not having to funnel fuel into a small hole everytime it need some. After reading threw the manual once I never had any problems lighting it even in 30km/h winds. Yes I even like the light weight wind screen that folding over and over doesn't seem to bother. And it sure speeds up boiling water.

Customer Service

Had one out of 4 purchased for a Survival training course that wasn't working from the start. The store I purchased it from took a look at it and it has worked flawlessly like the rest since.

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Svea 123 (The best) Colman Ultra light

I am 15 years old, beginner backpacker and this is my first stove. The first day I got it I could get it to simmer. I am short on time so read the below reviews and one guy will tell you how to do it. Don't use the diffuser plate, however, because it is just a waste of fuel. I could train a retarded monkey to prime this stove with the soot free alcohol.

Customer Service

MSR is a high quality company period.

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Wood, Trioxane, pools of alchol ;)

The Whiperlite is bombproof. It boils fast, uses almost any fuel, and has never broken. I had it stuffed in a cranny on a car camp trip when the Coleman 3-burner propane stove died, cooked on the Whisperlite with ahlf a SMALL bottle of fuel the rest of the trip!

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Coleman Peak Apex

The worst thing about this stove is that it always breaks down in a wilderness area where there is no place to throw it away. It, therefor, often finds its way into my workshop and on into the pack again. That other reviewers recommend taking a repair kit says it all. With frequent use the cheap plastic pump will fail. In dry conditions the leather gasket will shrink. Your food will burn once you get the priming bonfire under control and you will have soot everywhere. I've been around these stoves for 15 years. If you are taking more than extended weekend hikes, take another stove.

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Phoebus(old, heavy, reliable), Primus, Svea

Good white gas stove. It runs relatively quietly and has a good output. The priming can be dirty if you use too much priming fuel. Use the wind screen during priming so you need less time to preheat. Once thr fuel in the line quites sputtering out your about ready to open the valve again. If you open too soon you'll get liquid fuel instead of vapor and the burner will flare up. Low flame is easy to acheive with with lower bottle pressure and a watchfull eye.

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Coleman Xpert, Primus Multifuel

I use these Stoves all summer when im working as a backcountry park ranger with the Nat. Park Service, i've used them hundreds of times and have had very few problems with them, they pack small enough to fit in almost any pot, are easily maintained, and cook evenly. However they dont simmer well, like all MSR's (except the dragonfly), i solve this problem by placing a flat rock between the pan and the pot, also its hard to find something flat enough to set it on, but thats negligable. I liked this stove so much i bought the International 600 for my personnal stove. For the price its a great stove for backpacker that doesnt spend too much time on snow.

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MSR XGK shaker jet expedition, MSR whisperlight internationl 600, several colemans, several military solid fuels stoves.

for the money the stove does not meet expectations for just about the same or a little bit more money you can buy a lot better of a stove
the primeing part of the stove is real lame i think and i wish it had a little better wind screen