MSR WhisperLite Stove

A Stove For Every Season

The MSR WhisperLite is a backcountry powerhouse! It is one of the best stoves I've ever used. I work in outdoor ed, and I find these stoves, which are small, light, and durable, to be an excellent tool for teaching wilderness cooking. They are extremely sturdy, and are unlikely to tip-unlike the majority of canister stoves on the market today-making them a safe choice for beginners. They are easy to use, and fairly intuitive, which is beneficial when working with students. While they don't ha...ve the sophisticated temperature control of the Dragonfly stoves, the WhisperLite can be coaxed into a simmer. Most importantly, the WhisperLite is incredibly easy to repair and maintain, both in and out of the field. The ability to disassemble the stove completely for cleaning is invaluable. Additionally, the WhisperLite does not require any particular specialty tools to maintain. For field repairs, a multitool is usually sufficient, but the inexpensive MSR service kit contains everything one needs to keep the stove cooking. On the other hand, the common failure for WhisperLites is in the o-rings-on the fuel bottle or on the fuel pump. To get more o-rings, one is obligated to buy another service kit, or contact MSR directly to buy bulk o-rings. The MSR crew is quick, friendly, and responsive, but it would be nice to be able to purchase bulk o-rings on the website. While the WhisperLite does perform fantastically in cold weather, continual use in desert environments causes the plastic of the fuel pump and the rubber of the o-rings to become brittle. This leads to the final death of the fuel pump, due to cracked plastic or melting. The only solution is to buy a new fuel pump. As a logistics coordinator for an outdoor education company, I find the WhisperLite to be an affordable and efficient solution to feeding students in the backcountry. It is safe, compact, and fuel efficient, and I recommend it to anyone looking to buy a quality backpacking stove.

22 years on and still cooking

For years I used canister stoves, dating back to Camping Gaz, back in the late 70's. I received from a friend my WhisperLite as a wedding present back in 1994 and was pleased to discover the cold-weather advantages to a white gas system. I have not purchased a stove since- this reliable workhorse has joined me on every backpacking, skiing, and mountaineering trip to date. The WhisperLite has served meals on trails all over the North West, with temperatures as low as -20 degrees and elevations... as high as 12,000 ft. It has provided meals for my sons when they went on their first camping trip, first backpacking trip, and now it warms our meals on on ski camps in the Idaho backcountry. All parts are original and like their owner they do show wear, but the performance of the stove has not diminished. It requires periodic maintenance, but it is so easy to clean and to re-assemble. I have no other item in my gear box that has lasted as long and performed as well as the WhisperLite. Still happily married and still using the same stove. 22 years of performance is reason enough to buy MSR.