I'm evaluating the new MSR Whisperlite Univeral, which is set for public release in 2012. The Whisperlite Universal will do anything the old Whisperlite Classic or Whisperlite Internationale will do AND the Universal will burn canister gas. I've only run a few tests as of now, but I like what I've seen so far. I haven't finished my review, but I do have some videos of the new stove posted on my blog: MSR Whisperlite Universal -- First Videos, Detailed Photos

Here is a photo of the W'Lite Universal running on canister gas:


HJ

Thanks for the preview, Jim. I'm thinking I'll pick one of these up when available. One question is how adjustable is the flame with liquid vs gas?

Mark,

With gas, it's as adjustable as any stove I've used. The stove maintains an excellent low simmer. Take a look at the photos toward the end of the slideshow on my blog for simmering photos on gas.

With white gasoline, the flame is more adjustable than either of the Whisperlites currently sold, but it doesn't really simmer.

I haven't tried simmering with kero yet, but I can't imagine that kero will simmer any better than white gasoline.

If you're looking for true simmering, either run the Whisperlite Universal on gas -- or go buy a Dragonfly.

HJ

Thanks again, Jim. I've got a couple of canister stoves and I'm happy with them, and would probably use canisters most of the time with this one. But it would be nice to have the multi-fuel option for emergencies, even if simmering isn't an option.

I have a question regarding gas canister stoves in general. Can they be safely lit with a Spark-Lite?

Jeanette Isabelle

Great review, now if MSR made it out of titanium alloy, was priced below a Primus Omnifuel and had a compatible connection to work with a Primus Pump/Bottle (not the same old plastic MSR one) then I might consider getting one.

How does it compare with the Omnifuel? It certainly seems to be a quieter stove overall.

I like the cleaning cable inside the fuel line, don't think my omnifuel or brunton af even have one.




Sure, done it many times. In face you can light white gas/gasoline/kerosene/alcohol stove with it too.

Define "safely"....

Safely as in "works every time"? Absolutely.

Safely as in "you won't burn yourself (badly)"? Probably, at least not really bad burns. As long as you're quick and nimble, that is. But you'd probably loose some of those ultra-fine hairs on you fingers and hands. Burnt hair smells really bad, but as long as the skin isn't burned it doesn't really qualify, does it?

With practice I'm pretty sure you will learn how to apply the spark-lite so that your fingers really aren't where the flames will be a fraction of a second later

I use a plain old-fashioned fire steel to lit propane/butane stoves. It will throw the spark into the burner head so my hands don't need to go there. A distance of two inches is plenty in this context. It probably isn't as reliable as a spark-a-lite, but is good enough for me.


DISCLAIMER: I use a propane burner (trangia) that fits the classical trangia spirit burner wind shield. That windshield is a very enclosed environment to put my fingers to lit the gas that's flowing out. I'm reluctant to light it with a lighter (I have done so, and will do so if I have to - at the cost of a few microscopic hairs and really bad smell). Tossing a spark in there so my fingers can stay out of the wind screen makes much more sense. Without a windshield things are a bit different because the gas disperses so quickly.

Most canister stoves are designed much more open than my trangia, and without much windscreen to speak of. Which means that the gas will disperse more quickly so that
a) the spark must be placed much more accurately than I have to with my trangia setup
b) the open design means you can place your fingers UNDER where the flame will be.

Yes, they can. I typically hold my Soto torch lighter out to the side and down a bit, the design of the stove permitting, so as to be able to get my hand clear fairly quickly.

HJ

Whisperlite Universal, 258g, MSRP: $139.95
Primus Omnifuel, 339g, MSRP: $159.95

Those weights are without pump. I haven't weighed the pumps lately, but if memory serves me correctly, the MSR pump is lighter than the Omnifuel pump.

Speaking of pumps, yes the MSR pump isn't as nice as the Omnifuel's pump, but have you checked out the pump MSR introduced maybe 3 or so years ago? It's a real step up from their previous two generations (gray & black, gray & red). This new pump, the Duraseal pump, is the best pump since their yellow and black pumps.

The Whisperlite Universal is definitely quieter.

I'd say the Whisperlite Universal is the lighter, less expensive, and quieter "little brother" of the Omnifuel. I took the W'lite Universal out on the trail today. It performed very well in field conditions.

HJ

The advantage of the Omnifuel is that it has a valve at the burner which allows for simmering. The advantage of the Whisperlite is that it's less expensive, quieter, and lighter.

I haven't spent a lot of time scouring the lines of any of my MSR stoves, but I usually do a flip stop which purges the line. See the fourth video down on my blog for a demonstration of the flip stop. If you've got an Omnifuel, I imagine that you already know what I'm talking about.

HJ

Yes I know about the flip stop, but it's still nice to have that cable I imagine. If either of mine somehow plugged up at the line, I'd have no way to clean it (it doesn't unscrew either). I'll probably never need it, but I'm one of those rather have it than not person.

Makes sense, and I know guys who have absolutely had to use the scouring cable.

HJ

I took the MSR Whisperlite Universal out to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River today for some field trials. The more I use it, the more I like it.



HJ

Can you use the butane/propane gas cartridge adapter that is supplied with the Whisperlite Universal with the Primus Omnifuel Pump?

Yes. Or, well, I'm pretty sure anyway. I haven't tried it. Maybe tonight I'll give it a go.

HJ

Is there an included stand that will allow you to invert the canisters for liquid feed? (Im guessing no from what I see in the picture)

Stand? What Stand? We don' need no stinking stand?....

Seriously, just turn it over and go. If necessary, prop it with a rock or something..

There is an included stand in all of the official documentation I've seen from MSR. However, when MSR sent me a copy of the stove for the purposes of my doing a review, the stand was missing.

So, I can't comment from first hand experience about the stand, but it definitely will be part of the package when the stove becomes available to the public.

HJ

Yeah, pretty much.

Some of us have been using MSR stoves with the canister upside down (for cold weather) for some time. It's sort of the undocumented feature (and a very nice feature indeed) of MSR gas stoves. People "in the know" were aware of the capability, but the general public was not. The standard practice was to just flip the darn canister over and go. The old Rapidfire had kind of a stiff coupler that would hold the canister upside down, no problem, and was great for inverted canister use. The newer Windpro was a little trickier, especially with larger canisters, but like Hikemor says, just use a rock or something to lean the canister against.

I can't for the life of me understand why MSR hasn't heretofore publicized the ability of their Windpro (and now Whisperlite Universal) to run with the canister upside down. Running upside down allows one to run down to about 0F/-18C on gas. That's so much better than struggling along with an upright canister stove that can only go down to about 20F/-7C over the life of the entire canister (yes, you can go lower with a fresh canister). I would have thought that MSR would have marketed the heck out of a capability like that, but perhaps they were worried about liability?

HJ

Speaking of not having a stand available, here's a video doing without just fine:


HJ

Perhaps when your upright canister stove isn't running so hot, it is a sign from on high that it is time to emulate the loons and snow geese and head south for the winter...

Inverting the canister disrupts the Natural Order of Things and leads to global warming, hurricanes, and corn blight.

No wonder MSR keeps mum....

Something you've obviously taken to heart. lol

HJ

After thinking I was satisfied with my setup, you've got me considering my first cannister capable stove. Had no idea you could invert it like that. Dammit Jim, stop writing such good reviews!

With a remote inverted canister stove, you've got all the convenience of gas with (nearly) the cold weather performance of liquid fuel. Inverted remote canister stoves are a really nice way to go.

The other, less obvious, advantage is in really bad conditions. Say it's 18F outside and storming. You're going to go outside and cook? Really? Maybe, just maybe, it would actually be safer to cook in your tent/shelter than to risk getting bone chillingly cold? OK, great, let's cook inside, but are you really going to prime a white gasoline stove inside your tent? Uh, sure hope you don't screw up while you're priming the stove. With a gas stove, there's no priming. It's just "click, click, whoosh" ("click" being the sound of your lighter).

Eye R verry soorrie. I wil endever too rite bad frum now ohn.

HJ

Did some tests on kerosene tonight. Ran well although it didn't even come close to simmering on kerosene (not that I expected it to).



HJ

Jim, do you know if its possible to use a kerosene alternative like KleanHeat in stoves like this? It's marketed as a cleaner burning alternative for use in kerosene heaters and oil lamps. Just curious.

Yes, Klean Heat works just fine. I haven't done a side by side comparison running on Klean Heat vs. K-1 grade (stove grade) kerosene, but whenever I've run with Klean Heat (on any stove designed for kero), it's worked well. In the photo you see, I'm actually running on Klean Heat (which is a form of kero; don't buy that hogwash that it's a kero "substitute").

HJ

Here's a fun photo: Me testing the Whisperlite Universal last night. I'm wearing the headlamp.



HJ

Excellent. Thanks Jim.

Actually, the Whisperlite Universal (WLU) has everything you've listed (except the titanium). It's lighter, quieter, cheaper, and it does indeed work with an Omnifuel pump. In fact, it should work with any fuel pump with a male 7/16" UNEF threaded connector (the type found on standard threaded canisters such as those from MSR, Primus, Jetboil, etc.)

I took out my Omnifuel and the WLU earlier this evening. I pulled the pump from the Omni, hooked it up to the canister attachment of the WLU, and off I went. I actually got the best simmer (using white gasoline) on this arrangement that I've seen on any Whisperlite since the shaker jet was introduced. For whatever reason, the pre-shaker jet Whisperlite was a better simmering stove, but the WLU comes darned close. Running the WLU on liquid fuel with the MSR canister adapter was really sweet. The MSR canister adapter turns very smoothly. I could pretty easily dial in that flame, within the limits of the stove. On kerosene, the stove doesn't simmer worth beans.

Definitely quieter. A lot quieter.

Photos to follow,

HJ

Thanks for the review once again. How does the Whisperlite Universal compare for noise volume if using an Omnidawg cap? Do you also know the BTU rating for both i.e. the Whisperlite Universal versus the Omnifuel + Omnidawg. I'm still trying to convince myself the extra weight penalty of the Omnifuel + Omnidawg setup is still worthwhile when used for white gas (coleman fuel) operation at very low temperatures for melting snow and ice with an Etapower pot

The Whisperlite Universal looks to be a very nice all round compromise though for performance, weight, use of various fuels etc i.e. A great all rounder. A titanium version sold on its own allowing the customer to choose the external pump/fuel bottle setup of their choice (if they decide cartridge gas doesn't cut the mustard for low temperature operation or expedition unavailability as a later date purchase), I'm sure would be a popular addition to the MSR line up.

If you've got an OmniDawg cap and a Primus Omnifuel, stick with that combination. As much as I think MSR has done a super job with the new WLU, the Omnifuel is still the better stove, and with an OmniDawg it is as quiet or quieter than a Whisperlite. There are however drawbacks to the OmniDawg, not with the product itself (hardly!), but rather with cost and availability. OmniDawg's are made by hand by one individual in his non-commercial shop when he has time, and they can cost double the price of the stove or more. People who have seen one of the "Dawg" line of caps go nuts for the amazing craftsmanship, and they really reduce the volume of sound, but that (plus limited availability) drive the price up. I have an acquaintance who is a machinist, and his jaw dropped in amazement when I showed him a DragonTamer (the DragonTamer is to the MSR DragonFly what the OmniDawg is to the Primus Omnifuel).

HJ

I don't think anyone knows either BTU rating. The Omnifuel + OmniDawg cap is a custom modification. I've talked to several people whose opinion I respect who are fellow stove collectors. The consensus is that the OmniDawg does increase the output of the Omnifuel, but by how much is anyone's guess.

Probably MSR has a BTU rating for the Whisperlite, but I'm not privy to that information.

If I had to guess, I'd guess that a WLU puts out about 11,000 BTU, and that an Omnifuel with an OmniDawg puts out about 12,000 BTU. That is just a (somewhat) educated guess.

HJ

That's sort of my take on the stove. If one is a "I just need to melt snow and boil water" hard-core mountaineer, the XGK with its battle-tested hardiness will still be a good choice, but for many the versatility, price, and features of the WLU will make the new Whisperlite a popular choice.

I ran more tests yesterday morning. I have to say that the new Whisperlite, the WLU, is the best valve-at-the-fuel-bottle simmering stove that I've seen from MSR. No, it doesn't simmer like a valve-at-the-burner-stove such as an Omnifuel or a Dragonfly, but the WLU has a pretty controllable flame for what it is and is much improved when compared to the current Whisperlite Classic and Whisperlite Internationale.

HJ

And, as promised, photos of an MSR stove (WLU) running with an Omnifuel pump.

All hooked up.


All fired up.


Just about tea time.


It's tea time, baby!


Breakfast is served!


Now, you must excuse me. I'm really quite hungry.


HJ