After using MSR Whisperlite for nearly a decade it started to fail me just to start working again. When I thought I figured out all the quirks it failed me on a long hike in Patagonia. I ended buying a canister stove as my primary stove with hope of adding multi fuel liquid gas stove in the future just in case I get back into the clouds. Having used canister stove during few kayaking trips and on the cross country trip I realized that them canisters are not cheap and I’m going thru them like hot cakes. Sometimes as much as 1.5 canisters a day for 3 meals and that adds up to a lot of cash. So I ended picking up XGK EX expedition stove from MSR. Out of the box cooked a liter of water in 3 min with jet like flame.

Few pros of the stove:
-burns almost any liquid fuel and self cleans
-boils water super fast
-easy to use
-field maintenance is easy
-build like a tank
-will work anywhere
-small in comparison to other stoves of similar design

Things not so good:
-cost of having a jet flame is a sound of a jet… stuff is so loud that my big bro who never in the last ten years woke up to join me for bfast rolled out of tent to see what’s cooking…
-even thou it is build like a tank and parts are easy to maintain certain things if disassembled will be hard to put back together. Sould for example pins that hold stove together nedd be replaced; it can be done with a piece of wire and stove will still be 100% functional but it will be hard to get a similar/original pin back in place
-no flame control… not a big whoop but still a minor problem. I was able to cook meals on it but if you just want to simmer something than you are out of luck. It takes a bit of practice to figure how to cook on it but I managed. You just have to be more attentive to your food.
- hotter flame = bigger fuel consumption but still $6 can of white gas will last me for 7-8 trips cooking 3 meals on average per trip which would be at least $50 in gas canisters…

In conclusion if you want something that can boil water, melt snow, make sounds/look like jet engine than this stove is for ya. Not for people who try to shave off ounces of their loads or people who do fancy cooking. Makes it for a perfect survival stove due to multi fuel compability.

Wel for the flame control. You can get a simmerplate for a low flame mode.

Mine problem with MSR stoves, are the pumps. I'm not formiliar with the latest models, but the plastic pumps i have used where kind of flimsy and the little lugs tend to brake of with use.

If you going to use cannisters again, consider those little adapters to convert cheap valveless (or whatever they are called) to cannisters with valve. The valveless tanks are only one quid at the hardware store.

Coleman White gas is expensive here in the UK, typically 500ml of fuel costs around £6. A 440gram Butane/Propane cannister costs £5, so it works out actually cheaper to use the gas canisters.

I have a Primus Himalaya Omnifuel stove but usually I just end up using the cheapest butane cartridges with it, using a gasmate G4210 adapter (works out at around £3.30 for 2 x 220 gram cartridges)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdja7UCIt0Y

I don't particularly like White Gas as a fuel anyway. I find it is difficult to store, cannot really be used indoors or inside a tent and the priming process to get the stove going requires practice and consumes fuel needlessly unlike the gas canister. Gas burns cleanly, efficiently, relatively quietly (except when used with the Primus Omnifuel), has the ability to simmer, is faster to get setup and does not spill to spoil your food when carrying it in your pack.

Although most of these types of multi-fuel stoves manufacturers says that other fuels such as petrol of diesel can be burned, anyone who attempted to use these fuels, is in danger of a nasty accident with the fumes produced being extremely toxic. White Gas is bad enough and parrafin is difficult to get to work and requires a longer priming process.

But of course, in extremely cold weather i.e colder than -10C and in countries where gas canisters are difficult to obtain then the multifuel stove has no alternative and the MSR XGK EX rightly deserves its reputation as a no nonsense very reliable expedition grade stove.

Sounds like MSR just commercialized an energy can stove, like the White Box Stove, but allows for varied fuels and not just denatured alcohol.

I'm using a jetboil and want to try the Sierra stove.