MSR Multi Fuel Backpacker Stove

I used to backpack a lot and after much research bought a Mountain Safety Research backpacking stove at a mountaineering store. I have had it for more than twenty years now.

When I started flying cross country trips in small planes I got in the habit of taking it as part of my survival kit as well as to use for airplane camping at small airports or remote airstrips. I also carry it in the car with my gear when I am traveling. Even if I don't plan to camp I generally carry a pretty complete kit.

Doug's advice has been invaluable over the years in encouraging me to be thoughtful about taking along appropriate gear. So now I guess I'll have to buy a PLB! I have been considering it since the ELT in the aircraft is so minimal, and doesn't help me when I am hiking or in the car.

I strongly recommend the MSR stove. It is very compact but puts out a lot of heat. It can boil a quart of water in a fraction of the time needed by most other backpack stoves. It has a built in flint striker used to light it. The kit includes an alternate orifice so it can burn all liquid fuels, including leaded gasoline. The kit also includes an orifice cleaning wire, a wrench, a small plastic bottle to use for priming fuel to help start the stove in extreme cold, and a small pot that houses the stove when not in use.

When camping I also usually take along a larger camp pot with lid, packed with a bunch of my gear.

The stove does not have a fuel tank. Instead it has a pump unit that replaces the screw cap of a standard backpacker's one pint fuel bottle. A bottle is included and the stove instructions are printed on the bottle. This makes the stove very stable because instead of being tall the burner sits on the ground or table and a tube goes over to the pump and tank, which is oriented horizontally.

I thought about how the family used the car engine to stay warm. That burns a lot of fuel and they eventually ran out of gas.

The backpack stove, with proper ventilation, would have kept the car warm far longer on a tank of fuel. It is not recommended to use a stove in a tent or enclosed space, but in an emergency one could do so with caution.

Thus another item to bring on trips would be a small siphon tube capable of reaching into the fuel tank. It would have to be small because many tanks have baffles in the filler tube to foil the larger siphon tubes.

The stove can also be used to melt snow for drinking water if no water is nearby. The instructions note that one bottle of fuel will melt enough snow to make 24 quarts of water, and will also bring to a boil 24 quarts of cold water.

Rol