PrimusClassic Trail Backpacking Stove Silver, One Size

I waited until I used the stove before reviewing. I cooked 4 meals on it and found the stove to be trouble-free and easy to use. It heats water to boiling in under 2 minutes. It lights easy (I used a lighter) with a can of Coleman fuel. The stove comes in two parts; the valve and the burner both of which fit in a nice storage bag. The stove is light and compact and easily screws together into a can of fuel; setup is less than a minute. The stove was stable; we cooked on a rock shelf in the Kanab Wilderness Area. I estimate that I used less then 1/2 of a can of fuel; sorry, there is no way of coming up with a better estimate. My friends used different high-end stoves and the Primus was cooking faster and as good (or better) then most of them. My only nit-picky negative is that the fuel inlet valve is hard to regulate due to being new.

That's all I want, to be able to boil water in my steel coffee mug. The Primus seems like a high-quality, well built little stove that packs up small. The flame is of course adjustable so I can fit the fire to the size of my steel mug and boil water quickly while using as little fuel as possible. Primus fuel is very hard to get here in the South (United States), but any propane/butane canister seems to work. I know the instructions warn: USE ONLY PRIMUS FUEL!!!! but they have to say that; their lawyers make them.The Primus lit the first time and every time, from a match. No problems, no sputtering or priming (like with a white gas stove). However, you have to pack the empty canisters out. It is a sin to leave them in the wilderness. Really. I hate seeing canisters in the middle of nowhere.When I backpack, I don't cook meals on the stove, just water that I use to rehydrate soup, hot chocolate, or make coffee or tea. This stove is more than enough for me.

Bought this stove to reduce the weight in my pack from my old Coleman. Just got back from hiking RMNP and this stove worked great. Added bonus which I'm sure Primus doesn't want you to know but it works with all canister type fuels. When I got to Estes and went to the outfitter to get fuel they did not have the Primus in the large canister so I bought the Jet Boil brand and had no issues. By the way the small canister will only get you 2-3 meals tops. With the large canister I made two dinners (10-15 minute burn each) and two breakfast (5-10 minute burn each) and it felt like there was enough for maybe one more breakfast. The small canister boiled a pot of water three times and that was it. All said this stove is a very good buy especially from Amazon. Store prices are at least 50% more. It has a large burner for a good solid support even for a 3-4 QT pot. Burner and valve come apart so it stores well in very small places like with in your pots. Highly recommended from a professional chef. :)

Very nice stove, good design in general and very solid. It is a real torch and I like the broad burner head, very similar to my Coleman Peak II gas stove. You can stortch it up to boil water or turn it down to just a simmer and the broad heat doesn't make a hot spot in the bottom of the pan. There are a few things that reduced it's star count.1) it is pretty heavy for a stove of this type, at 7.5oz it is almost a half pound. This is a result of the traditional super Primus structure, a brass valve and either chromed brass or heavy stainless for the upper part. This will last till your grandkids are old, if propane is still even available then.2) It come in two parts, the burner top and the valve assembly. So they need to be screwed together before attaching to the fuel can and use. A bit of bother and potential to get dirt in the jet. But it makes it fold down small and goes in it's nice mesh bag.3) When you unscrew from the fuel can you need to do so quickly as the fuel will shoot out a bit. The needle that allows the fuel to come on is a bit long so the stove assembly unscrews enough to lose the O-ring seal before the needle has let the fuel turn off. Again, not a big thing but an annoyance and something to be aware of.4) The knob looks to be plastic but perhaps is actually bakalite or some other heat resistant product. There is no warning about not using with a wind screen but if it is plastic and used with a wind screen it could melt the knob. Unknown at this point.UPDATE: After using this a while I've come to really like it for the broad burner and idle capability. HOWEVER... there is a small design flaw that makes the simmer/low burner a bit of a problem. The "volume" control shaft goes through a bushing that retains the shaft and keeps it from coming out. The shaft/bushing fit is very loose, so making any small adjustment makes the flame height jump around a lot. Just touching the knob wiggles the needle valve and flares the flame a lot so getting a low simmer is very hard to do. Just something to be aware of.

When you open the box and hold it in your hand, the quality of the stove is immediately apparent. Solid polished metal, kitchen caliber, but backpack small (with a very nice stuff bag/draw string). The grate/wind screen design built into it is brilliant, and if you look real carefully, you can see the little teeth on the cross bars in the photo. I think we all remember in years past -- doing a balancing act on those old collapsible models -- and trying to keep your dinner from sliding off onto the ground, for the bears to enjoy later. I'm in the process of updating all of my stuff, and this is an awesome acquisition for the price. I also ordered two canisters of Gasone fuel for it (was having a heck of a time locating actual Primus cans). I think the Gasone listing is right on this page. Great seller (through Amazon), boxed well and shipped very fast. The Primus stove threads onto them perfectly. I'm set. And as always, thank you to the folks who posted before me, and had said good things about this one. I can't wait to cook something with it up in the Sierra mountains.