Camp Stove Comparison The following article is a reprint of an article submitted to us. We switch articles quite often so you can check back often and always have something new. MSR WHISPERLIGHT COLEMAN BACKPACK STOVE MINI TRANGIA STRATUS TRAILSTOVE SIERRA ZIP STOVE FUEL GAS GAS ALCOHOL WOOD WOOD WEIGHT WITHOUT FUEL 0.69 lbs (0.31 kg) 2 lbs (0.9 kg) 0.73 lbs (0.33 kg) 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg) 1.0 lbs (0.45 kg) WEIGHT WITH 2 DAYS FUEL 1.08 lbs (0.49 kg) 2.2 lbs (1.0 kg) 1.35 lbs ( 0.62 kg) 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)  1.11 lbs (0.51 kg) WEIGHT WITH 1 WEEK FUEL 1.49 lbs (0.68 kg) 2.58 lbs (1.17 kg) 2.93 lbs (1.33 kg) 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)  1.39 lbs (0.63 kg) PACK VOLUME (WITH FUEL) 118 cubic inches 150 cubic inches 109 cubic inches 157 cubic inches 142 cubic inches TIME TO BOIL 1 QT OF WATER 3.9 min 3.7 min 20 min 9 - 11 min (depending on type and dryness of wood) 4.0 min RELIABILITY GOOD GOOD EXCELLENT EXCELLENT POOR PRICE $ 59.95 $29.99 $ 32.95 $ 19.95 $52.00 OTHER NOTES - This camp stove is included as a comparison since it's been the top selling camp stove for many years.  - This camp stove is included to represent the low cost alternatives for pricier gas stoves. - Similar to the more expensive gas camp stoves in performance and reliability but heavier and cheaper. - The Trangia camp stoves are available in a variety of sizes, the one featured here is a "lone backpacker" model. - Notoriously slow but very reliable and simple in design. - Requires a quite large amount of alcohol, this brings the pack weight up significantly. - No moving parts, nothing that can break on this camp stove. - You can make a camp stove like this yourself with empty beer cans but the efficiency will probably be lower requiring more fuel and thereby raise your pack weight a bit - Can be a bit hard to get started sometimes but once it's lit it keeps burning no matter what until the fuel is out. - The trailstove is the simplest camp stove available. - There's fire and flames involved while you use the trailstove so it does require a bit more caution. - Just like the Trangia stoves the trailstove has no moving parts and nothing that can break. - The trailstove burns wood gathered on site and is started using starter material also gathered on site so the pack weight stays the same no matter how long the trip is. - You can make a camp stove like this yourself but the retail price for the materials alone run about $20 (most of it for the stainless steel) so you might as well buy one. - Can not be used if there's no wood available, but it does come with an optional alcohol burner if you go above the tree line. - Especially good in the winter when you need a camp stove to melt water. -This camp stove burns wood that you gather on site but it does require starter material, the manufacturer suggests "zip fire sticks"or cotton balls dipped in vaseline, the weight of this must be included in the pack weight. - This camp stove is also available in Titanium for $125, weighs 0.375 lbs less than steel version. This brings the total pack weight for one week of backpacking down to 1.015 lbs (0.46 kg) for the titanium version. - This camp stove has an electric fan powered by batteries, this makes it very unreliable and unsuitable for long trips where reliability is a must, only use this camp stove if you are going where you know there will be other hikers to help you out in case of equipment breakdown. COMPANY URL www.msrcorp.com www.coleman.com www.trangia.se www.trailstove.com www.zipstove.com TEST SUMMARY Good camp stove As good a camp stove as the MSR just weighs a bit more. Very reliable and dependable camp stove but requires a very large amount of fuel The trailstove is the perfect camp stove for most backpackers. The trailstove is a much better camp stove than this one if you're looking for a wood stove.