Please help me!!! I am in the process of buying a new cooker and i am struggling to whittle it down to one. I have been looking at the MSR Dragonfly or the whisperlite. I want a cooker that i can take anywhere and have varible power output. Your help would be appreciated.
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I would reccomend the primus multifuel over either of those, as it can take most types of liquid fuel (unleaded petrol, diesel and white gas, also known as coleman/msr fuel) and also gas cartridges.
MSR stoves are notorious for poor simmering, they tend to be either on or off. the dragonfly is better than the wisperlite in this regard, but still i would opt for the primus, for its superior simmer and also the extra option of gas cartidges.
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 tosh! balderdash! the whisperlite can both simmer soup and heat rivets!
No, but sherioushly now, the whisperlite indeed has controls that tend toward binary but you can make it work for you once you know its nuances.
Mine's about 8 years old and is still going well so it has longevity. Bought it before dragonfly on market so can't provide a comparison but can assure you if you go for one it's not wasted money.
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 I used a dragonfly cooking for five for a week in Scotland a few years ago and found it a great stove. In fact, on the basis of that trip I bought one of my own.
The simmer feature on the dragonfly works well and if you want to cook things more technical than water is probably useful.
One issue with the Dragonfly is that when it's lit it sounds like Concorde going over esp. on high heat whereas from what I've heard the Whisperlight is quieter.
As I understand it, if you want to change the heat output of the Whisperlight you have to play with the pressure of the fuel which sounds like a bit of a faff to me.
I find the stove + bottle moderately bulky - I plan to buy a small gas stove like a Primus Micron or a Snowpeak Gigapower gas stove for most backpacking and save the Dragonfly for car camping and longer trips.
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msr have released a new pump assembly which has a better control valve, comes with xgk and whisperlite, dragonfly doesnt need it as it already has superb simmer control, primus system i found not quite so good when maintainance was required,
get the new whisperlite pump version its, light, easy for field maintainance, and works in cold temps fine,
p.s. yes i have used all of them (sorry!) and more
theres another guy on here called stoveman, maybe he will pop in, i think hes got more stoves than me
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I also use a Drangonfly and find it to be exceptional. I do agree with Stephen on the fact that if you have it turned up high it resembles a jet engine warming up!
I have cooked alot of things on this stove from full english breakfast to a quick can of soup and this stove is the buisness.
To be balanced in my views i have also heard good things about the Primus as well, but have no experience of using one to comment on.
In my humble opinion go for the Dragonfly...if you are not in any hurry for it try having a look on e-bay. I picked mine up with the fuel bottle for £70 inc postage.Brand new with all accessories and the latest pump on the bottle.
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"No, but sherioushly now, the whisperlite indeed has controls that tend toward binary but you can make it work for you once you know its nuances."
this is true, but i could not in all honesty reccomend this when variable power output has been specifically requested. It is even possible to get the XKG to simmer, but it takes practice and patience.
The dragonfly is a good stove, although not ideal for expedition use as it doesnt cope as well with dirty fuel, therefore it depends a bit what mark really means by 'take anywhere'.
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Ah, but the young man in question was asking specifically about the whisperlight you see.
But please let's not now engage in one of those "my opinion / gear is better than your gear" pissing competitions that marr the forum, eh? I was just passing on my experience with the MSR, and I have none with the Primus. :o)
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 I notice that Richard Gear's answered this as well :-)
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He LIVES?
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He breathes, he meditates, he chants mantras and roasts bunnies over an open fire...
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 I spoke to first ascent who distribute MSR in the UK. They said that the whisperlite is the most tunable and that the new pump / valve combination is best suited to the dragonfly and XGK and didn't actually make that much difference with the whisperlight.
I have a whisperlight which I use for basecamping and also a lightweight gas stove which gets carried in the rucksack on climbs. If something is a bit delicate the gas stove is far better regulated and can be adjusted to simmer easily.
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 " He breathes, he meditates, he chants mantras and roasts bunnies over an open fire... "
...but is he local?
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I have had a Whisperlite for years and it has worked very well, not at all temperamental like the old pre shaker-jet models which I had been using before I bought it. I tend to agree that simmering with it is possible but an artform, I would like to try one of the new pumps.
Rice pudding in a thin titanium pot doesn't work well at all even at its lowest setting, I spent an hour scrubbing carbon off the inside bottom. I should have used the "boil in a bag" technique (see below).
If buying a new stove I would still go for the Whisperlite over XGK/Dragonfly as it is lighter and simpler and the following techniques remove the need to simmer.
To save fuel and avoiding burning the bottom try this method tried & tested on long expeditions; bring food to the boil for a few minutes, take off stove, wrap the pot with lid on in a billy-bag and/or plastic bag, insulate in a fleece and sleeping bag, put someting (e.g. book, folded map, small matt) under it to keep it stable and avoid overheating sleeping bag, wait 20 minutes or cook another component of your meal e.g. curry or pasta sauce. Rice, couscous & pasta, de-hi veg will all keep on cooking as long as they are hot enough, maintaining heat input isn't essential. Your sleeping bag will be warm & toasty too.
Also avoid foods that are fussy and need a long simmer when camping, you don't want to be waiting long anyway.
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 I agree with rory, when camping in the uk most of the things I eat are boil and leave. I have a whisperlite which is fine but heavy for short backpacks, cheap off ebay. I took a dragonfly round the world and found I could by gas most places but petrol was cheaper for long term camping. The Dragonflys simmer ability did come in handy but didn't like some low octane petrols in new zealand and coleman fuel in Canada. I like the idea of MSR's any fuel, field maintability but frequently found myself in a tent, in the cold, trying to dismantle and clean a red hot lump of metal while cooking on a little gas stove from new zealand for £30.
I'd check out the primus and the avalibility of gas in locations yur likely to visit.
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 Trangia !
*runs*
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 I spent ages reading views and reviews and in the end chose a Primus omnifuel for its simmer capability, the fact I can use gas canisters as well as all sorts of liquid fuel from coleman to diesel.
HOWEVER it's durability and flexibility comes at a price. Namely the stove weighs 464g with the pump and a 1/3 l fuel bottle will add another 400 odd grams full, so mebbe a touch too heavy for solo lightweight trips near civilisation. But for go anywhere useability and variable power output, it's up there with the best.
The Whisperlite is lighter weight but the Primus feels like it'll last longer, it has serrated pan supports and just feels tougher.
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David, w.r.t fuel for Whisperlite I use unleaded in the UK, it works OK but fumes are not nice as well as petrol on hands when filling bottle. Occasionally I use the overpriced but cleaner & safer Coleman fuel.
In NZ everyone uses Coleman type fuel in MSR stoves as it is not too expensive and a lot more pleasant to use. It parades under various manufacturers names such as Shellite, Callite, etc.
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I too used coleman fuel in New Zealand and I was ok, however in Canada it smoked and clogged the stove but a cheap $4 bottle of white gas worked fine.
Have recently taken delivery of titanium pans and as James notes above multifuel stoves are heavy. I reckon the pans, stove, and gas for four days weight less than a full 850ml MSR bottle. Will continue to use whisperlite for out the car though
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 Did Mark Edis star in that documentary about the airport?
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