Primus Gravity Gas Stove - First Look

Primus Gravity Gas Stove - First Look

Price: £45.00

Weight: 259 grammes (stove and hose), windshield plus reflector 113 grammes

Features: Low profile quadropod gas burner, integral piezo electric ignition with remote control, gas flow control, uses self-sealing standard threaded gas canisters, includes reflector, windshield and stove bag plus maintenance too.

Stable, easy to use, stable and very stable, plus light and powerful. Nothing really.

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The Concept Everyone and their engineering-trained dog seems to be developing ultra-lightweight gas stoves these days, which is great until you try to boil a two-litre pan of water on a tottering canister-top burner.

Primus' new Gravity stove replaces the established Easyfuel in their line-up and is intended as a light, powerful, easy to use gas burner with maximum stability for alpine or general use when weight isn't the absolute be all and end all.

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Features The low slung burner packs down pretty compactly with four swing-out legs - Primus says that the stove sits 30 per-cent lower than comparable models and it's definitely lower than our old Epigas Alpine.

The cannister sits remotely at the end of a braided steel fuel line, the final portion of which runs through the burner for pre-heating in cold conditions. There's also a built-in piezo electric ignition with the actual control sited away from the burner to avoid digital incineration...

As we've said before, with gas, burner design is crucial and the wide, multi-perforated one on the Gravity promises a nice, broad spread of flame for even heating even with larger pans.

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In Action For a big burner, the Gravity is suprisingly light. OK, so it's three times the weight of, say, a Pocket Rocket, but it's still 130 grammes less than our old Epigas Alpine. Primus has used thing gauge, lightweight materials wherever possible to save weight.

Using it is super simple. Just screw the valve onto the canister, open the knob, click the igniter and bingo, the stove rumbles into life. The burner, by the way, is far from silent and makes a nice roaring noise.

Where the Gravity really scores is with phenomenal stability. On flat ground it really is unshakeable and a big MSR Blacklite pan full of water felt rock solid. Some of that's the low profile, some is the serrated, hard-gripping pan supports, but trust us, if you want stable, then this stove will deliver despite its relative lightness.

Like all gas stoves, it's easy to control heat levels, but the Gravity is also pleasingly powerful. Boil time for a pint of water was three minutes and 20 seconds, that's only 20 seconds faster than a Poclet Rocket, but we suspec tthat the wider flame spread would come into its own with bigger pans.

Unusually for a gas stove, you also get both a big roll-up foil windshield and a heat reflector to sit under the burner. The windshield is in valuable in windy conditions and used with the reflector will up efficiency all round.

Quibbles? None really. The wire for the piezo electric ignitor looks a little thin and vulnerable as it runs along the fuel line, but like the rest of the stove, it's modular and could easily be replaced. That's it really.

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Verdict

If you're cooking for more than one, the extra stability and efficiency of the Gravity outweighs the 170-gramme weight penalty over a typical canister-top micro-burner. This thing really is rock solid even with the biggest pans and you won't miss those suspenseful balancing moments as your brew threatens to abandon stove at the slightest nudge.

Primus has also lightened without weakening and made the stove as easy to use as possible with the igniter giving click and go lightability. And as with all gas stoves, convenience, cleanness and cookability come as standard. Plus if you're prepared to put up with an extra 113 grammes you can benefit from the windshield and heat reflector.

We really were prepared to be underwhelmed by the Gravity, but ended up blown away by it - erm, not literally, obviously, we're very careful with gas... So far it's the best remote burner gas stove we've ever used. We haven't been able to try it in seriously cold conditions, though the pre-heating arrangement looks promising and it's easier to warm a remote canister.

We'll let you know if things go horribly wrong, but so far it's a big thumbs up for the low-down burner...

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Primus web site

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