Canister vs Liquid Fuel

I end up with my dragonfly 90% of the time. Really prefer liquid fuel. Reusable, and cheap fuel, good cold weather performance, the ability to put out some serious heat to boil water or melt snow, as well as simmer control to cook just about anything you want. Thing is bullet proof as well as rebuildable.

Love my dragonfly, the thing boils quick, and Iv cooked just about everything on it.

Only thing I don't like about it is that it sounds like a freakin rocket ship when going full blast

Bringin back an oldish one, this is something i had debated on a while back and im back at it again....

I run the canisters now but my biggest complaint is when i leave on a hunt i take a new canister since the last thing i want to do is run out. I have probably 5 canisters of unknown burn times sitting around. I started spending just a little more for a canister that would tell you how full it is when hot water was poured over it but the fuel style would be a bit of step in the right direction in this instance.


Im looking at the omni just since ive heard MSR is a little less than hunter friendly

I'm in for an omnilite ti to try this fall. I'm like most in that I've got a partial canister and a full because I'm not sure what I have left in the can. I can open the bottle and top it off before I head out and know for sure.

I have a Primus ETA Spider which I love. The ideal scenario is that I’d be able to find the multi-fuel kit so I can either run it canister or liquid fuel based on the scenario.

I guess the first question – anyone have any experience with the multi-fuel kit and how it works, and more importantly where I could get one? If that doesn’t work, does anyone know if the Omnilite TI would work with the Wind Blocker base that comes with the ETA Spider? Pretty sure the ETA pots would be no issue, but I do like the base…

Thanks!

amp713 said:

Bringin back an oldish one, this is something i had debated on a while back and im back at it again....

I run the canisters now but my biggest complaint is when i leave on a hunt i take a new canister since the last thing i want to do is run out. I have probably 5 canisters of unknown burn times sitting around. I started spending just a little more for a canister that would tell you how full it is when hot water was poured over it but the fuel style would be a bit of step in the right direction in this instance.


Im looking at the omni just since ive heard MSR is a little less than hunter friendly

Click to expand...

Dude, a sharpie and a scale (you do own a scale?) makes this a simple affair. You can also use the same to calculate your average fuel consumption for your average meal/boil and do the math to calculate what you'll need for your trip.

I dont have a scale actually but its not even a matter of if it will make it or not for what i have planned... I dont want to run out in any situation, I could go out and be caught in a blizzard, find someone freezing, get hurt and rely on that stvoe for a lot of things to survive, maybe just have an extended stay or maybe get caught in horrible storm and need to dry out and use it as a fire starter. Id rather go in a little heavy on fuel, but being able to just top it off versus buying new would be a big bonus.

The ones i have that are half filled i plan to give to a buddy or my gf to use up and then ill still have another stove just in case.

I guess I will be the one with the answer that does no good....but I have, and love both.
MSR dragonfly and MSR micro rocket.
For me the decision is based purely upon the situation. Cooking for more than 1 or 2? probably go with the dragonfly... a little more complex cooking of my dehydrated meals that might require some simmering, or cooking up some fresh fish? dragonfly. super cold winter trip? dragonfly
going by myself and just want to do quick boil and freezer bag cooking meals/oatmeals/coffee? microrocket
keeping track of the fuel canister levels is kind of a pain as compared to having the bottle you can open up and look into and refill, but I am a self prescribed gear junkie and love having a 14 oz stove and a 2.6 oz stove. I also keep the lower level canisters around for winter day hikes to boil up some water for hot chocolate or coffee just for fun...and if it runs out mid boil not the end of the world.
on my upcoming trip to patagonia I will probably take the dragonfly so i KNOW i can fill it up with some sort of fuel and not worry about canisters.

I have a reactor and a dragonfly, both have been good to me but have only been using the reactor for about a year. The dragonfly I used for about 6 years now and I used it alot with our baby. Any time we went away from home and not in reach of a stove I warmed food and formula for our son with it. I am on the road alot and do lots of roadside cooking as well because i am cheap and enjoy cooking for some reason. The dragonfly took everything thing including a big bottle of kerosene that I bought on accident like a champ. I am selling it right now and trying an omnilite ti just to try something new. I like the idea of a less plastic pump and maybe folding up a bit smaller. The dragonfly never failed me and was great at simmering. The reactor works great as well it just can't simmer which is a bummer for me. I found a good use for the leftover canisters from fall hunting by buying the reactor french press and always having a cup of great coffee on the road when i have a craving. It uses up the canisters I have laying around and then I don't feel guilty about always bringing full ones up the mountain. It seems that new canister designs like the reactor work better at high elevation than more simple designs that do not have regulators on them. I can't speak to this from experience but others could give their reactions to the new canister designs. Inverted canisters help quite a bit as well. Currently I am trying to just cook on my wood burning kifaru stove and leaving the dedicated stoves at home. Nothing gets water boiling faster than that reactor though. Its good to have it when i want to eat NOW

For a basic weekend hunt or excursion, I'll go canister for simplicity (pocket rocket). One small canister is all I need. For multi day camping trips or longer I'll use the dual fuel. A few times I found it difficult to find white gas or camp fuel...and these were places where you would expect to find it. The dual fuel and use of gasoline saved my butt.

I just received my new Omnilite Ti and although I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet it's very nicely made. The one thing I found odd was the included bag for the kit. It weighs 7.2 oz on my scale which I thought was totally ridiculous for an ultralight piece of gear. The stove does fit in my old tall style 1.2L eta pot so that works out well. I need to get everything out and burn in the new wifi stove in , light off the Omnilite Ti , and put the reflective cord on my Sawtooth. Dark green guy out lines were not the best idea I've ever had .

I've been looking/deciding on a new packable stove too. Lots of good info here.

My current stove is a Coleman single-burner tank-top propane model. Bought it 20 years ago, says "ultralight" on the box....lol.

Anyhoo, today I ordered up a Primus Omnilite Ti.

I decided on a liquid fuel since the canister type seem to get iffy reviews in sub-freezing weather. I was close to going with the MSR Whisperlite Universal, but the reviews on the plastic pump, and flame control kind of put me off.


Shane