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AND THE WINNER IS...
Optimus Crux $70
This cooker's moma-worthy design rules the canister-stove kitchen.
Why It's Cool: The Crux unfolds from a flat, sleek package into a high-output stove. Simply rotate the burner head upright on its ball-and-socket joint, allow the spring-loaded retaining collar to lock into place, and unfold the flame-adjustment lever. >> Once collapsed, the 3.1-ounce Crux slips neatly into a change-purse-size neoprene pouch, which in turn nestles perfectly into the concavity found under all isobutane canisters. >> The positive "snap" of flame adjuster and burner head engaging—not to mention the flawless polish of the whole package—reveals master-craftsman-level machining. >> It cooks as good as it looks. That expansive burner boils in a flash, and the flame adjuster is smooth and consistent, down to the slightest simmer. Burns: Isobutane canister.
Hmmm... Ball-and-socket joints in general have some inherent play, and the Crux's imparts a worrying wobble to larger pots on the boil.
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Markill Dragon $33
As the name implies, this stove is a fire-breathing beast.
Why It's Cool: Cooking with the Dragon makes you feel right at home: The vast burner head evokes a gas-powered rangetop, with all the attendant power and precision to boil or simmer. >> Sturdy, simple pot supports fold out to a condor-like span for the ne plus ultra in stability. >> Nothing but the stiffest gale will defeat the Dragon's built-in windscreen. >> The piezoelectric starter fired the gas every time, even after I zipped the button as many times as I could in a minute. >> The Dragon is one tough beast. I kicked, threw, and dropped this stove and barely dented its rugged composure. Burns: Isobutane canister.
Hmmm... Think George Foreman, not Sugar Ray Leonard. At 11 ounces, the Dragon is a heavyweight. >> The flame-adjuster knob, while easy to grasp, is a bit stubby if you're wearing heavy gloves. |
Coleman F1 UltraLight $40
Sleek and light, this is definitely not your father's Coleman stove.
Why It's Cool: Light is right. The sub-three-ounce UltraLight weighs less than a sleeve of saltines—and less than most any other stove on the market. >> Sturdy pot supports rotate around the burner and lock in place with a collar on the stove's base. >> Despite its somewhat skimpy-looking burner area, the F1 boiled a liter of water in about four minutes. >> Even fully unfolded, it's only about the size of a softball. With the pot supports stowed, it shrinks to just bigger than a baseball, and with the burner-head/pot-support unit detached, you're left with two golf-ball-size components. Burns: Isobutane canister.
Hmmm... The flame adjuster is just plain wimpy. Not only is it too small to manipulate easily with a pot on the stove, it doesn't click into place, so it wobbles as you try to tweak the temperature of your dinner. >> The plastic collar that helps anchor the pot supports and the plastic body of the flame adjuster do not inspire confidence in the stove's long-term durability. |
Primus Micron $45
Primus's latest entrant into the miniature-stove fray is its best ever.
Why It's Cool: True to its name, the Micron is diminutive, on par with a Clif Bar, and gossamer-light, a tad over three ounces. >> Despite its spotlight-style burner head, this stove has a remarkably precise simmering ability. And that tiny head throws a blowtorch-hot flame, boiling in just over three and a half minutes. >> Innovative pot supports unfold like bird wings, then rotate into retaining clips—where they stayed firmly put, no matter how hard I tried to unseat them by banging on them with a pot as I cooked. >> The equally clever piezoelectric igniter is activated by a pull lever, rather than the traditional push button, yielding a cleaner profile. Burns: Isobutane canister.
Hmmm... The igniter is inconsistent: Sometimes it would fire up the flame on the first try, but other times it took a half-dozen pulls on the lever. |
Snow Peak GigaPower BF $80
Thanks to rock-solid stability, this cooker won't dump your dinner.
Why It's Cool: Since the pot supports also act as the stove's base—and lock into place—they afford excellent stability for the whole shebang. >> The remote-canister design (a flexible steel-mesh fuel line runs from canister to burner) increases the BF's already excellent stability by an order of magnitude. >> The low-profile windscreen, integrated into the burner head, does a remarkable job. >> Thanks to the buttery-smooth action of its flame adjuster, the BF's output is predictable and consistent. Burns: Isobutane canister.
Hmmm... While it simmers wonderfully, the BF is slow to boil. >> The pot/stove supports do a fine job, but they're quite difficult to get into place. >> At nearly 11 ounces, it weighs more than some liquid-fuel stoves. |
MSR SimmerLite $90
The lightest liquid-fuel stove MSR has ever built easily keeps pace with—and even surpasses—the performance of the company's classic WhisperLite.
Why It's Cool: The burner head is huge and fuel feed is excellent. >> True to its name, the SimmerLite simmers remarkably well—especially given that it has only one valve. >> At just over eight ounces, it weighs less than some canister stoves. >> Its simple supports rotate around the large burner head and provide exceptional stability. Even when I had to vigorously pressurize the fuel bottle while cooking, the stove moved nary a muscle. >> Priming puts fuel directly into the burner head, so you need less fuel—and less time to heat the generator. Burns: White gas.
Hmmm... The only way to release the pressure in the SimmerLite's fuel bottle is to unscrew the pump, which tends to spew gas everywhere. >> Having to buy a bottle is insulting: For 90 bucks, this stove should include one. |
Optimus Nova $139
Last year's Gear of the Year winner will take any abuse you dish out and still reward you with a great meal.
Why It's Cool: Whether you need to boil potatoes or nurture hollandaise, the Nova delivers—and it simmers better than most canister stoves, thanks to a precise flame adjuster. >> Folded up, it's the most compact of the liquid-fuel stoves on the market, the size of an apple. Unfolded, it will keep even a multiquart spaghetti pot stable. Simply flipping the fuel bottle over while the stove is running will bleed pressure from the bottle, which eliminates my pet peeve with liquid-fuel stoves: getting doused with gas because the only way to depressurize is to unscrew the fuel pump. >> The Nova comes with a fuel bottle, maintenance tools, and a clever padded carrying case to keep everything tidy. >> Unclogging the fuel jet is a snap: A magnet on one of the provided tools propels a needle in the stove into the jet's aperture. Burns: White gas, kerosene, jet fuel, unleaded gas, diesel, rapeseed fuel.
Hmmm... The price is steep, to say the least.
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