Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Need a stove that will simmer/fry

Looking for an option that will work with a small frying pan. I've got a jetboil and considered just getting their fry pan, but don't know if it'll cut the mustard. I have the larger pot, it did OK (rice, soup) but really had to watch the hot spot.

Suggestions??

Go to Adventures in Stoving, its a blog for stove nuts run by the head stove nut himself.

I suppose it depends on how much you want to spend and what hastle free factor you want.

I have the Whisperlite Universal and it has really good flame control in both canister and white gas mode.

I was looking at a Trangia set, which is the windscreens, pots, pan and alcohol burner with a movable lid that allows simmer control. Both my cousins have one and they love theirs. This set will come down to just how much "cooking" you want to do up from just boiling water.

The MSR Dragonfly is and improved version of the Whisperlite with an extra valve to make it really good at simmering.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___87730

KC

Primus Omnifuel.

I've had a Trangia for about 20 years and it works great for anything from simmering to frying to boiling water. The teflon coated frypan works really well. That said I don't use it much now since I've mostly switched over to freeze dried foods; not enough time to cook real meals with our style of hunting...

The negatives of the Trangia are it's heavier, larger, and alcohol doesn't put out as much BTUs as other fuels, so you have to take more fuel. The positives are the simmer to fry capability and it's bomb proof since there's no moving/mechanical parts or seals to fail. You can mitigate the larger size a bit by packing extra items inside the unit.

What elkhunter 241 said above. Hikin Jim is the resident stove nut around here and focuses a LOT on the ability of stoves to simmer. Check out his site:
http://www.adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/

Pretty good site. I've got an idea to try on the jetboil, then might give the whisperlite a whirl....

The new Jetboil Sol can simmer, but it's a little tricky. The older Jetboils were easier to simmer on. The new Jetboil Zip should simmer pretty well based on it's valve type.

The 2012 version of the Whisperlite Internationale (stamped metal legs) and the Whisperlite Universal simmer pretty well. The classic Whisperlite (white gas only) struggles to simmer. Older versions of the Whisperlite Internationale (wire legs) also struggle in the simmering department.

HJ

Ended up with the Dragonfly and I gotta say it's pretty sweet. I coupled it with a Ti 1400 pot and it seems it'll be the cats azz. Stove, pot, windscreen, and bag weigh around 23oz. Jetboil is 22oz. for comparison. I removed the press washers that hold the burner inside the "legs" so it can be disassembled and everything fits nicely in the Ti pot with room to spare for small accessories. I wanted a small fry pan and the lid looks to fit the bill. Littlest monkey was up at the crack of dawn this morning, so she and I "camped" in the garage and made pancakes on it (trying to keep the house quiet so Momma and sister could catch some Z's). Anyway, heat regulation is great with this thing, no burns or scorching. Pan handle stayed nice and cool. Not necessarily a "minimalist" piece of equipment, but I'm liking it....

For comparison....

MSR Windpro. The new one that allows you to invert the cannister. The Windpro actually works in the wind (whoddathunkit) and has a potstand about twice the size of the Jetboil.

Good to hear, I just picked up a new MSR Windpro II after hauling an old colman stove on a 5 day trip. Looked my gear over after that for ways to reduce my pack weight. It's only 6.6 oz. 11 w/ the windscreen and canister holder if they are needed. Reviews sounded like it would simmer ok and the cold weather performance is a plus. I will be trying it out this fall.

They look pretty slick. I was wanting to stay away from canisters..

16bore I just got my Dragonfly in on Friday. I have used it a few times already. It was replacing a 20 year old Coleman 442 Feather. The last time I used the 442 it had too many leaks to track down and fix but for a 20 year old stove it really had about 30 years of use.
So far I to am really liking the Dragonfly. It's a lot lighter than the 442. I prefer multifuel and don't care for canister stoves. I liked the simmer on the 442 so that's why I went with the Dragonfly. I use the simmer function a lot to keep water warm for coffee etc. I was looking at the Optimus Nova but they are now made in Taiwan now and not Sweden. I also read a lot of bad reviews on their customer service. On the other hand when I emailed MSR and called them with some questions they promptly replied. An example is in all the pictures the pot supports on the Dragonfly look to be wide apart. I called MSR up and asked if a 5 1/2 inch pot would fit. (the pictures make it look like it wouldn't) The guy I talked to on the phone asked if it was ok to put me on hold for a second. He went and grabbed a pot and put it on the stove. He then told me the pot he tried was 4 1/2 in diameter. I don't know of many places that would do that. In case anyone is wondering he said the 4 1/2 inch pot had enough room to have about 1/2 and inch on each pot support. The only down side to the pot supports is that you can't use a canteen cup on this stove.
A couple of other things I liked is the fact that the stoves are made in the US, they have a lifetime warranty, and it's easy to find replacement parts if the need arises.

Nice call on the MSR. Seems to simmer better than others. I've had one for a while now and love it. The pancakes look like they were done to a turn.

Another for the MSR Dragonfly. Picked up at REI

Used a whisper light for many years and decided to upgrade.

Great customer service with MSR.

Amazing how much breakfast a kid will eat while sitting on the garage floor....