MSR Whisperlite International

[in4]

...and back to stoves again😊

https://www.msrgear.com/ie/catalog/product/view/id/17481/s/whisperlite-international-2012/category/5/

  I spotted one of these stoves for sale at a good price, including the bottle as well. Its been available for some time and enjoys a reputation as one of the best stoves of its type. My thought is: has it been superceeded by something newer and arguably better. I dont have a problem with having to prime a stove, as this one needs, but perhaps there is a newer stove that offers features that make it a fitting successor to the Whisperlite.

Thanks

Ian ( Who currently scours the second hand shops looking for an old Svea to play with)

[mickeg]

The people that I have known that used that stove liked it a lot. 

A friend of mine used his Whisperlite International on our Pacific Coast trip for cooking most of our suppers for over a month, he ran it on Kerosene.  His was the old style that had wire legs and pot supports, the photo in the link you sent is the newer style that has stamped sheet metal pot supports and legs.  His developed a leak where the hose connected to one of the tubes.  It was a very slow leak, but it did leave some kerosene where you used it.  Thus, he used it on the ground instead of on a table top.

I never trusted a plastic pump, thus I instead use Primus and Optimus stoves. 

When I use Kerosene on my stoves, I usually bring a small bottle of coleman fuel to prime the stove, that produces a lot less soot during priming.  Some people like to prime them with methanol, but that flame can be hard to see so you have to be careful.

I used a liquid fuel stove in Iceland, but the USA airline security people are known to confiscate stoves if they can smell any fuel.  Thus, I spent a lot of time cleaning it before each flight.   I brought a small Butane type stove as a backup in case the liquid fuel one was confiscated.  I ended up using the Butane stove so much that I decided on future trips that involve air travel to just bring a butane type alone.  That way I can avoid the time and effort involved with cleaning them.

[Bill C]

...and back to stoves again😊
Ian ( Who currently scours the second hand shops looking for an old Svea to play with)

123/123r?

[John Saxby]

Friends have used the Whisperlite, though I have not.  I've had a Dragonfly for fifteen-plus years now, and have used it in Canada, the US, and southern Africa, from sea level to 15,000 ft, with all manner of fuels.  It's been faultless.

I no longer use the Dragonfly for cycling or hiking, because I've found a lighter & more compact alternative, the Trangia alcohol stove.

I still use the Dragonfly for paddling, where its extra bulk and weight (by comparison with the Trangia) are less of an issue. The Trangia's one negative by comparison is its fussiness/inadequacy for simmering: it does, after a fashion, but the Dragonfly is streets ahead.

Other options?  I have used the MSR remote canister stove, and its pretty good if/if you can get the replacement canisters, and then recycle them. The setup is light, convenient, quick, and simmers very well.

Hope that's helpful.

[in4]

Thanks for such useful replies. Appreciated.

For further Svea speak!
http://classiccampstoves.com/threads/2-classics-123-vs-123r.12296/

[Bill C]

Ian
if you visit ccs I'm suprised you'd be looking at a whisperlite, check Doc Mark's opinion on them, i never bought a whisperlite as it get's such a rough ride on there, he knows his stoves and reckons it's a POS
I did buy a xgk ex,a firefly and a dragonfly, I also have the !st Bernie Dawg silent cap made for an xgk ex  (special request)

buy a 123r and give the whisperlite a miss would be my advice, but don't take my word for it ask the same question on ccs and i doubt you'd get one stovie choose a whisperlite over a 123/123r
you want MSR and multifuel the whisperlite aint the answer,
depending on priority Dragonfly for cooking or xgk ex for melting snow and boiling water again don't take my word for it check out ccs, stovies know stoves better than cyclists

there may be newer msr stoves that i am unaware of, i deliberatley don't read about stoves anymore it's too addictive and i have too many stoves already 

tbh liquid fuel stoves where pretty much nailed in the 50's most stuff after is/was marketing hype

123 svea for solo camper
optimus 111 for a couple of campers
optimus 22 for the family

[in4]

Brilliant,  Bill. Thanks. Its a terrible time sink this topic and the rabbit in the headlights feeling arrives sooner or later.

I come from the vintage that used Optimus 111 stoves. They were very reliable, if heavy. I used a double petrol burner version too; that needed great care indeed if cooking your tripes was to be avoided. Very little maintenance was needed on either  model and I think they were both manually 'pricked' with a small tool that was just a piece of wire in reality.

I still use a small Coleman stove that works pretty much the same way as the 111 but often find my Trangia a more practical option, particularly when cooking for two. I've a Jetboil that has yet to make it out of the box
Best

Ian

[mickeg]

...
I come from the vintage that used Optimus 111 stoves. They were very reliable, if heavy....

First two photos were my 111T.  Third is my 111B.  Still use them, but for canoe trips where weight and volume is not much of an issue.

Regarding the more modern stoves, I think that the Optimus Nova and the Primus Omnifuel are very good stoves too.  I regularly use both.  The fourth photo is my Nova in Iceland last summer, I was moving the two pots (pasta noodles in one, sauce in the other) back and forth on the single burner keeping them both hot.

[Bill C]

hi mickeg see your stove pics and i'll share a few
my Optimus  Nomad (shelterbox)  only nomad i'll ever own unless Thorn put a mech hanger on thiers, it's now replaced with a stainless steel cased version using a 111c burner/tank instead of the nova burner in the stove in the pic





Optimus nova powered stoves


if you want a small stove heres one of my old borde bombs (long since sold on)



MSR Dragonfly converted to fit in a swedih army trangia

 


Primus Omnifuel



stoves you have to try them to find out if you love them enough to keep as a user 

[jags]

I have a seve 123r  never use it much ,I lent it to a friend who camped in france he loved it great bit of kit.I cant cook so a simle. Gas stove dors me for heating  beans soup tea coffee.

Anto.

[Bill C]

I have a seve 123r  never use it much ,I lent it to a friend..............

Anto.

ungrateful git, i gave you that so you'd have a decent stove and pan set for your tours, if you don't use it send it on to Ian or somebody else that will use   

[jags]

Just winding u up bill  it will be coming with me end may around ireland.the gas stove is handy for long day rides.dont be panici.g now I still use it.

[Bill C]

  i don't care what stove you use Anto, tbh i don't use a svea 123r myself very often even though i have several
 i find the windshield/ potstand to be a bit of a faff, i use a British Army No7 instead, it's a svea 123r burner mounted on an optimus 80 tank in a reinforced steel case,
that or a homemade No7 version cludged from svea and primus parts
but the 123/123r is probably one of the highest regarded stoves out there, just because of the build quality and the fact they are so reliable

good luck on your trip, hope that audax does all you want it to, and i hope the svea burns your fingers and leaves a key imprint 

[John Saxby]

Ian, I have an MSR G/K stove that I don't use any more--I keep it only for sentimental reasons, because it kept me and others warm and well-fed on numerous occasions.  You can have it if you like--let me know. 

It's essentially a blowtorch, either "on" or "off", though I learned to sorta-simmer with it. It comes with a helpful after-market item, a circular corrugated alloy plate called a "scorchbuster" (I'm not making this up) which protects your pots very well, and which you could use as a frisbee, or a Dr. No-style tool to hunt for your supper, etc. (I am making up the last bits).

Cheers,  John

[jags]

Bill I already left my imprint on that key  .when my friend went to france he called around to. me to ask for some gear I lent him everything I had I couldnt refuse hs a sound  lad.he said the stove was brlliant .