I no longer backpack but often day hike in the San Francisco Bay Area where it is usually windy. I bought a Windburner on sale several years ago and it is my go to stove now. I make coffee tea bags from cheesecloth and drink directly from the Windburner. My entire coffee kit fits in the Windburner, no need to carry a separate windshield although sometimes I use my day pack in that capacity. I use a fuel transfer valve so I can always use the smaller canister which fits in the Windburner. BTW go Niners.
One critical bit of know-how when obtaining and using the wind burner systems is being able to reset the thermal switch. This is done on the personal wind burner system using the wedge-shaped end of the stabilizing leg tip. Without having the little gray stabilizing legs and unfamiliarity not knowing that there are built-in tools of the trade in your kit could spell trouble and failure for those highly relying on their wind burner system. I would highly recommend anyone using a wind burner to familiarize themselves with the resetting technique.
Not sure that the test you described at 12:00 was due to the Woods fuel. The manufacturer site indicates this fuel contains isobutane 72%, propane 24% & butane 3%. MSR fuel is 80:20 isobutane:propane.
Great comparison test, thanks. Last winter, did an overnight with my deafening Dragonfly while a buddy had his Reactor. The speed and ease of use of the Reactor was amazing. As I understand it, the Windburner is just slightly slower but less binary in operation so better for cooking. I'm highly tempted by the WB Duo, but for now I just installed a QuietStove burner in my Dragonfly - slightly more finnicky for priming and lighting, and with my gen of DF it won't fold with the QuietStove burner in place, but so quiet that I had no reservations firing up the stove while my buddies were still asleep a few feet away. That much better! Thanks for noting/sharing the fuel consumption figures too. Perhaps a video on trip fuel consumption estimating in future? Happy adventures!
Fuel consumption is highly variable depending on how much actual cooking you do. In the winter I pack 8oz / 225 g per day when I’m melting snow for all my water. Usually use about 3/4 of it but good to have a margin. That’s for one freeze dried meal, some hot drinks and a few liters to drink.
A lot of people swear by the MSR Reactor, sounds like a solid performer. The reason I went with the Windburner is that it's more affordable. Nearly $300 USD is a hard pill to swallow for most people. The windburners are about $100 less and have a broader appeal.
Thanks for the feedback. This video is a bit of an experiment in itself, curious if there is any interest in the long form vs the fast pace content that most people are making. I've got it broken into chapters in case people want to see something specific. As for the Windburner's performance, hard to argue with the results. That design crushes wind.
Thanks for the video Kane. I’ve been using the Windburner and Reactor (2.5 L pot) since they came out. You pay a penalty on stove weight but they make up for it in fuel when cooking in the alpine or windy conditions. A minor correction to your video: Butane hits 1 atmosphere at 0c, Isobutane (the 80% in MSR fuel) at -12c, you mixed them up in the video.
You're right - I hadn't looked up the BP of isobutane. I hadn't considered that at all. Crazy how moving that methyl group changes the BP by 12C! It explains why the performance was so terrible when I used pure butane to refill my cans... Am I understanding correctly that the MSR Isopro is an ~80/20 isobutane/propane mix?
@@KaneDoesOutdoors Most refill cans you get at Costco, Princess Auto, etc are 100% butane, not isobutane. I refill MSR cans with butane from Princess Auto when they come on sale (4 cans for $3.99) and use them exclusively in the summer.
The pocket rocket deluxe is my go to paired with my toaks 750ml pot. Great combo. Thanks for taking the time to do this vid Kane. What is your preference, a Windburner or Pocket Rocket Deluxe with pot?
Probably the PRD most of the time just because of the weight savings. But you might be able to stretch a week out of a small canister with the Windburner… it’s really efficient.
What fuel did you run? Have you done the cleaning protocol with the wire in the fuel line? Shake it a bit for the jet? I'd do a quick strip down to check for soot. All that's assuming you have good fuel flow out of the bottle...
@@RogerByrne If you can I'd use camping fuel/naphta/white gas whenever possible. But I just watched your video - once the stove is primed you need to light it from up top at the burner not down below on the priming pan. Give that a shot. When you're almost done priming there needs to be a big enough flame to reach over and ignite the fuel from the burner. It's easy to miss that timing but the generator stays hot enough for a pretty long time. When the stove is primed/hot you pretty much treat it like a canister stove until the it's been off for long enough cool completely and need priming again.
@@KaneDoesOutdoors Thanks for your thoughts, will check out other fuel, and thinking back I was trying to light from the bottom still, i bet that was the bigger issue. Cheers.
100%. If you look at any of my winter videos I'll dig out a big hole for a lounging chair, with a recessed platform for my stove that's well protected from wind. That way I have a nice work /eating area to relax sitting on a foam pad that also protects the stove from wind. There isn't always that much snow, and if you're well above the tree line or just in a very exposed location the wind can be hard to mitigate. My conclusion from this test is that you can budget your fuel needs very accurately with the Windburner stoves, whereas with other models bringing extra fuel is a must. For example, I typically pack 8 oz of fuel per day in the winter, using 5-6 oz (Whisperlite or WindPro). With either of the Windburners, packing 6 oz per day would probably be fine. All depends if you need to melt snow, or if water is available of course. For example on an overnight with the WB Duo a few weeks ago ended up using less than 4 oz of fuel for the entire trip even though I had to melt snow for all my water in camp.
I no longer backpack but often day hike in the San Francisco Bay Area where it is usually windy. I bought a Windburner on sale several years ago and it is my go to stove now. I make coffee tea bags from cheesecloth and drink directly from the Windburner. My entire coffee kit fits in the Windburner, no need to carry a separate windshield although sometimes I use my day pack in that capacity. I use a fuel transfer valve so I can always use the smaller canister which fits in the Windburner. BTW go Niners.
One critical bit of know-how when obtaining and using the wind burner systems is being able to reset the thermal switch. This is done on the personal wind burner system using the wedge-shaped end of the stabilizing leg tip. Without having the little gray stabilizing legs and unfamiliarity not knowing that there are built-in tools of the trade in your kit could spell trouble and failure for those highly relying on their wind burner system. I would highly recommend anyone using a wind burner to familiarize themselves with the resetting technique.
Not sure that the test you described at 12:00 was due to the Woods fuel. The manufacturer site indicates this fuel contains isobutane 72%, propane 24% & butane 3%. MSR fuel is 80:20 isobutane:propane.
Great comparison test, thanks. Last winter, did an overnight with my deafening Dragonfly while a buddy had his Reactor. The speed and ease of use of the Reactor was amazing. As I understand it, the Windburner is just slightly slower but less binary in operation so better for cooking. I'm highly tempted by the WB Duo, but for now I just installed a QuietStove burner in my Dragonfly - slightly more finnicky for priming and lighting, and with my gen of DF it won't fold with the QuietStove burner in place, but so quiet that I had no reservations firing up the stove while my buddies were still asleep a few feet away. That much better! Thanks for noting/sharing the fuel consumption figures too. Perhaps a video on trip fuel consumption estimating in future? Happy adventures!
Fuel consumption is highly variable depending on how much actual cooking you do. In the winter I pack 8oz / 225 g per day when I’m melting snow for all my water. Usually use about 3/4 of it but good to have a margin. That’s for one freeze dried meal, some hot drinks and a few liters to drink.
What a beautiful presentation my friend! Video is so nicely elaborated here!
great test, thanks for this! my last stove to add to the collection is the MSR reactor. looks impressive. nice volumes available too.
A lot of people swear by the MSR Reactor, sounds like a solid performer. The reason I went with the Windburner is that it's more affordable. Nearly $300 USD is a hard pill to swallow for most people. The windburners are about $100 less and have a broader appeal.
This was a great test, thanks for putting in the time and effort. Love my Windburner!
Thanks for the feedback. This video is a bit of an experiment in itself, curious if there is any interest in the long form vs the fast pace content that most people are making. I've got it broken into chapters in case people want to see something specific.
As for the Windburner's performance, hard to argue with the results. That design crushes wind.
Thanks for the video Kane. I’ve been using the Windburner and Reactor (2.5 L pot) since they came out. You pay a penalty on stove weight but they make up for it in fuel when cooking in the alpine or windy conditions. A minor correction to your video: Butane hits 1 atmosphere at 0c, Isobutane (the 80% in MSR fuel) at -12c, you mixed them up in the video.
You're right - I hadn't looked up the BP of isobutane. I hadn't considered that at all. Crazy how moving that methyl group changes the BP by 12C! It explains why the performance was so terrible when I used pure butane to refill my cans...
Am I understanding correctly that the MSR Isopro is an ~80/20 isobutane/propane mix?
Looks like the butane can that I bought was also isobutane. Wondering if they are all isobutane?
@@KaneDoesOutdoors Yes, MSR canister fuel is 80% isobutane and 20% propane. Other good winter blends are Brunton at 70%/30% and SnowPeak at 65%/35%.
@@KaneDoesOutdoors Most refill cans you get at Costco, Princess Auto, etc are 100% butane, not isobutane. I refill MSR cans with butane from Princess Auto when they come on sale (4 cans for $3.99) and use them exclusively in the summer.
@@stanchorney9698 Good to know, thanks!
Appreciate this video so much, thank you! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Hope it was useful!
The pocket rocket deluxe is my go to paired with my toaks 750ml pot. Great combo. Thanks for taking the time to do this vid Kane. What is your preference, a Windburner or Pocket Rocket Deluxe with pot?
Probably the PRD most of the time just because of the weight savings. But you might be able to stretch a week out of a small canister with the Windburner… it’s really efficient.
Thanks ❤❤❤
Have you tried the Kovea spider? Really light remote canister stove
I haven’t, but you’re the second person to mention it - looks nice! Do you have one?
I bought a whisperlite and the thing snuffed out during priming and then it was a bugger to light, any tips? Wish I’d bought the wind pro 2 now 😂
What fuel did you run?
Have you done the cleaning protocol with the wire in the fuel line? Shake it a bit for the jet? I'd do a quick strip down to check for soot. All that's assuming you have good fuel flow out of the bottle...
@@KaneDoesOutdoors unleaded gas. Yeah I shake it before packing away, it’s on my last video at 2 min 56
@@RogerByrne If you can I'd use camping fuel/naphta/white gas whenever possible.
But I just watched your video - once the stove is primed you need to light it from up top at the burner not down below on the priming pan. Give that a shot. When you're almost done priming there needs to be a big enough flame to reach over and ignite the fuel from the burner. It's easy to miss that timing but the generator stays hot enough for a pretty long time. When the stove is primed/hot you pretty much treat it like a canister stove until the it's been off for long enough cool completely and need priming again.
@@KaneDoesOutdoors Thanks for your thoughts, will check out other fuel, and thinking back I was trying to light from the bottom still, i bet that was the bigger issue. Cheers.
Is it so hard to shield your burner from the wind? Maybe dig a hole with your trowel ?
100%. If you look at any of my winter videos I'll dig out a big hole for a lounging chair, with a recessed platform for my stove that's well protected from wind. That way I have a nice work /eating area to relax sitting on a foam pad that also protects the stove from wind. There isn't always that much snow, and if you're well above the tree line or just in a very exposed location the wind can be hard to mitigate. My conclusion from this test is that you can budget your fuel needs very accurately with the Windburner stoves, whereas with other models bringing extra fuel is a must. For example, I typically pack 8 oz of fuel per day in the winter, using 5-6 oz (Whisperlite or WindPro). With either of the Windburners, packing 6 oz per day would probably be fine. All depends if you need to melt snow, or if water is available of course. For example on an overnight with the WB Duo a few weeks ago ended up using less than 4 oz of fuel for the entire trip even though I had to melt snow for all my water in camp.
35:00 Thank you for explaining grade 7 math.