Aaron, Great video on budget stoves. Thank you for the not on the Primus Classic, didn't know about the removable valve. The Pocket Rocket 2 is good, but for a few extra dollars recommend the PR Deluxe, has igniter, wider burn element. Nice to see the kids' toys, stuff and dog in the background. You are a real person. Thank you, Bill
I like my Snow Peak for the same reason - compact. Also, I'm not too concerned about speed/waiting when I'm camping. For me, not being in any kind of hurry is one reason to camp.
If you're going to do more with a stove than boil water the larger diameter burners give a more uniform heat for cooking. I carry two of the Primus classics in my kitchen kit for motorcycle camping and they are great for my skillet or griddle
Thanks Aaron. Appreciate it. And it was entertaining. Lol. I called that one right from the start. Wide burner and the narrow pot. And when I saw you go to pick it up with the Toaks sack, I said it will melt. Lol. And it did !!! Sorry about the laughing. It was funny because I saw it before it happened. A wide Titanium pot would show the fastest times with the wide burners. I think the Primus Essential has the distance sweet spot from burner to pot base. It makes a huge difference just like the Soto Windmaster.
I finally decided to get one for at-home emergencies because my stove is electric. I ended up getting one called the Outsmart ultralight titanium backpacking stove. It was 25 dollars. I've only used it to test once but it did the job very well and weighs .8 ounces. I generally use a Firebox Nano for backpacking, but I might try it.
Great review! I just recently walked into a small gear store in North GA looking for a last minute replacement for my Whisperlite that I'm tired of packing for just myself. I had two options, the Primus Essential Trail or the GSI Glacier. I opted for the Primus just based on a gut feeling. I reckon I got lucky. Thanks!!
Awesome video! This is perfect timing as just this week I was thinking about getting a camp stove and looking at the different types. Still not sure which ill go for, since the pocket rocket is so small, but the primus essential is half the price. Thanks for the all the info on these camp stoves!
Thank you, fantastic and informative video! I bought - next to the BRS Ultralight - the Primus Essential Trail Stove and I am very enthusiastic about it! It is not only super fast, but also very robust, as it has - apart from the controller - no moveable parts. Very reliable (but not ultralight) 🙂
Thanks for another great review, Aaron. Unless you are going for super light and compact, that new Primus(their employees say Pree-miss) essential trails stove is perfect. They cut down the weight of the previous model to 4 oz, has low center of gravity and requires no fiddling and more stable than the foldables. Also reducing the diameter of the burner was a great step. You would just have to get a Rubbermaid or other plastic container to keep it in, as the sharp edges can damage fabric gear or pack.
Been using the essential trail for a while now and for solo trips it really is tops and nothing to come undone/lost pretty bomb proof. The heat shield underneath definitely reflects the heat back, think they did that as its pretty close to the top of the gas cartridge and really dose keep it from getting too hot. Bargain 👍
Thanks for the video. I used the pocket rocket for cooking and it was a little difficult. I had to move the pan around to get even heat. These stoves would be better for car camping.
Could the metal surrounding the burner on the Primus Essential Trail be serving as a reflector reflecting the heat upward into the pots? Just a thought.
Your pot size may be what is making the gsi's boil time suffer. Larger pots will be able to better take advantage of the larger burner pattern of the primus and gsi. Maybe, i dont have those stoves to test it.
The smallest pot i have is 8" across. I'm no hiker. I have lotts of babies. We will be hiking soon. I have been able to fry eggs on the gsi ok, but i do wish i could get the flame lower. My favorite lightweight stove is my trangia with a nano firebox. It is in my coffee kit for short walks(under 10 miles).
That's probably why it was so much slower too. The wide burner put the heat at the edge of the pot instead of the bottom. Especially since the first unit was wide enough to burn the handles.
I will catch hell for this, but i believe Gideon is one of a very few reviewers, who is completely honest in his reviews, that is to say,he cannot be bought...you can trust what he says..Another fellow who i great and honest is TIM the TACTICAL DEFENDER...i wish he did more reviews...
If you dont have the stuff sack for the primus essential then where do you find a stuff sack for it? or is stuff sack is really that necessary for the stove?
Thanks so much for putting these comparisons out there. While the speed to boil is important, I'd be curious to know which consumed more fuel to get to boil? I assume the higher btu models used up more fuel, which would equate to needing more fuel on multi-day hikes. Just curious.
One observation: if you calculate how much fuel you need to boil XXX over the course of a week the volume/weight of the fuel required should be considered too. Meaning that the Pocket Rocket 2, while the stove while weighing less and smaller over al,l the Essential may be a very strong contender! If I need to carry a larger canister or more than one that smallness/lightness evaporates! Thank you for making these videos, just MHO! SG
I have the classic Primus and it is a great stove. I don't like transporting it, though, with its sharp edges and even in two pieces, it is not that easy to pack. It appears the essential Primus stove would also be a pain to pack. I have filed down the edges on my Primus. You forgot the real best budget stove... it is the Coleman Peak One and is under $20. Cheapest, and a little heavy, but not as heavy as a couple of your contenders... Folds nicely and is 10,000 BTUs. I think it is a little over 6 ounces. Not a fan of plastic on it, though, but doesn't affect awesome performance and transportability and may save some weight.. It probably isn't as vibrant as the others but it works. No sack included, though. The Primus Classic Camp Stove is better for larger pots. I don't like the way my pots sit on the MSR Pocket Rocket, but I do have the MSR canister stand to place underneith which makes all of these stoves a little more stable. As far, as a budget stove goes, the Redcamps are also a nice stove and can be used with wind screens since the canister is remote. The one Redcamp has two burn rings and is great for larger pots, but uses a lot of fuel. The one I grab, though, is my trusty Coleman most of the time. Or my "budget" purchase used MSR Pocket Rockets that was $10.
That essential trails is only the fastest on a small cup vs a larger container. If that is all you need . That's great. If you ever heat a larger container with more water or a skillet or normal kitchen pot the higher BTU ones with a larger ring would do better I am sure. They also would not have a hotspot in the middle. I mean something like a small kitchen pot or skillet etc. I bet they each have their place where they would shine. You would want the small center burner for small containers. like wise the larger round burner, with more BTU for larger pots, skillets, etc
I can’t recall if you ever tested the little Olicamp titanium or Soto burners. Pretty light and small, they work great. The three larger stoves just have too large a footprint. Pocket Rocket seems to be the most often recommended and is said to have been a copy of the Soto.
Interesting tests. I took the MSR Pocket Rocket on my UK Lands End to John O’Groats cycle ride this summer and one of the pot support fold out prongs bent on week one. I spent the rest of the trip having to hold my pots on the stove - not good! My fault, I probably knelt on it or some stupid thing! The other 3 stoves in your test in your vid here all look more robust and up to a bit of work. I would be happy with any of them but quite by chance I ordered the Primus Essential Trail the other day - hopefully it will do me for many years 🙂
The first two are obviously for large pots or maybe even more importantly frying pans. The ones with a center burner do not work very well at all with frying pans, the food burns in the middle and the sides are cold, it's impossible to make for example pancakes with those. A boiling test with a narrow container does not give relevant results.
This test is kind of pointless. Why is the boil time always the end-all be-all thing for gas stove reviews? I bought the GSI Glacier stove a while back BECAUSE of the large diameter of the head. It is very quiet and it gives you very even heat when making REAL food with a skillet. The smaller stoves will just create a scorching hot spot in the center, while the stoves with wide heads allow you to, for example, cook a nice steak to perfection with minimal fuss. If all you want to do is boil water for dehydrated meals and coffee, then any small cheap stove will work.
So happy to read your comment. I was trying to find a good stove solution for kayak camping where I can still use a skillet to cook grill meals without the need of a BBQ like maybe burgers or a steak. Was gonna get the GSI kit that comes with the stove and the 1.1L boiler and you're comments has just sold me on it for sure. Gonna get a 5 inch pan to match it along. Unless you 've had success with larger pans as well?
Agree with you, although I have a Primus Express stove which is pretty small but it has such a good low simmer on it I can cook lovely little stews and casseroles with it. I’ve just bought the Primus Essentials hoping it will be just as good for the long, slow cooks I like.
The amount of blue flame produced is your heat, the amount of blue flame produced by your pocket rocket was less and sputtering all over there it didn’t heat well.
Unfortunately doesn’t prove much unless your only objective is boiling water. Cooking with the flame centered instead of in a ring may not work well when cooking food in a wider frypan type utensil.
I was kind of skeptical of the BRS too, but I have used it for several years now, and it way out performs my other backpacking stoves, and it is insanely light and compact. Darwin on the Trail has a good review of it. Here is the link: ruclips.net/video/oRHBG2KqzUs/видео.html
Thanks for this one !We re an older couple on set income and are slowly trying to shift from lightweight to ultra light. This was a great comparison!
Get a fire Maple fms-116t. These stoves featured are way too bulky and heavy.
I really like the wide spread element for fry pans and slow soimmering of soups and lentil dishes with a larger wider pot
Aaron, Great video on budget stoves. Thank you for the not on the Primus Classic, didn't know about the removable valve. The Pocket Rocket 2 is good, but for a few extra dollars recommend the PR Deluxe, has igniter, wider burn element. Nice to see the kids' toys, stuff and dog in the background. You are a real person. Thank you, Bill
I like my Snow Peak for the same reason - compact. Also, I'm not too concerned about speed/waiting when I'm camping. For me, not being in any kind of hurry is one reason to camp.
If burner boiling fast then it use less gas, i think. If boiling time is long, then stove use gas longer time. But wider flame is better for cooking.
If you're going to do more with a stove than boil water the larger diameter burners give a more uniform heat for cooking. I carry two of the Primus classics in my kitchen kit for motorcycle camping and they are great for my skillet or griddle
Can you use common gas bottles from super markets on these stoves? Thanks
Im on year 3 with my brs stove. Still works great
I love my little 3/4oz. BRS Stove.
My primus classic has never let me down!
Thanks Aaron. Appreciate it. And it was entertaining. Lol. I called that one right from the start. Wide burner and the narrow pot. And when I saw you go to pick it up with the Toaks sack, I said it will melt. Lol. And it did !!! Sorry about the laughing. It was funny because I saw it before it happened. A wide Titanium pot would show the fastest times with the wide burners. I think the Primus Essential has the distance sweet spot from burner to pot base. It makes a huge difference just like the Soto Windmaster.
I enjoy the fact that you often compare similar items.
Pretty interesting how different similar designs preform.
I finally decided to get one for at-home emergencies because my stove is electric. I ended up getting one called the Outsmart ultralight titanium backpacking stove. It was 25 dollars. I've only used it to test once but it did the job very well and weighs .8 ounces. I generally use a Firebox Nano for backpacking, but I might try it.
Great review! I just recently walked into a small gear store in North GA looking for a last minute replacement for my Whisperlite that I'm tired of packing for just myself. I had two options, the Primus Essential Trail or the GSI Glacier. I opted for the Primus just based on a gut feeling. I reckon I got lucky. Thanks!!
I'm getting the Primus Essential Trail stove. Great review mate thanks a lot.
Awesome video! This is perfect timing as just this week I was thinking about getting a camp stove and looking at the different types. Still not sure which ill go for, since the pocket rocket is so small, but the primus essential is half the price. Thanks for the all the info on these camp stoves!
Did you decide which one to get?
Good review of the stoves we have the Gsi but i always go to the Brs. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe on your adventures
Hi, can they be used in the winter, below zero?
Thank you, fantastic and informative video! I bought - next to the BRS Ultralight - the Primus Essential Trail Stove and I am very enthusiastic about it! It is not only super fast, but also very robust, as it has - apart from the controller - no moveable parts. Very reliable (but not ultralight) 🙂
Thanks for another great review, Aaron.
Unless you are going for super light and compact, that new Primus(their employees say Pree-miss) essential trails stove is perfect. They cut down the weight of the previous model to 4 oz, has low center of gravity and requires no fiddling and more stable than the foldables. Also reducing the diameter of the burner was a great step.
You would just have to get a Rubbermaid or other plastic container to keep it in, as the sharp edges can damage fabric gear or pack.
Been using the essential trail for a while now and for solo trips it really is tops and nothing to come undone/lost pretty bomb proof. The heat shield underneath definitely reflects the heat back, think they did that as its pretty close to the top of the gas cartridge and really dose keep it from getting too hot. Bargain 👍
Great review. Extremely useful. Thank you!
Thanks for the video. I used the pocket rocket for cooking and it was a little difficult. I had to move the pan around to get even heat. These stoves would be better for car camping.
Nice review. Love the channel.
Could the metal surrounding the burner on the Primus Essential Trail be serving as a reflector reflecting the heat upward into the pots? Just a thought.
Your pot size may be what is making the gsi's boil time suffer. Larger pots will be able to better take advantage of the larger burner pattern of the primus and gsi.
Maybe, i dont have those stoves to test it.
I thought it the same thing, If you watch the whole video, I test it a second time on a much wider pot, and same results.
The smallest pot i have is 8" across. I'm no hiker. I have lotts of babies. We will be hiking soon.
I have been able to fry eggs on the gsi ok, but i do wish i could get the flame lower.
My favorite lightweight stove is my trangia with a nano firebox. It is in my coffee kit for short walks(under 10 miles).
Do all 3 of these stoves have Regulators so that they all perform well as the temperature gets colder and the butane tanks get less full?
Great review but I'm curious how they all do in the wind. I go to the Texas Gulf coast and the winds can be overwhelming. Thanks for all you do!
I wonder if you should have also weighed the can of fuel to see how much difference in fuel each stove used
Seems kinda obvious to me.
The larger the burner diameter, the bigger the pan it's good for.
I'd use the bigger ones for fry pans or Billy pots.
That's probably why it was so much slower too. The wide burner put the heat at the edge of the pot instead of the bottom. Especially since the first unit was wide enough to burn the handles.
@@davidhawkins847 "-so much slower"??
I have a Coleman peak 1 stove and the Stanley cup (the one with the little green cups) and they work great highly recommend
It is never all about the burner. The wider ones will shine with wider pots. We need to integrate systems for our needs.
I will catch hell for this, but i believe Gideon is one of a very few reviewers, who is completely honest in his reviews, that is to say,he cannot be bought...you can trust what he says..Another fellow who i great and honest is TIM the TACTICAL DEFENDER...i wish he did more reviews...
Great video. After that test I don't think you should keep the Pocket Rocket, so, look, I'll take it off your hands. Just to help you out.
If you dont have the stuff sack for the primus essential then where do you find a stuff sack for it? or is stuff sack is really that necessary for the stove?
I have the Primus Classic and it’s been %100 reliable not the smallest or lightest but a tank for about 4 years maybe more
Ya these primus are really well built
Just wondering if the solid metal plate on the essential was deflecting more heat to the pot, causing a faster boil?
Could be! Pretty cool either way.
I'm sticking with my Pocket Rocket Deluxe. My pack is heavy enough already.
The results are no surprise. I knew them at a glance before watching then. The bog burners loose heat out the sides.
Thanks so much for putting these comparisons out there. While the speed to boil is important, I'd be curious to know which consumed more fuel to get to boil? I assume the higher btu models used up more fuel, which would equate to needing more fuel on multi-day hikes. Just curious.
Yeah I’m not entirely sure but that is what my experience has been in the past higher BTUs faster the fuel burns out.
One observation: if you calculate how much fuel you need to boil XXX over the course of a week the volume/weight of the fuel required should be considered too. Meaning that the Pocket Rocket 2, while the stove while weighing less and smaller over al,l the Essential may be a very strong contender! If I need to carry a larger canister or more than one that smallness/lightness evaporates! Thank you for making these videos, just MHO! SG
I have the classic Primus and it is a great stove. I don't like transporting it, though, with its sharp edges and even in two pieces, it is not that easy to pack. It appears the essential Primus stove would also be a pain to pack. I have filed down the edges on my Primus.
You forgot the real best budget stove... it is the Coleman Peak One and is under $20. Cheapest, and a little heavy, but not as heavy as a couple of your contenders... Folds nicely and is 10,000 BTUs. I think it is a little over 6 ounces. Not a fan of plastic on it, though, but doesn't affect awesome performance and transportability and may save some weight.. It probably isn't as vibrant as the others but it works. No sack included, though.
The Primus Classic Camp Stove is better for larger pots. I don't like the way my pots sit on the MSR Pocket Rocket, but I do have the MSR canister stand to place underneith which makes all of these stoves a little more stable. As far, as a budget stove goes, the Redcamps are also a nice stove and can be used with wind screens since the canister is remote. The one Redcamp has two burn rings and is great for larger pots, but uses a lot of fuel.
The one I grab, though, is my trusty Coleman most of the time. Or my "budget" purchase used MSR Pocket Rockets that was $10.
do you think primus trail one would be good enough for pan cooking? or should I look for wider one like first 2 ones in your vid?
That essential trails is only the fastest on a small cup vs a larger container. If that is all you need . That's great. If you ever heat a larger container with more water or a skillet or normal kitchen pot the higher BTU ones with a larger ring would do better I am sure. They also would not have a hotspot in the middle. I mean something like a small kitchen pot or skillet etc. I bet they each have their place where they would shine. You would want the small center burner for small containers. like wise the larger round burner, with more BTU for larger pots, skillets, etc
I can’t recall if you ever tested the little Olicamp titanium or Soto burners. Pretty light and small, they work great. The three larger stoves just have too large a footprint. Pocket Rocket seems to be the most often recommended and is said to have been a copy of the Soto.
Did you burn off some hairs on your hand when you lit the essential?
Does the essential use a lot more fuel tho?
Would luv to know how much fuel each uses for a boil. Thanks for the great vids.
What about the Coleman Peak 1...? I love my Coleman stove..!!!
Interesting tests. I took the MSR Pocket Rocket on my UK Lands End to John O’Groats cycle ride this summer and one of the pot support fold out prongs bent on week one. I spent the rest of the trip having to hold my pots on the stove - not good! My fault, I probably knelt on it or some stupid thing! The other 3 stoves in your test in your vid here all look more robust and up to a bit of work. I would be happy with any of them but quite by chance I ordered the Primus Essential Trail the other day - hopefully it will do me for many years 🙂
I don't use my pocket rocket for speed, I use it for the peace and quiet it provides. LOL
Please review the buck tops csar-t first responder
The first two are obviously for large pots or maybe even more importantly frying pans. The ones with a center burner do not work very well at all with frying pans, the food burns in the middle and the sides are cold, it's impossible to make for example pancakes with those. A boiling test with a narrow container does not give relevant results.
How to connect the stove with the gas? Screw or click-system?
Screw
@@danielrudilille thank you
Nice review. Surprising results. Did you measure fuel consumption or is it directly related to running time?
You looked so bummed out when you burnt the hole in I would be too lol
Ya, so sad 😭
A guy could have grabbed an oven mitt from the Mrs. Or a bandana. Or something not made of plastic. Duct tape that bad boy!
Where are these units made? I’m a big stickler for having quality items, hate stuff made in China.
17:16
the wider flame is good using a mess kit id imagen
The first Primus is a real old modell about över 50 years old
Just need to file down the edges a little.
I think it was the burner that made the hole in your "glove" and not the cup. Great review though!
Can you review the saddle mountain skinnier by bench made. I know it a skinning knife but I was wondering what it would be like as a survival knife.
surprised you didnt check out the brs one on amazon
Possibly in the future
The BRS is terrible. Soto windmaster, msr pocket rocket Deluxe, fire Maple fms 116t, Optimus Crux are way better
@@lakorai2 my personal experience with it is terrible but a lot of people like em.
@@stonealexander8233 cheap and light weight. Many triple crown through hikers like them because they weigh 1oz.
I bought one of the BRS stoves - it completely failed to maintain a flame from day one. Day 4 I threw it in the bin - I’ll never get that £20 back 🙄
I bought a primus stove this afternoon it seems they are going stove.
Yeah I bet if you put it against the Soto wind master the Soto would be more efficient and win!!! 💜🖤
Maybe Pocket Rocket vs Primus Firestick?
To the 40$ pocket rocket, add the 30$ for a replacement when the threads FAIL. And they will. And MSR will sympathize with you, and that's all.
Maybe the burners with bigger burgers in the outside r for frying pans. I hate my lil Burner for frying pan
ill stick with my optimus nova when i use canisters. the remote canisters just handle wind better.
This test is kind of pointless. Why is the boil time always the end-all be-all thing for gas stove reviews? I bought the GSI Glacier stove a while back BECAUSE of the large diameter of the head. It is very quiet and it gives you very even heat when making REAL food with a skillet. The smaller stoves will just create a scorching hot spot in the center, while the stoves with wide heads allow you to, for example, cook a nice steak to perfection with minimal fuss. If all you want to do is boil water for dehydrated meals and coffee, then any small cheap stove will work.
So happy to read your comment. I was trying to find a good stove solution for kayak camping where I can still use a skillet to cook grill meals without the need of a BBQ like maybe burgers or a steak. Was gonna get the GSI kit that comes with the stove and the 1.1L boiler and you're comments has just sold me on it for sure. Gonna get a 5 inch pan to match it along. Unless you 've had success with larger pans as well?
@@JackRR15 The pan I've used to cook steaks, burgers etc, is about 8-9" or so and that has worked well. Even heat all around, zero issues so far.
Agree with you, although I have a Primus Express stove which is pretty small but it has such a good low simmer on it I can cook lovely little stews and casseroles with it. I’ve just bought the Primus Essentials hoping it will be just as good for the long, slow cooks I like.
Fire Maple fms-116t. $29 and weighs less than 2oz.
The amount of blue flame produced is your heat, the amount of blue flame produced by your pocket rocket was less and sputtering all over there it didn’t heat well.
pocket rocket goes down again brs-3000 all the way
#%&# ROB! can't ya WAIT a bit?!😅
Unfortunately doesn’t prove much unless your only objective is boiling water. Cooking with the flame centered instead of in a ring may not work well when cooking food in a wider frypan type utensil.
Gotta test the BRS. I just don’t trust that thing.
I was kind of skeptical of the BRS too, but I have used it for several years now, and it way out performs my other backpacking stoves, and it is insanely light and compact. Darwin on the Trail has a good review of it. Here is the link: ruclips.net/video/oRHBG2KqzUs/видео.html
We use a pocket rocket they are awesome