Review of the MSR Dragonfly multi-fuel backpacking stove

MSR DragonFly

Dana:

I got into a habit of cooking over a fire for the first two or three years I hiked. I was generally in non-National Park areas where fires are allowed. I thought stoves were for gadget heads and wilderness whimps. Boy was I wrong. A good backpacking stove will set up in minutes, boil water in no time, keep your pots and your food soot-free and pack down into a light and small configuration and are legal to use in National Parks. I purchased this stove from a local sporting goods outfitter who wanted to get rid of his inventory for the winter months. He cut me a great deal that so far I've been happy with. This one has the shaker jet feature which cleans the fuel port by simply shaking it. I owned a Coleman duel fuel stove before this one, that didn't need priming, which turns out to be relatively easy, but still a downside.

Upside:

Burns almost any fuel. Packs up small fuel bottle can be stored outside of your backpack. Can boil water fast as well as simmer foods equally well. Controls for adjusting flame are convenient and well back from the heat of the burner. Shaker jet cleans it by simply shaking the stove.

Downside:

At full bore, this thing sounds like an F-14 throttling up on a carrier deck. Requires priming which can be tedious, but generally is easy. MSR are you reading this? - Plastic pump that attaches to bottle seems cheap and actually broke during a backpacking trip in Big Bend Texas. It still worked, but it should be constructed of metal. It would have sucked to not be able to cook the food we packed.