Primus EtaPacklite Stove - 1.2L Pot

Just came back from a 4-day trip in the Smokys with this stove. Used it for boiling water to rehydrate meals for 4 hikers at breakfast and dinner each day. Also used it to simmer some desserts (side note...Backcountry Pantry Hot Apple Cobbler is amazing). This stove performed flawlessly except for one evening when the piezo igniter would not work. i got a spark but no flame...weird. Other than that it would light right up every time, but bring matches along (as you should anyways). the windscreen worked great and really did a good job in some gusty wind conditions typical on the AT in the Smokys. In fact I was able to simmer at extremely low heat in windy conditions with no problems at all. The pot with the heat exchanger works as advertised...boils very quickly which is great for saving the fuel. If you get the 2L Eta pot (as I did) note that the base of the 2L pot is too large a diameter to fit on this stove with the windscreen in place. Works fine without the windscreen. The stove packs up very nicely and everything stays put. No problems with getting the windscreen inside the plastic bowl that fits inside the pot. I am extremely satisfied with this purchase and with a coupon you will get a super bargain.

This thing melts snow way faster than a jetboil, and can simmer your Alfredo without burning it. Combine that with a preheat coil for cold weather inverted cannister use, and a base that gives a low center of gravity, and you have a very versatile piece of gear. Highly recomended

I have not used this particular stove outside yet, as Yosemite has been drenched on weekends, but it has an apparent hardy structure and compactedness that is very important for something on which I depend so much. The only part I can currently identify as prone to casual breaking are the pot holders - but TLC should solve that problem. The only downside is that the stove does not work well in higher altitudes. The highest I go on a regular basis is Tuolumne, and would doubtfully ever need to boil on the top of a peak, so this stove is perfect for me. It is also slightly bulky, but you can shave off a lot of pot components if you're looking for something taking up less space. Regardless, it weighs next to nothing.

Backpacking stoves are notorious for scorching the center of pans in a blowtorch-like fashion. This may do if your aim is to boil water, but I prefer to cook fresh foods when on short weekend trips. To this end, the Primus performed adequately, if not better than most. While there was a noticeable hot spot, I was still able to prepare a respectable meal of pancakes and eggs in skillet I'd purchased separately. Precise flame adjustment can be a bit tricky however, as the valve does have some play in it. On the downside, there is no skillet in the kit, and the plastic lid is impractical to use while cooking. As far as stowage is concerned, the aluminum wind screen adds some annoying extra bulk. While it is possible to partially coil the screen so that it fits compactly into the bowl along with the stove, great care must be exercised to avoid damaging it. In the end, I found it easier to leave it outside the bowl. Overall however, the Eta Packlite is a good practical stove at a great price, offering performance equaling or exceeding that of higher priced competing models.

I own two of these units with one having received considerable use, and they are very efficient and reasonable weight. It is a good design but as is so often the case with this type igniter unit the igniter failed on both. One failed the very first time the button was pressed; it stuck and can't be released. So don't count on the igniter working for any real length of time. Other than that I'd highly recommend the unit. It is expensive at retail or even STPs discount price so best to wait for a coupon sale.

backpacking

Cooking System works great. Very packable and functional. Why pay more for the Jet Broil, when this one gets the job done. Quality of construction is excellent. Highly Recommended.

Very nice stove system. Quality construction and functional for the backcountry. Packs well. Also simmers. Pot size at 1.2 Liters in convenient, can have enough water for two dehydrated camp meals and coffee or tea. Highly recommended.