Markill Hot Rod Titanium Review

"I like convenience. When given the choice between low price and more convenience I'll choose convenience. The hard part is balancing that without compromising quality and performance. Hence why I like canister stoves, and in particular the Markill (owned by Vaude) Hot Rod Titanium stove. Before you develop the pre-sticker-shock jitters let me state the price of this "titanium" stove, $40.00 US. MSRP is actually about $50, but I found it on sale for $40. That's just 5 bucks more than an MSR PocketRocket (fine stove, I have one), and at 3oz it weighs the same as the PocketRocket. This fact should elicit the question, "why get the Hot Rod when I can get the PocketRocket cheaper?" One reason: *2.5 hour burn-time*. The PocketRocket will burn for about 1 hour on a 12oz canister (8oz of gas). The Hot Rod will burn for *2.5 hours*. That's right. You will get over 2 1/2 hours of high burn on the same amount of fuel using the Hot Rod. This means you get the same burn time with a mini 7oz canister (4oz of gas) using the Hot Rod as one would get using the PocketRocket with a 12oz canister. Add to the outstanding burn-time the convenience of piezo electric ignition (which has yet to fail), and a form-factor that is 1/3 smaller than the PocketRocket. Time to boil 1 liter is 4.5 minutes. That's about a minute more than a PocketRocket, but considering the fuel savings I feel it's worth the trade-off. Pot supports are very stable and performance at 10F ambient temperature was very good with MSR gas and a windscreen. If you work out the numbers you'll find the canister stove is pound for pound far more efficient than an alcohol stove. This item is an excellent buy. It is a bit hard to find. I got mine online at Bentgate."

"I have this stove. It performs pretty good. I can't tell you how many hours of burn time you'll get out of a canister, but I can tell you it will boil about 26 liters. My usual pot is like .9 liters or something. I'm only a weekend hiker, and actually I used the stove most often for ocean side grub after SCUBA diving. I used the same canister across three seasons, spring, summer and fall, which should give you an idea of how frequently I get out. :) It's pretty cool.

Oh, be careful about using a windscreen with it and a large base pot. The heat melted the plastic switch on the piezo, oops. Wish it was metal."

"I feel I must respond to the previous review in reponse to burn time and boil time. 1 oz of butane contains a given amount of BTU's reguardless of stove design. If a stove has a lower burn time it is because it has a higher BTU rating. ie it burns fuel faster. If the Hot Rod last 2.5 hrs on a canister, it has a lower BTU rating than a stove which last 1 hr. However if you turn down the 1 hr stove their performance would be the same. In other words, a higher BTU rating give you the option of using more heat if needed."

"Just purchased the stove last week. Have yet to give it a real workout.

I read the reviews on the web and on manufacturers web site. Compared to Primus and MSR. Liked the way the Markill folded as well as the ignitor. Currently using a Apex propane which I don't like due to lack of control over flame and simmer. Also have a SVEA and a Colman WWII stove which is really cool but heavy. Have tried the Esbit but generally am doing more than boiling water. Plus, when you add it all up the Esbit isn't as light as you expect.

So far the biggest kicker out of the Hot Rod is the small size and low weight. I mostly canoe/kayak but still travel light. Terrain that I'm on is usually full of beaver dams and portages so going light helps.

I like to eat a lot of rice and other simmer food when traveling. Hope this thing fits the bill.

Out of the box I was disappointed. Damn thing wouldn't ignite. Noticed it would ignite much better after it was warm. Lot good that is. Cold, I had to turn it a half turn to ignite then reduce the gas flow to fully ignite the burner. Was going to take it back and get another but though but I'd give it a better workout.

This weekend I'll put a couple of days on it. The following weekend I'll give it a three day workout. I promise to check back in with an update."

"Maybe I'm a bit picky, but I expect my gear to work in the field, as opposed to on my kitchen tabletop. By that standard, the Markill Hot Rod failed miserably!

I'm enticed by the low price, weight, convenience of a piezo starter and the abililty to use a canister stove in a tent without worrying about torching yourself. However, it's got to work.

My wife bought me the Markill as a Christmas present from Bent Gate Mountaineering. $50 bucks plus shipping - okay price. Fired it up, started on the first click, burned well, looked great in the little pouch. 3.5 oz plus fuel is quite alluring when you're used to carrying an Optimus Svea plus fuel canister. If only the damn thing had worked in the field.

Took the Markill with me to the Sangre De Cristos, where I spent a week above 10K. From the get go, the stove failed. The piezo starter could only light half the nozzle - mind you this baby had only been lit once before - it wasn't like it should have been clogged. Tried two different canisters, got the same performance - or lack thereof. Had to use kindling as a match stick to light the other half of the nozzle, which grudgingly ignited after several failed attempts.

Then the piezo starter failed. This thing had sparked a max of a dozen times and it just died. Now I don't know that much about piezo starters, but I was suspicious that the sparking point is directly in the flame path and glows red hot while the unit is operating. Maybe this is standard protocol or maybe that's why the starter died, but the bottom line is "it didn't work!".

So here I am in the back country, using a backup lighter to start a sputtering stove. I was using isobutane and propane/butane mix and it didn't get below freezing, so temperatures obviously weren't an issue. Maybe the Markill isn't capable of working at elevation or temperatures below 70 degrees. If that's the case, it might be prudent to advertise as much.

I hope this is just a faulty unit and not typical of Markill products or canister stoves in general. It sure left a bad impression with me. I've been using the same Optimus Svea gas stove for 30 years - it's been banged around, allowed to carbon up, and generally abused as only mountaineering can do to gear - the stove flares like an oil well fire but I've never had a problem with clogging or a failed start, even down to -30F.

You'd think I could get one trip out of the Markill."

"Great stove! I have lit the thing up above 12K. The only time it worked poorly was at 10K and 40 degrees ( it was heck to get it lit but I still cooked supper on it)."

"I bought this stove for a backpack trip on the Chilkoot Trail. It performed very well for me. I then took it on a hike around Mt. Saint Helens. During that trip I could only get part of the burner to work. It was not all that cold so it should have worked. When I got home I tore the stove apart to see if it was clogged. Put it back together and it worked, sometimes! So I guess that it is not that reliable, at least not for me. I still take it on day hikes but will use my SnowPeak Giga stove on overnighters."

"I have an outdoor guide service in northern Michigan, and am currently using both the Vaude/Kovea Titainium and the MSR PocketRocket stoves. The conditions we use these stoves is often wet, windy, and in sand, but not at high elevation. I have had no defect problems (not client caused) with the HotRod stoves. They always light right up under nasty conditions (Used with MSR Heat Exchanger). They have proven more durable than our previous Giga Power SmowPeak(s) & PocketRockets, and cook faster with less fuel than the PocketRocket. The HotRod burner spreads the flame out better than the PocketRockets blow torch style burner. the HotRod simmers better, and you don't have to stir constantly to keep your or from burning. The only thing it cooks slower with is the BakePacker. The pot supports are also the best I've used on a micro stove. It is easily my clients favorite."

"The good: Light, Small, Easy to set up. Good price.
The Bad: Hard to light. When it does light it only lights one third of the stove. I remedy this by tilting the stove over and the remaining two thirds then ignite. Another remedy is to use a bick lighter on it. Also, the igniter on mine broke on my last trip out. The ignighter gets really hot while the stove is burning and I think some liquid may have dripped on it cracking the ceramic insulation around it. So now it makes a spark where it's too far away to ignite the gas."

"No problems with this stove after 30 days in the field! Please note that most piezos should not be trusted and more importantly if it doesnt light when it throws the spark then your gas output is too high!!!! these and all stoves go through rigorous testing and I find it hard to believe that these stoves are not lighting out of the box!!! in most cases it will be user error! Just because it sounds like a minin jet engine does NOT mean you start it like one!!!! many piezos light with barely the gas on!!!! Look at the size of the spark compared to a Bic Lighter!!!!!! c'mon people!"

"Smallest, most compact and morst durable cannister stove I found on the market. (I can stow the burner unit inside a coffee mug). Really like the Sidewinder Adaptor also. No problems whatsoever with it."

"Bought a second one after my experience with the first. I like two pot meals at least once a day, plus backup. Have used these stoves on many river trips, Grand Canyon, Badlands, Boundary Waters, numreous day trips winter and summer. They light on the first click of the piezo. Hot flame, simmers beautifully, very small and light, fuel effeicient, simple to use by just screwing on and lighting. One stove lights on only one third of the burner most of the time which is not a problem for me as it only needs a little help getting the flame around by lighting with a twig or moving the pot holders back and forth around the burner. On this particular stove the pot holders are very slightly closer to the burners, possibly preventing the flame from traveling to the other two sections. [Read the above sentence Markill as this is the only minor weakness of the design which I believe can be easily changed]. Overall, an excellent design. Don't believe I'll ever buy another stove because the Hot Rod is tough, reliable and simple to operate. Very impressed."

"I've had this stove for well over a year now and after I removed the piez-o-sh!t igniter it's great!

I was having problems with the igntier only working half of the time so I took it off and using a lighter it's worked wonderfully everytime and ranging in alt from sea level to about 5,000 ft.

It folds up very small stows nicely inside my coffe cup.

No self respecting scout needs the igniter anyway!"