MSR Whisperlite International Review

"I purchased my whisperlite in 92 since then my whisperlite has accompanied me around the world, as a soldier, my whisperlite has worked extremely well in any and all enviroments i have been deployed to. It has proven both reliable and packable, small enough to pack in to my utility pouch on my web gear. The only real problem i have experienced with it was it did not like Rwandan kerosene, but a blast of carb cleaner, sorted it out.


EX COELIS"

"After reading the reviews I had high expectations of the Whisperlite international. I was not dissapointed in the quality of this little stove. Great burning power and it hasn`t let me down in the field when the going gets tough. Packs down into a light managable package too. Will get covered by soot, when priming but a small price to pay for quality."

"The Whisperlite Internationale is a fantastic stove. I have been using mine regularly since 1996 and it has never let me down.

I have found that simmering gets easier with practice. Over time the fuel leaves deposits in the fuel line (MSR recommends cleaning it out every now and then) the volume of fuel going through the stove is reduced, making simmering much easier.

If you want to avoid getting the stove covered in soot when you prime it, use Methylated Spirits (aka Ethanol) to prime it. I carry a small bottle with an eye dropper for this prupose. You can also buy priming paste that does the same thing."

"The MSR WhisperLite internationale is a reliable, field
maintainable stove. I run mine on kerosene in order to simmer
easier, but it will run on white gas or auto gas just as well. All the
parts are easily replacable in the field."

"I just picked this stove up and have been very impressed with its simple yet functional design (not to mention its small profile when packed).
This is MSR's "burns everything except dirt" model. I've only run it on white gas so far though. The learning curve on this stove is not as bad as some other reviewers would make you think. I found priming to be the trickiest part but determined that only a small amount of fuel is needed for this (to avoid a small inferno). As far as simmering goes I didn't have that much trouble either but it does require attention to the tank pressure. Just a bare amount of fuel flow and enough pressure to keep the flame steady does the trick. There is approx a 30 sec delay between adjusting the fuel valve and the effect on the flame so don't over adjust!
It can produce a very strong flame. Most outdoor cooking involves boiling water and this stove does an excellent job of VERY rapidly getting water to boil, also a definite plus for melting drinking water from snow.
It uses fuel very efficiently, I used only 4oz a night for cooking.
The fact that I can fit the whole stove into the middle of my MSR Alpine cookset is another plus."

"If you are one of these guys, or gals that search and search for the best product, read review after review, talk to ten million people before you make a purchase. Well, that is me.

If you have a bad experience w/the whisperlite well I appologize, but from what I understand there is an older and less expensive design that doesn't have the shakerjet and is proned more to clogging.

The Stove that I have, and think that it is just the greatest thing since apple pie is the MSR International. Its a great stove, no problems, fires everytime, and yes, field servicable. Very light weight, and compact.

Yes it is a little more expenseive but worth every penny.

If you buy a Whisperlite International, and dissapointed you are

searching for a better stove will put miles on your car

There isn't a stove that burns better

She'll burn for hours if you only let her

yes, it may burn a little hot

but will surely boil pot, after pot

you have to prime this stove in deed

But many hungry mouths your sure to feed

If all your worried about is cost

buy somthing cheaper and the best stove on this earth is all you've lost

see-ya
Jon
jfriday@bellsouth.net
additional ? or comments"

"OK, so I'm a pyro at heart and love a good flame. I bought the MSR because it had one of the fastest boil times of any stove and burns darn near anything that's liquid and volatile. My only gripe is the name. Having whisper in the name just doesn't seem right for a stove that sounds like a jet engine. It's size, weight, and performance are everything I could want from a little stove. It clogged up on me for the first time last week on the last day of a hiking trip in the Killarney mountains. I grabbed it (while it was sputtering) and shook it about and like magic it took off and started that roar I love to hear. I don't mind that it doesn't have a simmer. 95% of the time I'm just boiling water and once that's done I turn the valve almost off and it calms down to a dull roar. On one trip I did need to simmer and found a nice sized flat rock to set on the stove and set my pot on that. Worked fine but the rock exploded a while after I had finished cooking. :P"

"I've read all of the reviews and heard all of the people rave about how great this stove is-BUT I
must have got the 1 lemon. Ok, so I'm not a rocket scientist and I admit that it did work well (periodically) on 60% of my trips, but it's that other 40%
of the time that I'm upset about. I go solo most of the time so I don't have anyone to turn to when my stove will not work. I bought the rebuild kit (a must) and I had to use EVERY part in it at one time or another. I sent the thing back to MSR twice and they repaired it for me free of charge. I have since sold the stove REAL CHEAP and I hope to buy a MSR Dragonfly, but after reading the reviews I'm now considering the XGK.
If any of you have input please email me mtngote_@Hotmail.com
I want an idiot proof stove that I don't have to tweak just to get it to boil water."

"I have had one for four years, it has never failed me. Granted you could probably weld with it but once you figure out how to adjust the flame, it cooks great. I burn white fuel and this stove has worked in temps from 10 to 109 degrees F. The pump housing cracked (I left it on top of the fuel tank) and MSR replaced it.
I ahve a Turbo Gaz 270 which I use as a warmer and with the two I can cook just about anything I would want."

"I have had this burner for the past 4 years and I have not yet had a problem with it. I was surprised at first how well it worked with white gas but I found that it wasn't so great with other fuels like regular gas because it made a lot of black smoke and created quite a bit of black deposits on the stove... One other thing that bothered me was the stability of the stove. When you a using it on a rocks or snow it has a tendancy to be very unstable... that is why I strongly recommend that you use the aluminium base that MSR offers seperatly. Otherwise you may seriously burn yourself by dropping your hot meal on you!! Other than that, you have a stove that is very polyvalent and works well at high altitute. Very simple and good quality."

"This post is for "ed" above, who wants an idiot proof stove. I've never used the Whisperlite, so I cant comment with any intellegence on that.
The dragonfly is a reliable stove, but is what I would classify as "high maintainence." And will be in need of cleaning on a regular basis if you use the Coleman brand whitegas.(it will clog the fuel-line filters in a hurry) The MSR whitegas is much much cleaner, but is more expensive as well. If you want a truly idiot proof stove for anything except winter camping I recommend the MSR pocket rocket. My 3 season stove of choice. Any old self-sealing canister will work with it, and it simmers almost as good as the dragonfly; which is the 400lb. Gorilla of backcountry simmer control.

Good Luck in your search..."

"This thing burns every feul in the world..even Buffalo dung! It roars! Its like a jet! MSR products are usually a good bet, and this stove is no exception."

"I've had this stove for about six or seven years. I've only had one problem with it, when I didn't oil the pump cup. No other parts have needed replacing or fixing. I found the info I needed for the pump on MSR's website, and got the stove up and roaring again in a jiffy. I'm good with "fiddling" with things, and learned to prime it pretty quickly. Only use a little fuel for that (to avoid being mistaken for a rescue signal), and definitely NOT in the vestible of your tent. I've only used white gas in my Internationale so far, so I can't comment on how it does on kero, car gas, etc. It doesn't simmer, true, but it does fire up reliably and really crank out the BTUs in any weather at any altitude. Bottom line: if you don't mind a little fiddling, and don't mind priming this might be the stove for you. If you like simple plug-n-play stoves,or need to simmer, this one may only serve to irritate you."

"I just took my Whisperlite International out of storage after not having used it for 13 years. There was a little bit of white gas in the tank which had also been in there fo 13 years. Just for the heck of it I put the stove together and gave it a try. The stove fired up like it was brand new. Outstanding piece of gear - I'll keep it forever!"

"We used this stove with others on a backpacking trip with a group of 14 to 16 year old Scouts, and the Featherlight was preferred because it was easier for the Scouts to light, safer, and could be more easily adjusted for varying cooking temperatures. Pumping mechanism was more difficult to handle, and appeared flimsy to this reviewer. Perhaps the glowing recommendations also read on this stove were referring to earlier models."

"I have an older (black pump stem) shaker jet and have been using it heavily since '95. In that time i've gone through a Gaz Turbo 270 (only works when it's about 90F) and a Coleman feather 400 and 425 camp stove.(both of the coleman stoves ended up shooting out liquid fuel and damn near burning us up!) Needless to say, all other makes/models wound up in the dumpster and the MSR is still melting snow and keeping me fed. I bought the maint. kit when I got the stove but haven't used anything out of it in 8 years of use. Not so easy to light and doesn't simmer at all but it's absolutely bullet proof and trouble free. I'm getting a pocket rocket for short, fair whether outings and I'm sure I'll be set for quite a few more years. MSR knows what they're doing."

"I bought this stove to use on the coast to coast walk in england. At the time epigas and trangier were the predominant stoves at most of the campsites and the frantic pumping and flames on priming were the cause of some amusement and concern from my fellow campers. Ha, who's eating first? The man with the wisperlite. Granted, not a plug and play stove, granted, you have to cook outside, granted you get dirty (soot from priming gets every where, TIP: take a rag with you and wrap your stove in it). However, once the stove is mastered hot food fast is worth it. Who ever heard of a clean camper anyway?"

"I've had this stove for about 7 years now and can't complain too much. Like most reviews, it can't simmer but you learn to adapt to that. Does burn just about anything volatile and is a must have stove when outside N.America. And yes the jet engine roar of the burner is a welcome sound at the end of a long day."

"My (probably) excessive collection of camping gear includes one of these guys. I've been using it for several years, but have converted to a Trangia alchohol burner after marrying my wife (the Trangia was included in the package). But in terms of quick, nuclear reactor heat the Whisperlite beats a non-pressurized alchohol burner hands-down. It's also a lot more fuel efficient at higher elevations. My only complaint about these stoves is that I've had them go down at bad times: in the dark and rain, it's no fun to take it down and clean it. They are also quite dirty, which isn't all that important I suppose but it is a negative point. I have had some fuel availability issues in foreign lands, but have generally been able to overcome adversity with a little patience."

"I have a small collection of both cannister and liquid fuel stoves. The Whisperlite Intl has been with me for many years and I have used it a lot. It has worked for me under all kinds of weather, in cold and warm temps alike. Never a problem and I consider this to be a most reliable stove. I use a small cut down toothbrush to clean it after each use so the soot is never a problem. The priming takes some getting used too but can be mastered. Unlike some of the others, I have been able to use this stove to simmer, but it takes constant adjusting to achieve. Other stoves will work better for simmering but this is one reliable stove in my opinion. Just maintain it as you should and you will be rewarded with many years of service."

"I've used the Whisperlite International for the past four years and am very pleased. It has a quick boil time and is very dependable. I have only used white gas. I have found that it simmers best if the fuel bottle is no more that 75% full."

"I bought this in 1996 and have given it a lot of use, including a year cycling in South America. I mostly run it on autogas, because white gas is an extortionate price in Europe, and you can't get it at all in more exotic places I go. I have even run it on dirty leaded third world autogas. Auto gas slowly corrodes the brass outer part of the fuel line at the joint, and having lost about 20mm of it, I am now having to retire it to occasional use, as I don't know when it will fail. Running it on good autogas, it needs a clean once every 5 to 10 days. On dirty fuel, it needs cleaning every second day, or more. To clean it, you have to pull the fuel line wire in and out 25 times, and then flush, a boring, even painful, job. If it is insufficiently primed, the flame flares up, which can be dangerous. This is a common problem if it is windy, or if you are mean with the priming fuel. If you prime it with petrol or kerosene, it gets very sooty and you will get black hands putting it away later. I usually prime it with alcohol to avoid this, but this does not work for kerosene. I have generally had problems getting it to run nicely on kerosene - very difficult to prime it enough in cold windy conditions, and the jot blocks. I couldn't get it to work at all on dirty third world kerosene. I found I could get it to run on mineral spirits, but this is not a fuel I would choose as it is very unpleasant. Simmering is tricky, as you may need to give it a good head of pressure to get it running and warm, and then you have to run it for a while to get the fuel pressure to go down. If you have been simmering, and then put on a large pan of cold water to boil, it may misbehave and block up, forcing you to turn it off and clean it out before it will run again. So pump it up and get it roaring before you put on a big pan of cold water. In very cold places, it lights better if you can warm up the fuel bottle, eg in your sleeping bag. The priming cup may also have to be warmed up with a match to get your alcohol to light. So lots of troubles, and long battles, but I never failed to get it working again, even though I lost the shaker needle. The highest I have camped was 4800m, and it worked there."

"Ive had a whisperlite international for about seven or eight years now. As well as joining me on some long walks in australia, it's come with me to India, Nepal, Africa and most of South East Asia.
In Australia, I mainly use white gas (shellite) in it and have had very few problems. The jet gets blocked occasionally and needs a shake, and very rarely I need to clean the fuel line.
Overseas, I've had to run the thing on fuel from roadside coke bottle fuel vendors, and blockages in those circumstances are frequent and annoying.
I've never had a problem with priming - as someone says above, it's just a matter of getting the amount of priming fuel and duration of priming right.
My one big gripe about this stove is its weight. With the reflector, windshield, repair kit, one litre bottle and fuel (about 10 days worth), it weighs well over one and a half kilos.
I've just dragged that one and half kg 2000 kilometres up and down the Bibbulmun track, and I'm now looking for a lighter alternative."

"I bought mine in '89. It works under all conditions. It can simmer with a little fiddling and right amount of pumping - remember it's made fore boiling water and food, fast and furiously. When weight is a factor I found it to be best suited on longer trips (+5dayes) and in windy cold conditions around 5-0dgr C(- wich is what I have to plan fore in North-Scandinavia, even during mid-summer). On these trips, the lower fuel consuming outweighs the lower weight of an alchole-stove. On shorter trips it's different. I have removed the legs and, don't use the screen and put the burner in a trangia 25/27. Wind no problem, lower fuel concumption and shorter boiling time makes me accept the higher weight - wich I then gain in on food, tent, pack and bag. Under longer windy, cold, high humidity conditions alchole-stoves takes to long and uses to much fuel to boile water - fore my taste and use. Now it's not just looove and roses. It did clog-up during the first periode, as if the fuel-line contained debries from the manufaction-process, because it stopped later. The first fuel-line was clothed in a asbestos-like cloth, wich eventually was cut through by the edges of the T25/27 - I changed it, to the newer line with brass around it and almost no problems with clogging occured after this. Last summer this fuel-line broke in the joint there is before the loop on it. Rats, I had snow, storm, sleetch and turned around. Had it been one off the warmer pre-summers then I could have made a regular fire, but a long trip with on/off-fire and only freeze-dried food, made the difference. Now it made me say some not so nice sentences in the situation about MSR....but they changed the part on guarantee and now my Wisperlite is a SHAKER!! They actually changed almost all of the burner to do this. Love my stove on longer, cold trips in (sub-)arctic summer, but would use alchole on fast, light, short and warmer! trips."

"I bought this stove out in Seattle when I was in college; 7 years ago. I used the hell out of it back then (white gas only); failing college do to constant camping and mountain climbing (I'm from Indiana after all). Anyways, I just pulled it out of storage (back in Indy) for a backpacking trip I'm going on and put it together and just like that it lit (the kids were impressed). I always loved it back in college and was quite surprised to see it still being sold today. I haven't tried other camp stove besides 2 burner butane "tailgate" stoves, but I recommend this this stove to anyone looking. It's tried and true. Now, I have to get a water filter, things have come a long way in that field."

"Nothing has gone wrong yet and i have had the stove for a couple of weeks. It is sometimes a bit hard to get it to simmer but you can learn to live around it. its the first stone that i have ever owned that boils water in the time it says (3.5 mins). overall a good quality stove."

"I have had this stove for about six years, and have done periodic maintenance on it. It has worked great for five of those six years. I have changed to a different stove because of the unreliability of the hose to pump connection. It has failed twice on me in less than six months, destroying two pumps in the process and catching the ground on fire. As a wild land fire fighter the stove has gone a long way with me, but because it catches on fire I can not comfortably use it any more. Other wise it is a great stove that will burn just about anything and boils water very fast, I never really had a problem with priming it (used it on sub zero temps to well over 100 degrees F) and it can do pretty good with simmering it just take practice."

"I've owned this stove for about 7 years, and have been happy with it up until recently.

PROs: The stove burns hot, boils quickly, runs quietly, and is mostly field maintainable. I've used the stove in summer and winter conditions for up to two weeks at a time, at altitudes ranging from sea level to 12,000 ft, and temperatures ranging from -20F to 105F... the stove has performed well in all of these environments.

Cons: My biggest day-to-day gripe has only ever concerned the time required to set the stove up and prime the thing (this isn't much different than other liquid fuel stoves I've used, but obviously slower than my alcohol or canister stove). The stove could also be lighter, but again, this is typical of liquid fueled stoves.

However, all of this being said, the REAL problem with this stove is the fuel pump. The plastic pump housing has not held up to my expectations. I had heard complaints of pump failures in the past, but always sort of assumed it was the result of misuse. Unfortunately, while on a recent backpacking trip the stove pump broke while I was about ten miles from my vehicle. The plastic housing sheared apart while I was pumping the stove, rendering the stove completely inoperable. This obviously makes me question the suitability of this stove for longer/serious trips where the conditions are harsh and the consequences of equipment failure are high.

Bottom line:

Good stove overall, but the pump is a major shortcoming (NOTE: I believe this piece has been redesigned since I purchased my stove, but can't speak for how the new part holds up. Hopefully this problem has been solved. I also can't speak for MSR's customer service at this time, since I have yet to contact them about my issue)."