Same experience here
I’ve travelled with my Whisperlite on flights before. Not had any problems.
That said, it’s still an odd thing to have to buy a new can of fuel at the destination, use a tiny fraction of it, and dump the rest before the flight home…
Optimus Nova…
or Nova Plus, or any of the Optimus multi-fuel stoves including the Svea or Svea 123R. With stoves you get what you pay for. MSR, bless their heart, is still selling cheezy plastic pumps with rebuild kits. Optimus pumps are all metal and I’ve not had to rebuild/repair one yet. The “burners” on both MSR and Optimus are about equal. They all perform well if directions are followed. It’s the pumps that will let you down. My brother in law has a box of MSR Dragonfly’s from a boy scout troop, ALL with failed plastic parts. Gotta say, my Sveas still hold the record for 100% reliability over the years.
Forgetting a major option
– Last Updated: Nov-21-09 10:46 AM EST –
Maybe I missed a few when read this thread but only saw one very brief mention of alcohol stoves. They are a very serious option and are becomming more main stream in the US (have been in Europe for a long while).
Zen stoves does a much better job than I do regarding their pros and cons http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm
I have access to pretty much any stove I care to use, these are my choices;
Altitude or extreem cold = white gas MSR, especially if I am snow melting.
Fast and simple weekend trip = Jetboil or MSR reactor or Primus ETApower if more than 2 people.
Ulta light backpacking = Vargo (http://www.vargooutdoors.com/store/STOVES/c119/p998/Vargo-Titanium-Alcohol-Stove/product_info.html) or soda tin (http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm) alcohol stove.
Cooking for a comercial group = colman white gas/kerosene double burner as long as there is a porter or double kayak to carry it.
Outfitting an educational group = Trangia 25 alcohol(this is probably the most widely used stove for school/youth groups in europe due to its ruggedness and safety)
All of these stoves can be made to work in pretty much any situation, even melting snow on a home made soda can stove and all have their limitations.
If I was starting over without access to this variety of stoves and had to choose one stove for all situations for the next 20 year it would almost certainly be a Trangia 27 http://www.campsaver.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=327735
They are bomb proof. And in most situations "so what" if it takes 6 minutes not 3.5 to boil water, I've wasted way more time in the past tinkering with all the other options trying to get them to work.
ixnay on the itaniumtay
Titanium is light, strong and resists corrosion very well but is it the bast material for cook pots?
A lot of what I read and experience says no. I think its insulating properties (any rocket scientists out there want to weighing) mean more fuel (= more weight), longer boil times and hotspots causing burnt food.
I’m back to aluminum even on salt water.
Hey gbarron
We have a similar background 
MSR Dragonfly?
Has firepower, will simmer, burns a variety of fuels and a bigger platform for pots, but is it to big and heavy for basic backpacking and is it more reliable then the Whisperlite International? Non around here to look at so would have to order.
Also how well does the Whisperlite International simmer? There are some around here.
Didn’t know if the extra weight, price and “supposed” reliability of the Dragonfly makes sense over the Whisperlite International .
MSR’s are on sale (EMS) and Optimus is beyond the alloted price range.
Simmering Whisperlite Int’l?
Pretty tough to do, from my experience. I can pull it off with a cast iron pan, but that kinda defeats the purpose. With mine at least, the lowest setting it will burn at is still pretty hot. The Pocket Rocket, OTOH, will do it - so long as it isn’t in the wind. I don’t know about the Dragonfly.
One trick that does work almost like simmering with the Whisperlite is taking the bowl of my mess kit and floating it on about and inch of boiling water in my pot. Kind of a simmer/steam thing going on that way - great for cooking fresh trout - and no sticking to the pan.
"how well does the Whisperlite Internati
– Last Updated: Nov-24-09 12:32 PM EST –
About as bad as the regular Whisperlite! (which is basically one of the worst)
Simmering
The trick to simmering with a Whisperlight, which is probably the case with most white gas stoves, is not over-pressuring the fuel bottle. This makes it a little more difficult, but quite doable. I’ve been using a Whisperlight International for over 20 years. It works as well as the day I got it. I recently decided I’d like a canister stove as well, and bought a Snowpeak Gigapower. Smaller, easier to deal with, no priming necessary, and here in TX cold and elevation are not likely to be issues. I’ve used the gigapower a few times and like it a lot. But the two stoves are different, and serve different functions. If I were taking a long backpacking trip, especially in cold weather or high altitudes, I’d take the Whisperlight. Shorter trips in warmer weather, it’s the Gigapower.