MSR WhisperLite Internationale Camping Stove Review

by Michelle Dodd, January 2009

Pros:

Small enough to pack well inside cook pot
Very quiet
Can last many years if maintained well
Burns white gas, kerosene, or unleaded gas, making it truly international
Extremely dependable
Easy to use
Very hot, boils water quickly
Can be easily cleaned in the field (useful for long trips)
Wide, stable base for big pots

Cons:

Doesn’t simmer in the true sense of the word, but can be brought close with practice and finesse
Heavier than many other options out there now, especially with fuel bottle

Recommendation:

The MSR WhisperLite Internationale stove is the go-to stove for all but the ultra-lightweight trips for us: bike touring, sea kayak expeditions, shorter backpacking trips, and car camping en-route to our adventures.

Review:

Dave has used these stoves for almost fifteen years on many multi-month trips and has just retired his oldest one. We now use mine, which is almost as old but not as well used. This is the perfect stove for international trips because it can use regular auto fuel. Dave cooked his way across western China and Tibet in freezing temperatures and very high altitude and it worked very well, though when using unleaded fuel you have to clean it more often.

We had the opportunity to compare this camping stove with the DragonFly, which our friends Kris and Leslie brought on our sea kayaking expedition in Alaska. We took turns cooking meals for all four of us, using both stoves for each meal. The DragonFly offered the opportunity to easily simmer, so was nice for things like pancakes. But each time we fired up the DragonFly we almost had to shout or just stop the conversation all together because that thing was so loud. It really sounded like a jet. The WhisperLite is true to its name – it’s one of the quietest stoves we’ve ever heard. It’s nice to be able to cook and not disrupt the peaceful environment you’ve worked so hard to get to, and be able to continue a conversation without raising your voices. The WhisperLite also had a much better base for the larger cooking pots, especially on the soft, squishy ground we often had to cook on.

I would advise that you learn how to prime the WhisperLite a couple of times before heading out on your first trip with it: pump the fuel can about ten times to pressurize it, then set the stove down and turn the fuel valve to let a few drops of gas out. Light the liquid fuel and let it burn out completely before opening the fuel valve and re-lighting the stove.

When you know you want to simmer (if you’re cooking pancakes), you can simply pump the fuel can less to create less pressure and use the valve to tweak the flame as well.

This is a stove we will continue to use, especially on multi-week or multi-month trips where reliability is a key factor.

Gear Reviews:

OutsideForever

Gear Reviews: