Like it says, my question is far more "every day outdoors stuff" than anything. 

I've been getting into hiking a bit and would like to find a good stove to take. I know nothing beyond what I've read in the internet about hiking stoves and such, so figured I'd check out Outdoors section to get personal opinions here. I like the looks of something like the MSR Pocket Rocket, but the Whisperlite looks to have much better stability. Fundamentally though these 2 stoves use different fuel types so the differences extend well beyond cosmetics and the base!

Given I'm not looking to do multi day hikes (yet) and weight isnt a terribly large concern I'm not worried about a ounce or two more or less. I would like to be able to quickly boil water for food (Mountain House) for 3 (Myself and 2 kids when we go). The Pocket Rocket looks to be better suited as an individual type stove? It looks like the Whisperlite could handle a slightly larger pot. 

That said the minimalistic nature of the Pocket Rocket looks preferable. Just a bottle of fuel and the burner, thats about as easy as it gets. The Whisperlite does look a bit more finicky and messy....possibly......

So curious what others are using,. and opinions of the stoves available. I'm not terribly partial to any one brand, just throwing out what seem to be the heavyweights in the hiking stove world.

Edit AAR: 

So purchased the Optimus Crux stove (linked below). Had it today. Worked just as I expected, and man did it get water boiling fast! I think it takes longer to set up than to boil water. I did not go with the Jetboils because I wanted to be able to use a different sized pot if I decide to change it up. The Weekend HE package is exactly what I needed. Very happy with it. Also I like the kit, and the folding head on the stove is neat. Not sure how much room it really saves, but its a neat idea.  Also feels very solid, no concerns about being flimsy or falling apart. 

I have a Coleman Peak One Apex. I like the stove and for long term hiking it's great. It's heavy though so in an effort to reduce weight, I got a MSR Pocket Rocket. I really like it.

If you want to try out a stove similar to the Pocket Rocket but not spend much money, check the one on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4FY8YO?tag=vglnk-c102-20


A canister stove can't be refilled so if you have a partial canister left, if the partial isn't enough for a trip, you have to bring another canister.

With the white gas stoves, you can bring as much fuel as you need by topping off the bottle as needed. The white gas stoves are a little more prone to breakage especially with the pump and they clog easier if you use anything other than white gas.

Nice! Truth be told I was looking at the Coleman equivalent.

Coleman Exponent F1

Not quite the high end ritzy brand name of Jet Boil or MSR....But the price is right and I cant see the performance being any different. 

I have both an MSR Whisperlite and a Pocket Rocket. The latter gets most of the use, whether hiking or car camping. For quickly boiling water, the Rocket is faster and easier. I can also fit the stove and a day's worth of food in a small pot with a latching lid. I will never get rid of the Whisperlite, though. Solid and reliable.

I'm kind of a gear freak.  I've owned a lot of stoves over the years.  I haven't used a white gas stove for years, except for snow camping (and for the last couple years I've used my MSR Reactor for that).  I prefer canister stoves.  There are a lot of good options out there.  My solution to the problem of partly full canisters is to use a Primus Micron Lantern to finish off the partly full cannisters--either during the trip or after the trip during a car camping trip where the weight/bulk of the mostly empty canisters is no big deal.

ETA - There's a good summary of the pros and cons of each type of stove at https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacking-stove.html

I prefer canister just for the ease of use and lower chance of an accidental leak.  The canisters last far longer than I originally thought they would.  I'm currently using a jetboil but have used a Coleman Max single burner in the past.  I usually take my partial canister plus one extra they don't weigh that much, I've rarely had to switch to the spare canister.

Unless you are going up past 12k feet or to a different nation than the USA, canisters are just way better in almost every way.

Liquid fuel stoves are more finicky, heavier, and take longer to get running.

Don't count out the alcohol or wood stove options if you aren't trying to be a gourmand in the sticks.

Canister stoves can have issues due to low temps due to a drop in pressure in the canister. The white gas stoves don't have that problem because you can pump them up all you need to.

That said, it's hard to beat the convenience and light weight of a canister stove.

I like the poster's recommendation of using the partially filled canister to run a light. I need to get one of those lights.

I don't like canisters and prefer multi fuel stoves.

I don't do a lot of camping anymore. When I did I always used white gas stoves - I have an ancient Olympus 8R that still works just fine, and I have an older MSR stove.  

Headed out this weekend for a fishing trip I picked up a Jetboil Java that is a canister stove.  It looks to be pretty slick.   Overall heavy - but it it has its own pot to cook in and everything packs into the pot.  It has adaptors to use it for pans rather than the pot it comes with.  

Looks pretty slick and a single canister should last quite a while.  Not dealing with a bottle of fuel might be nice.

I would look for a stove with a hose - either canister or white gas.

Canister is a light and go - the white gas requires priming and can get black soot if you use gas to prime. I use alcohol to prime and it is clean.

The benefits are low, stable platform for cooking and it allows you to use a windscreen for quite a bit more efficiency depending on conditions.

+1 on both in my experience and use.  But I also have canister stoves.

I've had a whisperlite for 15-20 years and it has served me faithfully with not one issue during that time.  

Both options will boil water fast.  

The perks of the white gas stove for me are

Better functionality in cold weather(I occasionally do cold weather trips)

Easy and cheaper to carry a full fuel bottle every time I go out, rather than having a half empty canister.

Pourable accelerant for help starting a wet fire, or if I just feel lazy.

In 15 years I have never experienced any leaking/spilling/mess with my stove and an MSR fuel bottle.

ETA: the only time I find a canister advantageous is for a quick, easy, overnight, day pack only type of trip.  It's nice when on a short fast trip to hike out somewhere, sleep, wake up, fire up the canister for a cup of coffee and a mountain house pouch, and head back.

I have a 30+ year old MSR GK that could probably burn piss if you drank enough vodka the night before.  The thing is cranky, finicky and dented as fack after riding the express elevator haul bag off El Cap in the early 90's but if there is ever a proven cause of global warming, that will be it.  With a mix of 10% white gas and 90% kero, it will melt Alaska on a single tank.  I have pretty much set it aside in favor of a Jetboil now.  MUCH safer to use in the tinder dry Sierras .  I tried it out on a four day backpacking trip last fall and I was pretty impressed but I was only using it for coffee and freeze dried food.  It also works really well in my boat for heating up soup and stuff.

Well, just pulled the trigger on an Optimus Cruz Weekend HE kit. I have no plans to do anything beyond an overnight (If even that far) and not any extreme temps so a 3 season cannister should work well. Guess I'll find out shortly!

Optimus Crux

Adventures In Stoving
Investigations into and adventures with backpacking stoves including solid fuel (e.g. ESBIT), alcohol, gas, "white" gas (Coleman type fuel), wood, and kerosene.

Adventures in Stoving: Great site for information on stoves

Canister all the way
I used mine for the last 10 years (jet boil) from car camping to mt rainier climbs. For cold weather keep canisters on your body or in sleeping bag at night. I will say jetboil is good for heating water not cooking . I did mountain house and coffee all the time.

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The Whisperlite is neither finicky, nor messy. I don't believe there is anything better, and I prefer white gas refillable canisters over pressurized units any day of the week. I've done 0-Ring replacement on mine with a couple bucks worth of parts from the autoparts store, and it works as good as it did when I bought it 20 years ago after many many trips and hard use.

I run a soda can stove.
Used a campingaz canister drive for years.
But the can stove best inside my mess kit,with windscreen. 2-3oz of fuel is a weekend.

Near got into stoves that much. Honestly with freeze dried you just need hot water...coffee ..hot water.
I'm not making seared tuna steaks or braised Shanghai pork belly on the trail.

You'll like it.  I had one until my wife gave it to our daughter  Most of the iso-butane canister stoves are simple and easy; perfect to get started.  For out longer backpacking trips, we use alcohol stoves.  For higher elevations or long road trips (where we camp), we use liquid fuel (all are "multifuel") gas stoves.  Our loaners are Jetboil, Snow Peak, and few other iso-butane canister stoves for those new to camping or backpacking.  Simple, easy and reliable.  Optimus makes quality gear, so you'll have zero issues with the Crux.

ROCK6

For three season use, and short trips, you can't beat canister gas stoves.  Lighter, easier, and cheaper than white gas. 

You did it right, every time I went the group wanted to overnight and Muir

When backpacking I boil water.  Period.  Hard to beat the convenience of a canister/JetBoil.  For a wider set of environments -- high elevation, cold, random places in the world -- the multifuel stove gets the nod.

I've used the MSR Whisperlite International for years. I love that I can used multiple different fuels. Very useful if they don't carry white gas near you or the correct cannister. Light weight, works great.

Make sure you figure out a decent wind-screen.  Most stoves with an open flame are really susceptible to heat loss from wind. The easiest method is just an appropriate height of aluminum foil wrapped around the stove to just over the bottom of the cooking pot.  A much needed addition to keep your stove as efficient as possible, maximize boil/cooking time, and conserve fuel.  

ROCK6

For longer trips and my BoB I use an MSR Firefly.  It will burn just about anything, diesel, unleaded gas, white gas, jp-8, kerosene, etc.  For short trips and my hunting pack I carry a Esbit  pocket stove with a dozen or so spare fuel tabs.  I use many of my prep items on a regular basis.  If I think it will wear out I have a spare or a rebuild kit.  Nothing is worse than counting on something and it not filling the purpose you bought it for when you finally need it.

IDHunt

I have used the Primus Yellowstone Trail aka Classic for years. Cheap and both cooks and boils good. Breaks down in two pieces (valve assembly & burner assembly) and comes with a carry bag. Primus also makes a stove similar to the JetBoil that works the same and is configured well, however the Primus to me seems to cook better than the JetBoil.

I use a Jetboil Flash for 3-season use and am currently in the market for a white gas stove during the winter.  The Flash boils enough water to make a MH meal in about 2 minutes and condenses down to the size of a coffee mug which makes for easy packing.

For white gas, I’m going with an Optimus, model TBD.  I like how the pump and fuel line connections are made and the magnetic jet cleaner is a nice feature.  The only reason I’d go with a MSR is due to market availability but don’t like how MSR uses alot of plastic parts.

I bought one of these at Walmart last week for $17. It's bigger and a bit heavier than the pocket rocket style stoves but still fits in my 2 cup pot with fuel canister. The pot stands seem more stable than the micro stoves and gets water boiling quickly due to the larger burner. 63 degrees outside and it got 2 cups of water to a rolling boil in 2:21.

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I use the no name brand versions of those when weight is a concern.  If weight doesn't matter, or I am car camping I usually bring a regular Colman propane burner with a few bottles.

I actually have a couple different versions of the small canister burners.  They are all over ebay and amazon for less then $10.

I'd start with the pocket rocket and a canister. Probably the easiest thing to use next to the jet boil, but a little more flexible. These are heating stoves, not really cooking stoves. Canisters are super convenient on the trail.

Very true.  It can be difficult to cook on some of the smaller canister stoves. I prefer having my full size Colman burner on regular propane when real food is involved:

I guess my current use one is actually a Walmart Ozark brand:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Single-Burner-Propane-Stove/132628782

I have an older Coleman one as well.

I actually prefer bringing foods that need to be cooked/ simmered vs mt house type meals.

Windscreen, windscreen, windscreen....

If you care about fuel weight or how long it takes to heat thing up, I think a good wind screen is imperative.

Anything will help - cracker boxes, backpack sitting on it's side, log, etc.

Desert car camping - wind blowing from left to right - 20-35 mph.
Food box provides the big blockage, paper bag provides one side and makeshift aluminum foil windscreen around pot is barely rustling.



Backpacking - For my AO a hose type stove is clearly the best. One of these days I might buy a canister / hose stove but for now the tried and true Whisperlite gets it done at all elevations and seasons.
Alcohol was not cutting it as primer above tree lines - feathered in some white gas.

What are my options for a wind screen for this stove?

Each time I think I might take the white gas stove along, I pick it up and I'm reminded why I have not yet done so.  It's heavy and takes up at least twice the space my canister stove does.   I only backpack in Spring/Fall and it's pretty easy to toss a canister in the sleeping bag or in the hammock pocket under me to keep it pressurized and ready even in pretty cold weather at the edges of those seasons.  If I'm going to be days out from the road, then I'll take two canisters along just in case and it's still lighter than the white gas rig.

The MSR's little burner windscreen is pretty impressive.  As long as you run it with gusto, one segment may go out and you'll have a longer boil but it usually will work.  Otherwise it's time to get under the tarp to cook, but I hate doing that.