MSR Dragonfly Review

There are a few features I look for in a stove that make it a piece of useful equipment versus a piece of equipment that is better left at home or better suited for car camping. First I look at the type of fuel it uses, then I look at how stable the pot supports are, how compact the stove is and then, one of the most important features, how adjustable the flame is.

Fuel is the life-blood of your stove, and in general, you would be best served buy using a stove that has multi-fuel capabilities. The DragonFly will burn just about any fuel worth cooking over to include kerosene and auto gas.

The DragonFly's pot support legs open to a 7inch diameter, which will allow you to place even a large pot of water onto the supports with worrying about the stability. Finding a semi level spot is all that is truly needed. While testing, I placed and removed many different size pots and pans without worrying that the stove would be unstable.

This stove weighs in at 17.1 ounces, and folds up to 1/3 of its size. Even with the included windscreen, the entire unit fits into its own stuff sack and will take up very little room in your pack. The weight to function ratio of the DragonFly is very good, being well worth a spot inside your pack.

The DragonFly features MSR's innovative CoolFuel valve, which allows the flame to adjust from a simmer to a blast furnace with immediate response. Sometimes when cooking you need this flame turned down NOW, the CoolFuel valve allows you to do this. The Cool Fuel valve will also allow you to turn the stove down to a very tiny, barely lit flame, which means you can keep the stove lit between boiling pots of water without wasting fuel. By keeping the stove lit, you do not have to worry about repriming the stove. For more information on MSR's CoolFuel Valve, visit their website at www.msrcorp.com.

I would highly recommend the MSR DragonFly stove to anyone looking for a multi-fuel, compact, rugged means of heating chow.

By: Ron England

Copyright and License

This article was originally published by Outdoor Equipment Guide at www.oegmag.com. This content is Copyright (C) 2004 by Outdoor Equipment Guide, and is being reprinted here under a license agreement between Outdoor Equipment Guide and HikersCorner.com. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is expressly prohibited by this license agreement.