Soto OD-1R Micro Regulator Stove

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

I bought this stove after reading the review of it in a recent issue of backpacker magazine. I was interested to see if the stove worked well in the cold and if the heat was consistent through out the life of the canister as the Backpacker testers reported. I tested and compared it with a primus stove by attaching both the soto micro regulator stove and the primus to two full snow peak canisters and by setting both in water filled with ice up to near the top of the canisters, compariable to what I'd seen in a youtube video. The Soto out performed the primus from the start in boil time and as both canisters emptied on repeated trials the performance gap widened dramatically.

What was unique and impressive about the performance of the Soto Micro Regulator was that the flame burned hot to the very end of the canister's life. On two separate trials with nearly empty canisters two cups of cold water were brought to a rolling boil (while the canisters were in the ice water) in under 3 minutes. The stove's flame burned very hot as the water boiled and then in less then 10 seconds it would dim and go out. At that point both canisters were completely empty. There was no gradual loss of heat as the flame slowly dimmed over an extended period of time as is the case with other canister stoves I own.

The stove weights in at 2.5 ounces, produces the most consister flame I've seen, (I own 5 different canister stoves) and outperformed the other stove. Botom line: The Soto folks are on to something with this micro regulator technology. It's my new favorie stove.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

This stove does its job. Your food gets hot as long as the wind doesn't blow and as long as you don't tip anything over. I do not see much difference in performance as a fuel can goes dry from other stoves of this type. Noise is about average for a sit-on-top canister stove.

The striker only works when stove is warm. In my kitchen at home it works first time every time. On the trail I need matches. Once the stove is warmed up (for example, if I turn it down and the stove goes out) it will light. Otherwise it takes a match.

Stability is helped a lot by stove feet made by Primus and others that give it a wider base. Otherwise, like all stoves of this type, it tips over very easily with a pot on top.

On a recent 4 day 3 night trip a 230 gram canister ran dry about half way through breakfast the last morning. This is cooking for two with extra hot drinks at breakfast and supper. All suppers and breakfasts needed some simmer time. We were not trying to conserve fuel. We had another canister.

This stove is well made and works fine. But given that it doesn't do anything any other canister stove does I'd probably recommend a less expensive model. I have yet to see a sparker that works reliable for very long so I would not spend the money for one.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

I was quite skeptical at first because I haven't heard of this company and couldn't find anything online about it. What the hell, REI has a very good return policy, couldn't hurt to try it out.

I bought this to have a lighter weight alternative to my Primus Omnifuel in the CO high country. Gas stoves are notoriously bad in the cold and at high altitude. First trip out was camping at 12k ft in the snow with temps in the 20s. The stove performed fantastically, especially compared to the Pocket Rockets that people had, much better heat output on a cold canister. Then the piezo stopped working, I was quite mad and was ready to return it to REI on the way back from my trip, but upon getting back to 6k ft, I tested it out again and it was working hmmm... Did some more research, turns out that the piezo igniters just don't work at high altitude, just something to keep in mind.

I have very high hopes for this little guy for when winter comes and looking forward to using it when temps are below 0.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

Recently just finished up a 3 day trip on the App Trail in N. Virginia to Maryland and thought I would try this stove out. Well I must say that I was very disappointed in it's performance in cooler weather. The low temps on the trail were only in the high 30's (not even below freezing). On the second night I resorted to putting the stove and fuel canister in my sleeping bag and that didn't help either.
The reason for my sharp criticism is that my buddy had a primus stove and a thru hiker the MSR pocket rocket and both were humming along fine. I an not sure if the performance was tied to to the fact that I was using a sno peak cannister but the sputtering and tepid output were disappointing. Especially after watching the SOTO video of the stove running in cold water.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

Does it get any better than this?Watch my[@] video for a full review.Small, compact, lightweight, self igniting. This stove is essentially the MSR Pocket Rocket, but adds the igniter. Redundancy for important things is key when you're on the trail. I used this stove in Montana at 6400ft elevation, during snow, hail, rain and sun with no issues. Boil time is under 3 minutes!

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

I read about this and wanted to give it a try. Previous experiences with JetBoils in cold weather was disappointing. i modified a spare Jetboil cup with 3 little slits placed as not interfere with using on a jetboil and to improve the stability of a cup on the three wings.

I did a test at home before heading out. Put Soto stove and a JB and two separate identical new fuel canisters in the freezer for 3 days. I prepared a pan of ice water brine(with table salt), took canister and stove out of freezer and boiled 2 cups of water each. Soto Micro boiled in 2:40 and JB took 4:45. This was in my garage with no wind. Pizzo on Soto worked fine.

First night out it was after 10:00 pm about 35-40 degrees, and wind gusts of about 20 mph intermittenly. 4 cups of water were boiled from snow in about 5 mins (was working on tent site and did not get accurate time). Jetboils were still working. Did not compare to MSR Reactors at the same time but felt comparable in boil times. Next morning temp was similar, less wind and boil time from snow was 4:30. I did nothing special with the iso-butane canister. Left it out in the cold of tent vestibule. Pizzo worked just fine in the morning.

I did dig about a foot deep hole in snow and placed a plastic snow claw digging shovel underneath to provide stability and a cooking platform. This seemed to help.

Overall weight to performance I highly approve of! JB is a fine stove for lower, warmer hikes. I am switching over to the cheaper Soto vs. MSR Reactor.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

Folks, it's as advertised.

It's light, packs easy,and runs consistently hot until it's out of fuel. It doesn't need a wind screen and I've had no issues with the electro lighter. (You've got matches just in case... you do carry matches with you, right?)

If you move fast, eat light, and kick scree, this is a good choice.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

I actually purchased 2 of these units over the past 3 months after reading some of the reviews. The first was for my BP trips and the second as support for larger 4+ group cooking . The stoves have performed quite well and I am impressed with the weight to price ratio. Light weight usually = $$$ I too thought there was a problem with the regulator like another person wrote (takes several turns of the control to actually get a flow of gas) however this might be due to the micro regulator inside this unit? Both of my stoves are identical in function and both maintain good flame throughout the life of the canister unlike my rapidfire. I would definately recommend this stove. The only drawback I would hit it on is the size of the fold out pot supports, they could be a little wider. Also as with all stoves always bring a second source of lighting. Get out and have fun!

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

Stove is very compact. Small enough to fit into my cup. Perfect stove to take up on a hike to cook oatmeal or coffee for breakfast. It is very lightweight. Accepts the common MSR fuel canisters.

The piezo igniter stopped working 1 day after I first used it. Wiggled a wire in the mesh and it works again, but I would not rely on the piezo set up for lighting it. Bring matches or a lighter.

A little heavier than the SnowPeak LiteMax, which might be a better choice since it is .7 ounces lighter.

Overall a good stove that packs well.

Comments about Soto Micro Regulator Stove:

Like others, I read a review in a backpacking magazine. After reading the other comments here I decided to try one. I live at sea level so can't comment on high altitude performance but I put both the stove and fuel canister in my freezer at zero degrees F for 4 days to get everything really cold. Unit started right up. Spark from piezo lighter worked every time button pushed so I am convinced of it's cold weather performance. It does take 2 full turns on the valve (720 degrees of rotation) to get enough fuel to light which take a little getting used to however.