Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

Got one to replace MSR Pocket Rocket.

Pocket Rocket pot supports are too flimsy. Struts are so thin that pots sway and twist when sturring Lipton noodles & rice dishes. Happens too much even with the MSR 1.5 litre pot, and much more with the 2 litre pot.

With Snowpeak Gigapower my pots no longer sway or twist. Gigapower is also less tippy on uneven ground (approximately 2-3 times as stable as pocket rocket)

Gigapower flame pattern also created less of a hot spot and was easier to cook Lipton Fettacine Alredo without sticking. (2-3" circle had sticking problem with pocket rocket and MSR teflon coated aluminum pot.)

Gigapower was also a lot better in a light to medium wind - but both needed a wind break of some sort for medium to heavy wind. The Gigapower did flame-out more at minimal gas setting, but delivered much more flame to bottom of pot at 10-25% gas setting. (Pocket Rocket flame blew sideways).

Also - piezo ignitor is AWESOME. Had issues getting 2 different (full) Bics to light at 35 degrees (F). (Approximately 10-20 trys required to get a small flame).

Plus - piezo allows stove to be relit without removing pot - which eliminates (almost non-existant) flame out issue at VERY low gas setting. Piezo seems very sturdy (not bendy, or bump-prone) and looks easily replaceable. It's held in with two #1 phillips screws.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

This stove is head and shoulders above other lightweight stoves for SO many reasons. It takes only seconds to set up, lights easily and reliably, it burns hot, is surprisingly stable, and folds up tiny.

How's this for easy-to-use? I can fit the stove, fuel canister, and my trimmed spoon all inside my 0.9L pot. To use it, I simply screw the stove onto the fuel canister, fold out the 4 wires, start the gas, and click the Piezo igniter. Done! No one in camp can start cooking faster than I can!

It's so stable because the cooking surface has 4 wires instead of 3 - and they are actually level when unfolded. This makes it much easier to balance a full pot when cooking. Also, because the cooking surface is lower than other stoves, it has a much better center of balance. And don't think that having 4 wires makes it more bulky. I tried fitting other "tiny" stoves in my pot and they just wouldn't fit.

As for performance, it throws nicely distributed heat that can easily be adjusted with the large gas control lever. The Piezo lighter hasn't failed me yet and is placed far away from the flames (my fingers appreciate that). If you want fast, lightweight, and hassle-free then this is the stove for you.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

No, you don't need the Ti version of this stove. If you spit a couple of times, you've just lost all the weight you save with the Ti version. Seriously. You DO, however, need the piezo. It's reliable and since it's attached to the stove, you can't lose it. I mean, yeah, you should always carry a backup firestarter, but the piezo is a great feature that shouldn't be skipped -- ESPECIALLY for weight reasons.

One thing to note: this stove needs to be located with a little forethought when you're in a windy spot. It is pretty strongly affected by wind, and your boil times will go sharply up if you don't keep it from getting all wind-sputtery. That said, there really isn't much to keep you from buying this. It's the best summer stove you'll ever find (and it fits inside Snow Peak's Trek700 mug with a canister of fuel, which is terribly convenient). Get one.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

I bought this stove as a lightweight/more compact replacement to my MSR Wisperlight gas stove. It is very lightweight and folds up into a small plastic box that fits in your hand (and very nicely in a 300ml cup). Using the stove at home, there were no problems whatsoever - it burned hot, simmered decent, and was relatively easy on fuel. The Piezo ignitor worked fine.

The real issues started when we camped at 12,000ft and the weather got windy and cold. The Piezo ignitor would not work and had to use matches. The stove heated water fine but consumed fuel at an alarming rate, burning through a 110g canister over the course of 3 meals (my old Whisperlight would last 2-3 days of meals, in comparison). My buddy's Jetboil stove consumed much less fuel and I ended up bumming an unused fuel can from him towards the end of our trip. When I got back home I examined the Piezo ignitor and noticed it had been bent in too closely, at some point in time, and the spark was not big enough to light the stove. I bent it out slightly and it worked fine leading me to believe that this feature may not be all that great or even worth the extra price since when matches are always with me anyways. I'm considering a liquid fuel stove for my future higher altitude, cold weather adventures.

This stove, in my opinion, would be better suited for short trips to moderate altitudes where minimum weight and space are a concern.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

I owned this stove for just about five years now and it is still going strong. Since I am petite in size, I have to be very careful about the weight I carry on my back - every ounce counts! This stove fits that purpose. Not just that, it is easy to use, set up, quiet, compact in size(fits nicely into the Snowpeak 3 piece Titanium pots set I own). Really, I have no complaints. Only recommendation for those who don't already know, keep the gas canisters in the sleeping bag with you and you won't have trouble starting it in the morning (This is a gas canister issue and not anything to do with the stove).

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

I LOVE this stove! I have owned one for over 6 years and it has never given me any problems at all. I have taken it in all kinds of weather and on all kinds of trips and this stove has always kept on doing its job! In sub-freezing temps it might require a little of a warm up period but that has to be expected with a cannister stove. I have used an alcohol stove, a compact tablet stove, a MSR type stove and many other cannister stoves. I have never found one that holds a candle to this guy. After all these years the peizo still works too. The only half way complaint I can muster in regards to this stove is that it has trouble with wind. But if you use the wind screen then that is no longer a problem AT ALL! I am eager to see how the new snow peak stove stacks up to it. I would trust no other stove on a long trip.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

Ok, I was really shaving weight, and wanted to dump my old white gas workhorse stove for something lighter. I tried an alcohol stove, but I didn't want to light myself on fire, and the output was terrible, so I got looking.
I did comparisons on all the different stoves, and got this one. For power and weight this seemed like the best. It is very stable. Burns from raging to simmer, and packs down to the size of two matchbooks. Comparing to an alcohol stove isn't really fair, but it's with gas it's not much more or even less wieght than an alcohol stove if you were cooking more than a few meals. The alcohol for cooking say 6 meals would make that package wiegh more than snow peak with gas to cook about 9 or ten meals.
This stove is a good alternative to an alcohol stove if you want the wieght savings, but want some serious BTU's. It's a very cool stove.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

Bottom Line: This is a well-made, lightweight, simple stove that will provide the lightweight/ultralight backpacker or day-hiker with the means for hot meals with minimal fuss and excellent reliability. If you want finely-crafted cuisine, you're just going to have to go with a larger, heavier model in order to be pleased.

Why I Bought It: I need a lightweight, ultra-reliable stove that can provide me with boiling water for hot meals when day-hiking, or on minimal-gear overnights. I don't want anything fragile...the things I own get used and abused, not pampered. I don't need to saute crab cakes with this class of stove, so a wide burner head isn't the top priority. Efficiency and compact size are important.

Good Stuff: It's solid, well-made, and has a minimum of moving parts...four folding pot supports, the piezo ignition and a valve. It's light, compact, VERY HOT when running at maximum output, and it will easily nest inside a reasonably-sized pot along with a canister of fuel, the accompanying windscreen, and some folding canister supports. The noise is not overly obtrusive until one turns it up on full blast...and even then, I find it tolerable. When placed over a 220+ gram container the assembly is reasonably stable, providing that one does not place a larger (6" or greater diameter) pot on it. The addition of a fourth folding support is appreciated...this makes the cooking surface more stable, in my opinion. When a set of folding canister supports are used on the bottom of a canister, the unit gets very tip-resistant...which is good when you have boiling water involved. The heat output is exceptional at even low levels, and at a moderate output, the stove performed wonderfully: it will easily boil water in the advertised time limit, but reducing the flame to a much more efficient level (read: "not full-blast") didn't really add much more to the boiling time, and also didn't cause the stove to run abnormally rich, as is sometimes the case. The adjustment valve handle is easily reached from under a pot, and it folds up neatly when stored. Also, the heavy wire pot supports fold in such a manner as to make a cage around the burner, which will further insulate it against impact damage when stored in the provided case. The piezo unit is easily removed, should one not want to use it...word of advice: the screw that holds it on is thread-locked - a little bit of heat, and it will come right out. Cold-weather/cold-cylinder testing (it's 15 degrees outside as I write this) wasn't great, but it was about what I expected: a bit sputtery, but again, I find that reducing the flame back from the maximum helps. The stove is very, very resistant from being blown out by wind...I tried blowing it out, and couldn't do much good. With the windscreen (sold separately) and a custom shroud (as per another reviewer) this thing is as wind-resistant as you're going to get, and the gain in weight is minimal. No soot or cleaning required thus far (several hours of burning time). I'm impressed.

Bad Stuff: The piezo ignition does not do a great job of ignition, and as a result, I simply removed mine and kept it in the original box. A butane lighter easily lights the stove, however, and as I always carry backup fire-making devices, this is not an inconvenience at all, to me. Some may not like it. Cold weather/cold-cylinder performance isn't great, but can be improved by either warming the cylinder, or not running the stove at maximum output. If winter backpacking is your thing, I suggest liquid fuel, because none of the canister stoves are going to be exceptionally reliable. The biggest complaint that I have is probably the coarseness of the adjustment for the gas output...the "Off" and "Angry Volcano God" settings have a difference of no more than 1/3 of a turn on the valve...thus, in order to light the stove, you have to BARELY crack the gas valve open, and even then you get a lot of pressure from the screen-style burner. It's just too much volume for the piezo ignition to handle...but, as mentioned, a lighter (or match) works great. It will also light from a firesteel-style starter, incidentally. A gas regulator or a finer control valve would be welcome improvements to this stove, but the lack of them do not impair the function, considering my purchase priorities. Were it not for the coarse adjustment, this would be a five-star purchase.

In Closing: If you're realistic about what you get with any micro-sized canister stove, then you'll be pleased with the Giga Power. Were I to purchase again, I would skip the piezo ignition addition and put that money into the accompanying windscreen (still sold separately). If you're looking for backyard-grill-like performance, you're going to have to suck it up and go to liquid fuel. If you want hot cider on a cold morning, this is your baby. Ditching the piezo system saved me a bit of weight and made this little thing as nuke-proof as a pint-sized stove can be.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

Dollars to donuts, the first time you screw this in you're spewing isobutane all over yourself. For some reason, in the folded/storage position, the valve has to be in the open position... if you forget to close it before screwing it onto the canister...

Love the stove. Fits neatly inside my GSI Soloist pot with room to spare for cup/fuel/rag/spork/spices.

The canister + piezo lighter is a snap (hah), no mucking around with priming, fumbling with matches... screw on the stove, open the valve, click the igniter and you're cooking with gas. I always carry a backup striker, but the piezo igniter hasn't failed me yet... and usually lights on the the first.

Consider a windscreen... I've had trouble boiling water in colder temps/windy conditions... even though we were above 10k.

Comments about Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo:

This is a great stove that is easy to use, easy to light, small and light. I recently bought the titanium version to save weight and it works like a charm and is incredibly fast and easy to use. I also own a jet boil but i think this is definitely better and faster at cooking and is a fourth of the size. Overall i recommend this product to anyone that needs to save space and weight but still wants a simple easy to use stove that boils water very quickly. I even ran a test to see how fast it could boil water and it boiled it in 1 minute and 18 seconds!!!!! This is a great buy just like all of the other snow peak products