How to Choose a Backpacking Stove

Lightweight and easy to pack, the Soto Fusion Trek stove is designed to excel in colder weather and windy conditions, making it an excellent choice for backcountry excursions.
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Imported.
View all Soto Backpacking StovesBest Use | Backpacking |
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Fuel Type | Canister |
Fuel | Isobutane-propane |
Number of Burners | 1 Burner |
Burn Time (Max Flame) | 90 min. (250 g gas canister) |
Average Boil Time (1L) | 3 min. 50 sec. |
Dimensions | In use: 16.9 x 5.5 x 3.9 in.; collapsed: 5.5 x 3.9 x 2.4 inches |
Weight | 6.4 ounces |
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This may not be the lightest stove, or the cheapest, but it's a fantastic stove for actually cooking! Very stable, boils quickly, throttles down well for simmering, good in wind (although if it's really windy, you should add a wind deflector). Did I mention it's STABLE? Also nice to have the adjustment valve away from the flame and boil-overs. Only drawback I can see is that it doesn't have a generator tube, so the manual says you can't turn the gas cartridge upside down and run it that way. For use in very cold conditions, this could be a problem. Haven't used it below 45°F yet, so can't say at what temperature it starts to slow down due to low gas pressure.
I bought this in March and used it a few times bikepacking, and it was impressive. it was this last time that I used it, car camping, that warranted a review. in 25 mph winds, no wind cover, on top of an unevem picnic table at 35 degrees faranheit, this thing never blew out. never hesitated, never made me need to take the pot off to check it. pot never wavered, even when dog decide to yank said table. I could not ask for a better all purpose camp stove for all of my different adventures. I'll follow up this winter when I take it skiing and snowshoeing.
When you buy a stove like this you buy it for two reasons; windscreen and real Backcountry cooking. It is bulkier and heavier than traditional canister stoves but that's the tradeoff for a more stable platform and overall better cooking experience. As far as summer goes this little stove is excellent. My test for simmering capability is to toast a piece of bread in butter to a perfect golden brown. This stove worked flawlessly. The quality is also outstanding.
This stove really impressed me.... A quality piece.... smooth, infinite, flame control.... Sturdy and light.... fuel line super flexible.... Many good stoves out there (and in my cabinet)..... and this is one of the finest....
This little drive is amazing! It packs down small. It is sturdy. Easy to use, my 11 and 12 year old children were able to use it (with supervision) . Boils water super fast. Reliable. It made my backpacking trip a breeze. I am even taking it car camping because it is lighter and easier to set up than the bigger camp stove we have.
Took on a several-day 1-person car-camping trip where I used the stove for two meals a day, both boiling water and cooking in pot or pan. Used about 1/2 a 230 g cylinder. Pro: Stable (holds 8-inch carbon steel skillet with no wobble; Great simmer control; Easy to light (especially with handheld piezo); Fast boil; Resistant to breezes with no additional windscreen; Compact to pack. Con (these are both minor and expected to some degree): Pot supports glow cherry red where flame touches them when cooking for more than 5 minutes or so; Not self-leveling. Soto's jet pattern and wind-resistant burner with lip mean fewer hot spots and less fussing when it's breezy. Great for summer and shoulder season camping in Pacific NW; would bring a different stove for winter (such as Soto Stormbreaker with remote white gas bottle). In particular, this is the stove I would want for bikepacking, even though it's heavier and larger than the Soto Windbreaker or Amicus, as the stability of a remote canister stove means less food or water accidentally on the ground, and a canister stove is easier and cooks faster than an alcohol burner like an Esbit or Trangia.
I own several stoves, but this is the best. A very well engineered and excellent quality stove that has a fair price. The stove is very easy to operate and is quiet, even at a full boil and it is also very fuel efficient. This is a serious stove.
One of the best stoves on the market. A little heavier than a Pocket Rocket, it performs and simmers way better; the platform is bigger and on the ground for real cooking in a backpacking camp scene. 5 of us cooked real food in real pots for a week in the Yellowstone back country. Plenty of power, and seems to sip on fuel. Dig the canister off to the side of the outstanding, big diameter burner. For sure not designed to burn with the canisters up-side-down.
Stove does not work on first usage. Gas bottle is full, yet no gas flows to burner. Turning valve has no affect.