Primus Omnilite Stove
Primus
Omnilite Ti Stove
Test
Series by Bob Sanders
Initial
Report: June 27, 2015
Field
Report: October 13, 2015
Long Term Report: December 8, 2015
| PERSONAL
INFORMATION |
| Name: |
Bob
Sanders |
 Backpacking
Background: I went on my first backpacking trip as a
Boy Scout at the age of 16. Over the years I have hiked the
Wonderland Trail in Washington and section hiked parts of the
Florida Trail, Appalachian Trail, Colorado Trail and 740 mi
(1191 km) of the Pacific Crest Trail. I continue to backpack and
hike year round in the Colorado mountains. I have evolved from a
heavyweight backpacker to a lightweight backpacker and sometimes
reach ultralight weights. My three day winter/spring solo
adventures (using a tent) have me hovering around a 15 lb (6.8
kg) base weight.
|
| Age: |
57 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
6
ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: |
210
lb (95 kg) |
| Email: |
sherpabob(at)mac(dot)com |
| Location: |
Rollinsville,
Colorado USA |
INITIAL
REPORT
June
27, 2015
PRODUCT
INFORMATION
|
Manufacturer's
URL: www.primus.se
Year of Manufacture: 2015
Made in: Sweden
MSRP: $179.95 USD
Listed Weight from Website (Stove Only): 8.4 oz
(239 g)
Measured
Size (Collapsed): 4.4 x3.6 x 2.2 in (112 x 92 x
55 mm)
Measured
Weights:
Stove: 7.8 oz (221 g)
Fuel Pump: 3.5 oz (101 g)
Windshield/Heat Reflector: 3 oz (85
g)
Empty 0.35 L Fuel Bottle w/Lid: 4.3
oz (123 g)
Storage Bag: 6.9 oz (196 g)
Multi-tool
& Grease: 1.8 oz (50 g)
Complete
Package (Everything Supplied in Bag): 28.4 oz
(806 g)
Listed Output: 8900 BTU/h (2600 W)
Listed Boiling Time: 2:40 min (+ preheating 40
sec) (1 L)
Listed Burn Time: 100 min with 230 g (8.1 oz)
gas canister
Complete
package showing stove, fuel bottle, cap, pump, windscreen,
tool, lube & bag.
|
Initial
Impressions:
Let me say first
that this is a serious stove. The package comes complete with
instructions, the stove, a .35 L (11.8 fl oz) fuel bottle with cap, fuel
pump, windscreen, heat reflector, multi-tool, tube of silicone grease
and storage bag.
Primus
Omnilite Ti Stove: This stove is reasonably light at 7.8 oz
(221 g). It is designed to be a multi-fuel stove. This stove can burn LP
gas (propane/butane), gasoline/petrol, diesel, kerosene/paraffin, and
even aviation fuel. To accommodate each of the fuels a separate fuel jet
nipple must be installed. The kit includes 3 different sized jet nipples
that are removed and installed with the included multi-tool. Titanium is
used for the folding pot supports and the stove central windscreen. The
rest of the stove is made from what appears to be stainless steel and
brass. It is very stable sitting on the ground. It will accommodate pots
ranging from 3 in (76 mm) on up. It is rated for 4 season use and I can
see why. I will not be melting any snow during this review but should
give it a good workout. The flame control knob/wire is large enough to
be used with gloves on.
Primus
Omnilite Ti Stove
Fuel
Bottle and Cap: Both of these units seem well made and robust.
The bottle is aluminum with a nice grippy texture. The cap is thick
plastic with a rubber O-Ring.
ErgoPump:
The pump is well made and consists of an aluminum pump tube, a
brass fuel tube, a plastic bottle attachment fitting and a brass fuel
line stove attachment. When attached to the bottle the pump assembly
angles upwards slightly so it is possible to pump the bottle while it is
lying on the ground. No need to pick the bottle up to add a few extra
pumps. This is a nice touch and my assumption is why it is called the
ErgoPump.
Fuel bottle, pump and cap
Windscreen
and Heat Reflector: Both are made from very thick bendable
aluminum. Both come folded. In the future I will be rolling the
windscreen around the bottle. Makes it much easier to deploy the
windscreen around the pot when it is rolled.
Multi-Tool
and Silicone Grease: The multi-Tool is made of metal and is
heavy and robust. It serves the function of taking the stove apart for
maintenance. It has a hexagon shaped tube for exchanging jets, hex
shaped slots on the side for removing brass nuts, a 2 pronged tool for
removing the bottom nut and a cleaning wire to clean and unclog jets.
The Silicone grease comes in a .17 oz (5 g) tube which is used to
lubricate the pump.
Multi-Tool
& Grease
The
Bag: I saved the best for last. This thing is big, heavy and
way overkill. Flat it measures 11 x 16.75 in (28 x 42 cm). It could
easily be half as tall and still accommodate everything. The zippered
pocket on the outside is 11 x 6 in (28 x 15 cm) is also way too big. For
me the only thing I would put in it would be the jets, multi-tool and
the grease tube. To keep them from floating around in the bottom of this
huge bag. The fabric is a heavy duty waterproof Cordura nylon, probably
1000 d. The bag also has a roll top with a metal clasp. What I find odd
is that the bag is built like a dry bag but the seams are not sealed.
Who needs a dry bag for their stove? I am going to say right now that I
will not be carrying this bag in the field. I will carry the stove,
windscreen and heat reflector inside my cooking pot. The pump and fuel
bottle will go in an outside pocket in case it leaks.
Nylon
storage bag
Conclusion:
I will be using
the stove with both screw on gas (isobutane/propane) canisters and white
gas (Coleman). I won't need to switch out the jet as both of these fuels
use the same jet. I may try the stove with gasoline but it will not be
my primary fuel.
Thumbs
Up:
- Lightweight for
a multi-fuel stove
- Comes with
everything you need to use and maintain the stove
- This stove
would be superb for international travel where fuel choices will vary
Thumbs
Down:
- Storage bag is
way overkill (too big and too heavy)
FIELD
REPORT
October
13, 2015
The
Primus Omnilite Stove using white gas set up for dinner using
windscreen and reflector.
I
have carried this stove on two backpacking trips and on one day hike
to boil water for lunch. This stove is kind of overkill for just
boiling water (especially for a day hike) but it did the job and it
did it quickly. The water was boiling in approx. 3 minutes. For both
backpacking trips I used the stove to boil water in the mornings for
coffee and to cook breakfast. And the again each evening to prepare a
meal.
Testing
locations and conditions:
Day Hike: During this test period I have been on numerous day hikes
but I only carried the stove once. The hike was 8 mi (13 km) in the
surrounding foothills near my home. Elevation ranged between 7500 to
9500 ft (2286 to 2896 m) Temperatures ran between 50 and 75 F (10 and
24 C) during the day of the hike.
BackpackingTrip #1: Drove up to Lefthand Reservoir for a quick
overnighter. Hiked in on the access road and then completely around
the Reservoir to the other side. Total distance was 4 mi (6.4 km).
Elevation was 10,666 feet (3,251 m). I had the whole place to
myself. After exploring the surrounding area I settled down for an
evening meal. Supper was a simple noodle meal with some extra goodies
thrown in. The water boiled quickly and the stove was easy to turn
down to the perfect simmer. Nothing burned and the meal was perfectly
cooked. Breakfast was as simple matter of boiling water. In the
evenings I'm not much in a hurry and meal preparation seems to take a
while. In the mornings though I'm always in a hurry to get that first
cup of coffee, so the fast boil times are great.
BackpackingTrip
#2: Headed out to Woodland Lake west of Nederland, CO (USA) for a two
day trip. Total distance was 8.6 mi (13.8 km) with elevations from
9,000 ft to 10,900 ft (2,743 m to 3,322 m) Temperatures were about 65
F (18 C) during the day and at those altitudes is was about 35 F (1.6
C) in the morning. I cooked supper that night and breakfast the next
morning. For food the only thing different from the previous trip was
I did cook a sausage patty and a couple of eggs for breakfast. The
simmer feature again came in real handy and breakfast turned out
great.
Performance:
The Omnilite stove has worked flawlessly with no hiccups, sputters or
failures. It has primed, started and burned with each attempt.
For the first trip I did carry a full bottle of fuel. I used the same
bottle for all subsequent trips and I did not add any additional fuel
to the bottle. When I first filled the fuel bottle (per the
instructions) I added 20 strokes of pressure to the bottle. For each
trip later on I only added 10 additional strokes of pressure using the
pump. I left the pump screwed to the bottle between trips and
basically just added some lost pressure between trips. I think I
guessed pretty good and I did not have to add extra pressure for each
meal. At the end of this test period my guess is the fuel bottle is
still about 2/3 full. That appears to be pretty good fuel economy.
The stove and all the accessories appear in excellent shape. The stove
itself is a little sooty under the burner from the priming. The soot
brushes off easily.
Summary:
I really like this stove. I really wish I could test this stove in
really cold weather to see how it performs. The stove is very robust
and can produce a lot of heat. For summer time use it is a bit of an
overkill. This stove would rock in the winter melting snow for water.
Pros: The simmer feature is excellent and will produce a small enough
flame to keep meals from burning.
Cons: The carry bag is large and heavy. In the future the bag will be
used for storage, not for carrying in my backpack.
LONG
TERM REPORT
December
8, 2015
I
have carried this stove on one additional day hike and one additional
backpacking trip. For both of these trips I switched to a gas canister
(isobutane) to see how well the stove performed with a different fuel.
Testing
locations and conditions:
Day Hike: The hike was 8 mi (13 km) in the surrounding foothills near
my home. Elevation ranged between 7500 to 9500 ft (2286 to 2896 m)
Temperatures ran between 25 and 45 F (-4 and 7 C) during the day of
the hike. I stopped for lunch and heated some water for a hot beverage
and soup.
BackpackingTrip #1: Drove up to Lefthand Reservoir for another quick
overnighter. Total hiking distance was 4 mi (6.4 km). Elevation was
10,666 feet (3,251 m). While using the stove in the morning and
evenings the
temperatures ran between 20 and 40 F (-7 and 4 C). On this
trip I got a chance to melt snow for water and to cook several meals.
In all instances I used a 1.3 L (34 oz) titanium pot with lid. I
camped in a sheltered area and used the included windscreen.
Performance:
The Omnilite stove has worked
well using both white gas and with an isobutane gas cartridge. I had
no issues using either fuel. I always used the windscreen and I
believe it is a good idea even if it is not windy. It helps contain
some of the heat around the pot and helps with efficiency. Melting
snow was easy. I only wish I had brought a larger pot so I wouldn't
have had to keep adding snow to the pot so often. In colder
temperatures and at higher altitudes this stove excels. For simmering,
the use of the gas cartridge made that task easier and more
controllable. For both of these trips I used the same gas cartridge
which was full. I believe I used less than half of the cartridge. The
majority of the fuel was used for melting snow.
Summary:
This stove is a winner. Being
a multi-fuel stove means it is a great travel stove and can be used
internationally where fuel choice is limited.
For me, future use is going to be reserved for group use and cold
temperature, higher altitude use. If I expect to be melting lots of
snow and just boiling water then using the stove with white gas is the
way to go. If I expect to use the stove to prepare meals for myself
and a small group then a gas canister would be my choice. It has
better simmer capabilities than using white gas. For simple solo
excursions this would not be my choice for a stove. I have simpler,
lighter and smaller stoves for those trips.
Pros: Multi-fuel capability. Heats water quickly and efficiently.
Cons: The carry bag is large and heavy. I will only use the bag for
storage. The stove is loud when using white gas. Much quieter when
using a gas cartridge.
I would like to
thank BackpackGearTest.org and Primus for the opportunity to test this
stove.
Read more reviews of Primus gear
Read more gear reviews by Bob Sanders
|
