This is a small and light weight stove with a built in auto ignition system. It uses screw on type butane/propane cartridges.
The stove arrives in a tiny but nice box and includes instructions in multiple languages and a hard plastic case. The plastic case measures 3.5 x 1.5 x 2 inches (89 x 38 x 51 mm).
The stove is very minimal in design and operation. It has four arms that fold out to support cookware. Unfolded the arms create a platform that measures 4.25 inches diagonally (108 mm diagonally). The flame is controlled with an adjustable valve that has an easily foldable spring loaded handle. The unit is lit using the built in auto igniter that is activated with the push of a small grey button.


Before using it in the field, I decided to test it out in the comforts of home. The stove screwed on very easily to the top of the fuel canister, and minimal force was needed to form a gas tight seal. The gas valve was easy to operate (very light force was needed to open and close the valve), and provided a wide range of flame output. The fuel valve handle was easy to grip and stayed cool during operation. The support arms folded out to create a large support area and seemed to provide a decent grip on my cooking pot. The auto ignite system ignited the stove on the first try ten times out of ten.



To get an idea of power output and fuel consumption of the Giga Stove, I decided to run a couple of test. I put one cup (8 fluid ounces) into a Snow Peak Trek 700 Ti cooking pot and timed the duration it took to bring the water to a very fast boil. A butane/propane/isobutane canister was used to fuel the stove. The canister was weighed before and after every test to determine the weight of the fuel used to bring the water to a boil.



Test one was with  the valve of the stove opened up to the point where the visible flame could be seen to extend to the edge and slightly past the sides of the pot. This  is normally a larger flame than I would use in the field. It took 2 minutes and 48 seconds to come to boil using 4.2 grams (.15 oz) of fuel.



In test two, I used a smaller flame that extended halfway from the center to the edge of the pot (about 1 inch /  25.4 mm from the edge). This flame output is very similar to what I use when I am using the stove in the field. The water was brought to a rapid boil in 3 minutes and 48 seconds and used 3.6 grams (.13 oz) of fuel.



The third test was a repeat of the second. I tried to maintain a similar flame size to what I use in the field. The boil time was 3 minutes and 56 seconds and the amount of fuel was 3.5 grams (.12 oz).



I had two basic criteria that needed to be met when I decided to buy a new stove. The first was light weight but durable, and the second was ease of use. The Giga Stove seemed like it hit the mark in both of these categories. I was able to find it for sale in a package that included the Snow Peak Trek 700 Ti cooking pot and the Snow Peak titanium spork, which looked like it would be a great way to get up and running with with very light cooking kit for solo camping.

Shortly after receiving the stove I went on a camping trip in Northern California. I spent three days in Salt Point State Park, and then spent three days in Yosemite. While in the pack, the Giga Stove would live in the supplied plastic case which provided plenty of protection. The stove was in daily use for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On this trip I used a combination of dehydrated (just add water) and foods that needed a simmer.

For the dehydrated foods (morning coffee, dehydrated bacon and eggs, dehydrated sweet and sour chicken, etc...) the stove was a joy to use. It was very easy to light and brought the water to a boil quickly. It was very stable and I never had an issue with the arms of the stove gripping the pot. It also seemed to cool very quickly which made a big difference when I wanted to minimize the duration of my lunch breaks.

For the meals that required the water to be simmered (noodles), the stove worked well. During simmering, the fuel valve was slightly difficult to fine tune. It seemed like the spring on the lever for the fuel valve would slightly compress when the fine adjustments were made. Although it was a little annoying, it did not make a major impact in the positive impression I have of this stove.

The one negative that I encountered was that without any type of wind screen, the stove was a little difficult to use in high wind situations. Even when the stove was set to simmer, the flame was never blown out, but in windy situations,  my pot would have to be repositioned so that the wind swept flame would be focused on the center of the pot. Moving the pot in this way seemed to cause a bit of instability and a higher risk of having the stove tip over. This situation was easily overcome by scouting a cooking site that provided shelter from the wind. If I were hiking in a location that was windy and did not have shelter, i would definitely invest in a wind screen.


The Snow Peak GST-100A is a great light weight and easy to use backpacking stove. The size of the folded stove made it hard not to bring it along, and ease of use made it a joy to cook with.

Pros
1 Light weight
2 Very small
3 Easy to light and use
4 Built to last

Cons
1 No supplied wind screen
2 Expensive