Owner Review - MSR WindPro Stove

Review Date: October 5, 2006

Name: Pat McNeilly
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8" (1.7 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Email address: patrick.mcneilly@hhs.gov
City, State, Country: Gaithersburg, MD, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background: I have been hiking for at least 20 years but backpacking for only the last three years.  Most of my backpacking is done as overnight trips and occasional weekend and weeklong trips.  My typical pack weight is approximately 18 to 20 lb (8 to 9 kg) before food or water.  Most of my backpacking is the three season variety in the mountains of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  In addition to backpacking, I also fish, hunt, and have been involved in disaster relief.  As a result, some of my backpacking equipment gets use in a number of different venues.

Product Information:
Product: WindPro
Manufacturer: Mountain Safety Research
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.msrcorp.com/
MSRP: $ 79.95 US

	Listed Weight	Measured Weight
Packaged Weight	10.5 oz (298 g)	10.1 oz (286 g)
Stove	6.8 oz (193 g)	6.8 oz (193 g)
Windscreen		1.6 oz (45 g)
Heat reflector		0.6 oz (17 g)
Repair tool		0.3 oz (8 g)
Stuff sack		0.8 oz (23 g)

Product Description:
The MSR WindPro is a lightweight remote canister stove.  The stove consists of a 2.75 in (7 cm) burner which is supported by three roughly triangular legs.  The legs also act as pot supports and give the stove an assembled diameter of 5.75 in (15 cm) and a height of 3.5 in (9 cm).  On the bottom of each leg a 0.5 in (1.2 cm) metal tab is bent at a right angle to the leg.  These metal tabs can be used for securing the WindPro to the MSR Trillium Base which allows for greater stability of the stove on uneven ground.

The fuel tank attaches to the stove via a 10.5 in (27 cm) fuel line assembly.  The fuel line assembly has a threaded head to accept standard fuel canisters.  The head also has a needle valve with a triangular shaped wire control “knob.”  In addition the head has two black rubber seals, one inside the threaded portion and another around the outside of the threads.  The fuel line runs through a fixed tube attached to one edge of the burner.  The allows for increased vaporization of the fuel prior to it reaching the jet below the burner

The stove is folded by simply rotating each leg in a counterclockwise direction around the outside of the burner until it reaches the stop point.  The fuel line assembly can be wrapped around the base of the stove to make a fairly compact package.

Included with the WindPro is a 5.5 in (14cm) by 30 in (76 cm) windscreen and a 8.75 in (22 cm) diameter heat reflector which is placed under the stove during operation.  A tool for disassembling the stove if field maintenance is needed is included.  The stove also comes with a small [4 in x 7 in (10 cm x 18 cm)] black stuff sack with the MSR logo which closes with a drawstring and cordlock.

Field Conditions:
I have used this product for approximately the last eight months on a number of weekends trip in southern Pennsylvania and in the George Washington National Forest of Virginia.   I also used this stove on a weeklong trip in central Virginia during June 2006.  The elevation on these trips varied from 1800 ft to 4000 ft (550 m to 1200 m).   The temperatures I encountered on these trips ranged anywhere from 35 F to 85 F (2 C to 29 C).   The weather conditions, particularly during my weeklong trip, included substantial amounts of rain and otherwise soggy conditions.  I have not  used anything other than MSR IsoPro (80/20 isobutane/propane) fuel with this stove

Product Review:
I typically use a homemade alcohol stove when backpacking but purchased the MSR WindPro when I started backpacking with a larger group and needed the ability to boil  much larger amounts of water.  I also generally prefer the ease of use of a canister stove over liquid fuel.

After using the WindPro for the past six months I am happy with its performance.  The stove performs well given the typical limitations of a canister stove.  The stove is easy to light and boils a liter (1 quart) of water in approximately 5 minutes.  One beauty of this stove is that there is excellent flame control.  The flame is easily adjusted to a simmer with a turn of the control knob.  Although I have used the stove to boil lots of water, I was able to cook pancakes on more than one occasion with the stove and felt that I could control the heat perfectly so as not to burn the breakfast. 

The size of the burner and supports allows for use of large pots.  I have used pots as large as 8 qt (8 L) without much difficulty.  The largest pots need to placed on the stove with care but I felt that the stove could handle them without fear of dumping the container.  I would also point out that when I used pots 6 qt (6 L) or larger, I attached the WindPro to an MSR Trillium Base (separate purchase) which helps with stability.  When using smaller pots, I needed to adjust the flame to the size of the pot.  If the flame adjustment was too high, the flame would be running up the sides of the pot which I felt was not very efficient.

Boiling times appeared to be fastest when using the bottom heat reflector and wind screen.  This was particularly the case in colder temperatures which was not unexpected.  I also observed that the stove works well in windy conditions (hence the WindPro name) but needed the windscreen for best results in these conditions.  As is typical of canister stoves, the WindPro performs better in warmer conditions.  I found that the stove took longer to boil water in colder conditions but felt that this was due, in part, to cooling of the canister as fuel is used.

I have had very few problems with the WindPro.  The stove is pretty much a no-brainer.  Attach the fuel canister, turn on the gas and light.  I did have one problem after using the stove for four days straight.  My group was boiling water in a large pot which seemed to take an inordinately long amount of time.  I noticed that the stove was quieter than normal.  After removing the pot I noticed that not much flame was being produced.  My companions and I were a little perplexed because there is not much that can go wrong with the stove.  It turned out that the stove’s jet was clogged and needed cleaning out.  The stove performed fine after a quick cleaning.  I felt that some dirt or food got into the jet since the stove burns very cleanly.  This experience also gave me opportunity to take the stove apart.  The burner and leg assembly is held together by two screws which can easily be removed, as can the jet itself, with the supplied wrench.  However, no tool for cleaning the jet was included with the stove.

The remote burner design not only allows for good pot stability but also makes flame adjustment easy.  The is no worry about burned fingers or gloves since the control is a good 10 in (25 cm) away from the burner.  MSR also suggests that this design allows for use with a backpacking oven, however, I have no experience with such an apparatus.

One minor aspect of the stove that I have had problems with is its shape when folded.  When collapsed, the stove has an awkward configuration which I notice always finds a way to poke me in the back if I don’t pack it just right. 

Summary:

The MSR WindPro is an easy to use, light weight  remote burner stove.  The stove can easily handle both a variety of pots sizes and has excellent flame control which allow for cooking a wide range of foods.  The WindPro works well in windy conditions but does have some performance problems with in colder conditions.

Things I like:
1. Light weight for remote burner stove
2. Good stability with large pots
3. Performs well in windy conditions

4. Excellent flame control

Things I don't like:
1. Awkward folded shape
2. Cold weather performance