Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > MSR XGK EX > David Sowards-Emmerd > Long Term Report

Long Term Report - MSR XGK EX stove

Backpacking Background:

I generally take weekend (1 night) trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my backpacking is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000' (1,800-3,650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy snow in the mountains. In winter and spring I split time between Southern California (SoCal) deserts and snowshoeing/skiing/snowcamping in the Sierra/Cascades. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country.

Morning Frost on the XGK EX.

Manufacturer's Website: www.msrgear.com
MSRP: $129.95 US

Manufacturer's Specifications: (from packaging - weights listed on website are both 0.6 oz (17 g) heavier):
Minimum Weight (stove and fuel pump only): 12.6 oz (357 g)
Packaged Weight: 16.6 oz (471 g)

Weights (as measured by tester):
Stove: 10.7 oz (305 g)
Pump: 2.3 oz (65 g)
Windscreen: 1.6 oz (46 g)
Base aluminum sheet: 0.6 oz (17 g)
Parts kit: 0.6 oz (18 g)
Stuff Sack: 0.8 oz (22 g)
Minimum Weight: 13.0 oz (370 g)
Everything Weight (not including fuel or fuel bottle): 16.7 oz (473 g)

Product Description:

The XGK EX is a mountaineering/expedition stove designed to burn a wide variety of fuels. For more details on the product, see my Initial Report. For details of use during my first two months of testing, see my Field Report.

Continued Field Use:

Since my Field Report, I've used the XGK EX on a handful of car camping trips and on two more snowy backpacks. I have continued to use both white gas and kerosene for fuel. At the suggestion of Roger Caffin, a fellow gear tester, I tried priming the stove with alcohol when using kerosene for fuel. In addition to boiling water and melting snow, on two of these trips, I cooked chicken fajitas on a non-stick skillet over the XGK EX. These trips included temperatures from freezing to 75 F (24 C) and conditions ranging from sleet to clear, sunny, and very windy. Elevations on these trips ranged from roughly 2,000-7,000' (600-2,100 m)

Continued Observations:

Priming:
With white gas, I haven't really had any problems with the stove flaring up during the priming phase. However, as mentioned in my Field Report, I've nearly burned down tarps during priming when using kerosene. I've since tried priming the stove with alcohol and this has been much more stable. This was done by releasing just enough kerosene through the pump that it can be seen at the jet and then closing the valve - as opposed to letting kerosene puddle up in the spirit cup. Next, I add a small amount of alcohol to the spirit cup and ignite it. I've tried this in both warm and cold weather and the method has worked very well. I also tried priming with just kerosene again to make sure I wasn't deluding myself and I experienced a large flare again - luckily I was just heating up water for coffee at the trailhead parking lot.

Cooking Food Instead of Snow:
On two occasions during this phase of the testing period, I've fried up sliced chicken, peppers, onions and some spices and made fajitas on a non-stick skillet over the XGK EX. Also, I cooked up some small chicken-apple sausages for breakfast one morning. The XGK EX works for me for this sort of cooking where I intend to char the food to some degree. However, it is a little on the hot side, and in cooking the sausages, I needed to hold the skillet a bit higher above the flame from time to time.

Ignition:
During the field testing period, I always used a lighter to ignite the stove, and had much more difficulty with igniting the kerosene than white gas. On my last trip, I attempted to light the stove with sparks from a firesteel rod. This was easy - ignited on the first try - with white gas. However, I didn't manage to light the kerosene in a few tries, so I resorted to the lighter.

Wear and Tear:
After four months of use, the stove shows discoloration from the heat, and a little bit of soot, but cosmetic issues aside, it's as good as new. The windscreen is still quite functional after repeated folding, but the heat reflector is in poor condition.

Conclusions and Continued Use:

I've been very happy with the XGK EX as a snow melter and water boiler. The only real drawback to the stove as far as I'm concerned is the insane noise output. It does take a bit more time to get the stove going than with a canister stove, but with white gas at around a tenth of the price of canister fuel (not to mention canister disposal issues), I feel this more than makes up for an extra minute of priming time. I will continue to use the XGK as my primary winter and mountaineering stove. However, it will probably not see much use as a summer backpacking stove as my 2 L (2 qt) pot is the smallest I own that will fit on it and I usually don't need a pot that big during summer. The XGK will probably see some time as a summer car camping stove.

Read more reviews of MSR gear
Read more gear reviews by David Sowards-Emmerd

Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > MSR XGK EX > David Sowards-Emmerd > Long Term Report