BackpackGearTest.org - Primus Alpine Micro Stove Owner Review by Liliana Cantu

Primus Alpine Micro Stove (without piezo igniter)

Tester Information:
Name: Liliana Cantu
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Height: 5’2’’ (1.58 m)
Weight: 112 pounds (51 kg) Although right now, in my 7th month of pregnancy, 130 pounds (59 kg)
Email address: liliana.cantu@icmexico.com.mx
City, State, Country: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Date: February 10, 2004
Backpacking Background:
I started camping when I was 14, and started backpacking about 3 years ago, focusing on day hikes and weekend trips to local places and summits ranging between 6000 and 7500 ft (1900 – 2300 m). Nationwide I’ve done a couple of 8000’s (2500 m) and above.
Climate of my outings ranges between subhumid to humid, elevations between 1000 – 8000 ft (400 – 2500 m) and temperatures between 25-100 °F (-3 – 40 °C).
For over a year I’ve also become a Geocacher, being pretty active in my region. Throughout these last years I’ve also been aiming to become as lightweight of a backpacker as I can, and that has reflected in the gear I’ve acquired recently.

Item Information:

Company: Primus (stove no longer listed on site)
Item: Primus Alpine Micro Stove
Dimensions: 3 x 2 x 3.4 in / 75 x 50 x 85 mm
Claimed Weight (without fuel canister): 101 gr. / 3.5 oz
Heat output: 2,800 W / 10,000 BTU
Average boil time: 1 lt. (12 oz) in 3 minutes
Fuel Type: EN417 canisters (Butane/Propane mix)

Field information:
Long time user. I’ve used this little stove in temperatures ranging from 25 to 86 °F (–3 to 30 °C), and in elevations ranging from 1300 to 11,500 ft (400 to 3500 m). Weather has ranged from hot and humid to cold and dry.

Review:
Ever since my girl-scout years, I’ve been fascinated by camping/backpacking stoves; the way they work, how fast do they heat food, how good of a flame they offer, etc. In those days, and because of the size of the groups, we would use the big briefcase-like types, which was also my first stove once I started getting my own gear. But weight and size became important and I switched to a white gasoline, one burner stove I could store in a little lunchbox. Until one day, camping with my brother, he pulled out this really tiny plastic case, extracted this little gadget, unfolded it into a kind of legs-up spider and screwed it on to an also pretty small gas cartridge. Match ignited and foosh!, a blowpipe flame came out the little thing. I had to get that little stove, so I did, and for a very reasonable price.
Since then, my Micro has been one of my most dependable pieces of equipment. The claim that ”once in your backpack, you will hardly notice (it)” is SO true. And since the gas cartridge is also compatible with the Primus Yellowstone Lantern (which is also pretty small), optimization of space is even greater.

I ordered the stove over the Internet, and received it in a tiny, well presented box. Items included were the stove and owner’s manual inside a plastic protective case.
The stove is really easy to use. It’s four pot supports unfold pulling each of them up as you distribute them symmetrically. They make a clear “click” once they’re in position, and I’ve never had one come loose in the middle of cooking.

It screws easily on Primus butane/propane canisters, and it doesn’t need to stay attached until the canister is empty, because the canister is re-sealable. This model doesn’t have the piezo igniter, but it’s never been a problem, since all I’ve needed is a quick match or lighter (I prefer to use a lighter, as matches can become damp, break, etc.). Turning the decent sized knob, the stove lights with no hassle or “spitting” sounds; just a clear, constant flame, with good combustion (flame is blue) coming out of the central mesh. The flame is 100% controllable with the knob, being able to vary from a low flame to keep something warm to a very strong flame to get something bubbling pretty fast.
Even though the flame is concentrated in the 1 1/2 in (3 cm) diameter mesh burner, I’ve never experienced irregular heating of my food, nor have any of my pots and pans been damaged in any way. Of course, I have always used small pots and pans, which might have helped.
The four pot supports are extremely firm considering their size, and have a couple of dents that avoid sliding of the pans and pots pretty well.
Now, for the downsides: because the fuel canister functions as the base (unless you buy Primus base attachment) it becomes indispensable to find a good flat surface to place the stove on. If this is not taken care of, there’s a risk of spilling whatever is cooking on the stove. I found this out on a very cold night at the Iztaccihuatl volcano and ended up with no hot cocoa to warm me up.
The plastic protective case is the perfect size, but the lid doesn’t click very well into place, and since it is not attached to the case, it may fall off inside a backpack (or even worse, outside of it!).
And finally, space optimization has to have a disadvantage: I don’t believe this little stove would offer a solid support to pans or pots of over say, 8 in (20 cm) in diameter. I use pots and pans of around 6 in (15 cm) in diameter, and believe that’s a convenient size for this stove.
I’ve used this stove at altitudes higher than 11,500 ft (3,500 m) and the performance has been the same. Of course, water boils faster, and it takes only slightly longer for it to become as hot as at sea level.
A small Primus canister, which holds 225 g of liquid fuel, usually lasts me 3 weekend trips, being used for the stove and the lantern. Broken down, that would be around 9 meals of heating an average of 3 pots of “something” (water, soup, milk, etc.) per meal, and using the lantern around 2 to 3 hours.
Even though I’ve always used Primus fuel canisters, an article in an outdoors magazine online mentions that other butane cartridges can be used, providing they have the same valve type (it's called a Lindhal valve), such as Peak 1 and MSR.

Summary:
So, generally speaking, these are the highs and lows I perceive in the Primus Alpine Micro Stove:
Highs:
Weight and size.
Easy to operate.
Consistent, good performance.
Highly controllable flame.
Versatile (possibility of using the same fuel canister with the Primus lantern).

Lows:
Small base area that requires a good flat surface.
Lid of plastic protective case comes loose easily.
Not suitable for big pans or pots.

A nice plus would have been:
An extra stuff sack or a better case.
A Primus match box or lighter.

Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Primus Alpine Micro Stove > Owner Review by Liliana Cantu

Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Primus Alpine Micro Stove > Owner Review by Liliana Cantu