As the title states, do I really need the Whisperlite for winter camping, or can I get away with using my MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe?
If I were to buy the Whisperlite, should I go with the International or Universal version? They’re both on sale right now: International is $119 and Universal is $149. Thank you in advance!!
Under 30°F, the Pocket Rocket performs poorly. It will still work, just not very well. The Whisperlite is good year-round and pretty much a must if you plan on any sub-zero cooking that isn’t over a fire. The inversion kits for isobutane canisters help for temps under freezing but they’re not a fix-all solution. I bought the Whisperlite International, I really had no use for the Universal since standard white gas fuel is readily available all over the US and in no short supply.
@Casey
I’ll second this. I work as a forester in Northern WI, and I like to cook my lunch. I got a Whisperlite since I’ve struggled with canister stoves below about 10°F.
Propane has a much lower boiling point though, and I haven’t run into trouble until about -15° or -20°F.
The Whisperlite International has been in my kit for over 25 years and is my rock-solid go-to backpacking stove in all conditions. Snow, elevation, wind (it NEEDS the windscreen), old fuel, it just keeps on ticking.
Sometimes you can get a banger of a deal on eBay. Go with the Universal if you do.
If the temperature is going to drop down to 30°F or less, the isobutane canister stoves that sit upright really start to fall off and you have to warm the canister or put it in a dish of water if it is below freezing to keep the canister pressure high enough to function. White gas and using a manual pump ensure you can always get the stove burning hot, although it comes at a weight penalty. The Universal can also use a canister in a liquid feed position, but that point white gas or K-1 is cheaper per ounce.
@Lior
Seconding that white gas stoves are cheap af on eBay and usually anything with moving parts has rebuild kits available to fix anything broken.
The problem is that you need to have vaporized propane, butane, or white gas to have an effective flame.
A white gas stove has the generator which pulls liquid fuel into a pipe above the burner, and it vaporizes the fuel using the burner. A white gas stove can work at more or less any temperature you’d be able to survive - down to about -100°F.
Propane also needs to vaporize to burn effectively. It vaporizes in the tank, and the gas pressure pushes it into the burner. There is no generator in a propane or butane stove.
Theoretically, propane will vaporize down to -44°F. The problem is, the colder it is, the slower it is to vaporize. The slower it is to vaporize, the less pressure you have in the tank. The less pressure you have, the less fuel you have going into the burner, and the less flame you have - and the harder it is to keep the flame lit at all.
At what temp that happens at is kind of variable. I’ve had problems with propane grills not working well as warm as a few degrees below freezing. Some people feel that it’s best to switch over to a white gas stove at expected temps of about 40°F, some people are comfortable using propane down to freezing, others insist that it’s fine to -20°F (as long as you can keep the canisters warm while not in use).
So, if you’re camping in below-freezing temps, I’d probably suggest a liquid fuel stove. If freezing is about as low as it’s going to go, or it will be above freezing during the day while you’re cooking… you can probably get away with a propane stove. But I might also take along some equipment to allow you to cook on a fire, too, just in case. (You can also cook near the fire so the fire helps heat the propane up enough to vaporize.)
@Bailey
Generator tubes don’t “pull” anything. They simply atomize fuel. Whether it’s liquid or vapor, gas canisters, the fuel feed pressure is entirely dependent on the pressure in the fuel tank.
Also check out Primus… just as good as MSR, but yeah if it’s under 30°F you want white gas… and it will be winter camping in the Adirondacks.
Your canister stove is fine. Don’t listen to the naysayers. It has a regulator to help with colder temps and NY isn’t exactly the arctic. Just have a plastic bowl in case you either want or need to passively warm your canister with water. You will want to make sure you have a true 4-season fuel mix like MSR branded canisters. Anything cut with pure butane will function poorly.
Liquid fuel is such a pain to prime, preheat, and ignite. There is a reason expeditions, including those in the highest coldest peaks of Nepal, use canister stoves these days.
@Pace
I agree 100%. I do winter camping every year and while I’ve upgraded to a Reactor (from a Jetboil or Pocket Rocket) as it heats water more efficiently - I haven’t ever had the NEED for a white gas stove. There’s plenty of videos/movies of pro climbers/alpinists using Jetboils at 20K and higher (the film Meru is one of the top of my head).
@Pace
Agree, I see a ton of posts—oh the science of vapor pressure etc—I’ve done a fair amount of snow camping in the Sierra and have had zero problems with MSR can + Pocket Rocket. Maybe warmer daytime temps and higher altitude help? All I know is I’ve seen guys mess around with Whisperlites in the cold and snow and am passing on that. Like scientifically, white gas might heat faster but in my experience I was always the one eating first.
@Aris
Elevation will give a canister a helping hand. Camping above 10k feet and in the snow, my Reactor worked like a champ. It was below freezing but no idea of the actual temp.
@Pace
Yes, definitely agreed. OP just try to keep the fuel insulated in your pack and toss it inside the layers that you are wearing if possible while setting up camp. And keep the canister in your sleeping bag at night. Try the PR Deluxe first before spending money on anything else. Not all winter camping is the same. No reason to buy specialized four-season gear if perhaps your four-season conditions don’t warrant that.