Backpacking Stoves

9.8.2013

MSR Dragon Fly Backpacking Stove

My Dragon is 5 or 6 years old, has been used 2-3 times per year without any obvious problems. I’ve also never done any maintenance on the stove or the pump.

During the summer 2013 trip out of Cherry Lake, I was impressed with how fast Esther’s SOTO Micro Regulator OD-1R stove could heat water, much faster than my Dragon Fly. So I recently went by REI in MV. I was shocked to see from the REI data sheet on backpacking stoves that the Dragon Fly should actually heat water slightly faster than the Micro Regulator. So I bought the REI Annual Maintenance Kit and at home followed the instructions for reworking both the Dragon Fly stove and its pump. Here are the results.

Avg boil time

(1 ltr of water)

Dragon Fly:

Before maintenance *12:00 min

After maintenance *4:50

REI measurement 3:30

SOTO Micro Regulator:

SOTO (not REI) measurement 3:52

I don’t know what accounts for the effectiveness of the maintenance. My jet and shaker needle seemed fairly clean. Perhaps the new O-rings and lubrication of the pump cup enabled the gas pressure to get higher.

The Dragon Fly (list $179.95 at REI or $139.95 at Cascade Designs website) weighs 14 oz (does this include the pump?) compared to Micro Regulator (list $69.95†) at 2.6 oz. I assume the fuel+canister weight is about the same for the same burning time. The Dragon Fly burn time for 20 oz of white gas is 126 min or 6.3 min/oz). The spec on the propane cans is 1.5 h of burning per 8 oz of fuel (11.25 min/oz). I assume these specs are for maximum output. Since the energy content of white gas is higher than propane, you should be able to turn the flow rate down on the Dragon Fly until it boils water at the same rate as the Micro Regulator and then its burn time should be longer.

The Micro Regulator may not work so well below freezing, but it starts without a match and doesn’t require pumping, also the fuel is less likely to leak in car or backpack.

*I used tepid water in a 2-qt Al pot with loosely fitted lid. I surrounded the stove with the usual Al foil reflectors. I used the beginning of rather vigorous boiling (but not quite voluptuous) as the stop time. Bubbles of various sorts started much earlier.

†There are several versions of this stove made by SOTO. REI markets a version called the WindMaster for $74.95. It may have a few minor advantageous features. For all versions, there are 2 accessories of interest: SST pot support ($14.95, 1 oz) for large pots and SST canister stand ($14.95, 1.2 oz) for rough ground.