Superfly

The best backpacking stove I've ever used. Extremely light, compact, and easy to use. Very affordable as well. I have the version with the autoigniter, which is nice. With care this stove can work very well in the mountains too. It is a gas stove that burns butane, isobutane, propane, or any mix of these. In cold temperatures you must put effort into keeping the fuel warm such as sleeping with it, never putting it on snow, storing it in my middle of your backpack, etc. Also, it has no windscreen, so cook in your vestibule. Probably not want you want on Denali, but it works great for Hood, Adams, and Rainier.

I bought this because the canister fitting is designed to take just about any brand of canister. Despite this, it might not be ideal for international travel as MSR’s marketing hype suggests. For that you may need something that truly burns anything.

The Superfly also looks less fragile than the Pocket Rocket. This is a great stove. The only nit-pick I have is the shape is a little awkward to pack.

I haven’t had to worry about keeping the canister warm, but the coldest I’ve tried it is about 20deg F with the isobutane.

I love this stove. But it does need some love to get the most out of it. The autoigniter is the greatest thing since the titanium spork. I am much less prone to losing emergency lighters since I bought this. I had a pocket rocket, and liked it, but this one holds pots better, fights the wind better and cooks faster. I have used several types of canisters and fuel mixes, and that variability also adds to the usefulness of the Superfly. The heat exchanger that came with mine (I got a screaming deal on the Superfly Ascent system with the hanger for wall climbs) is a great attachment that helps against the wind, and lowers cooking time. This one has been on Rainier, in the Winds, and winter camping in Montana and I have not one complaint. I made an insulator for the canisters out of an old ridge rest that helps keep the fuel warm. The one drawback about this setup is the stability of the whole thing in the snow. You need a very flat spot to keep from dumping dinner all over camp.

During our recent week on Mt. Olympus my MSR Wisperlight started acting up and I couldn't fix it. My brother happened to have a new Superfly in his pack with one unit of fuel. It saved the week allowing us to cook 5 meals before it ran out.



This Superfly was the non-autolighter. No priming was needed and lighting took but one match or flick of a lighter. This was a major change for me as a long time Wisperlight user used to priming a stove. The flame was highly adjustable but did benefit from using a wind shield. It’s easy to start, easy to use, fast and convenient. My only issue is with the fuel canisters as they aren't recyclable.

This is a great 3 season stove when you want to go light. No fuel bottles to mess with and it fits on any similar canister.

The down side is that if you use too deep of a pot (There should be a large bottom and little deep so the heating area to volume ratio is small), it takes forever to get anything to a boil. The first time I used it, a friend had brought a 2 quart coffeepot (alu) and it took 20 minutes to get it too boil. Last weekend, we used our 1 quart coffee pot and it took under 5 minutes to get it to boil - big difference!

If it is at all windy, there are problems. You need to shelter the thing, but you have to be careful so that the canister itself doesn't overheat.

I would not want to take this stove in the winter or for extended trips that might involve snow melting - I think the more powerful white gas driven MSR stoves would be more efficient in terms of weight. and realiability under adverse conditions.

I love this stove. Very versatile for traveling due to the universal canister mount. Honestly I don't know why other stoves don't go that route. It makes it easy to find fuel for it - now I don't drag my MSR Whisperlite International unless it needed. As noted above, windy conditions effect performance so I bring the aluminum windscreen I used for the Whisperlite. Lightweight, burns hot, packs small, more stable than many other small stoves, and versatile fuel options are all reasons to buy this stove.

I use this as my primary stove in the US. The lightweight and packable design make it great for fast, alpine climbing.



The sturdy four prong pot supports make it a great choice for longer climbing and backpacking trips.



Extremely useful is the fact that it accepts lots of different types of canisters unlike most stoves.

I have never had a problem with this stove. I have used it up to 13,000ft in wind and snow. I have the manual lighting version. I bring along a jet flame butane lighter and an extra bic. I have never had a problem getting it lit. This thing boils water quickly and has relatively good flame control. Small enough to allow creative packing options. Holds a good sized pot well. Not a very complicated stove which can be a good thing as far as maintenance and opperation in the alpine environment are concerned. Connects well to the fuel canisters. The area that the flame comes out of the stove sems to be a greather circumference than most other canister stoves. This seems to equate to better control for cooking and greater boiling power. There is also a thread here about cold weather useage and copper tubing / windscreen modifications.

I bought the Superfly a couple of years ago because at the time MSR offered a lightweight titanium rig for hanging it in a tent or bivy situation. The hanging rig also included a windscreen, which makes a difference in terms of boil times, even indoors. I like the light weight, good heat control, and the fact that I can cook inside the tent with minimal chance of knocking the thing over. Get it swinging, though, and you can still have a mess on your hands. The piezoelectric lighter works for the most part, but I still always carry a lighter just in case. It's pretty efficient on fuel melting snow and boiling water. The coldest temps I've used it in were around 10F, so I'm not sure how it would do in more extreme cold. Highest altitude was about 10,500 feet, so I also don't know how it would perfor at higher altitude. I haven't sold my white gas stove yet...

Lightweight and compact, simple and reliable operation. I have the autostart which has worked fine so far. Have only used this stove with IsoPro fuel down to temps of 20F and get a lot of mileage from one 8oz. can of fuel.

I've been using this stove for a little over a year now and it has held up great and provided dependable service over a variety of trips.

It's lightweight, simple and easy to use. I've used it in temps ranging from about 20 - 90 F and I've never had a problem. I have the autoignitor, which I think is worth the extra $10, and I'd recommend this stove to anyone.

I have only used MSR IsoPro fuel.