Advice on stoves

So, the climbing/life partner and I have had to relocate about 8 hours from each other, which means we had to split up a lot of the gear we shared. Somehow, I ended up with the backpacking stove (a first generation, non-sucky Brunton Optimus Nova), and she got the big green coleman two-burner. So now I find myself in a dilemma: do I get her a new stove for Valentine's Day, or do I get myself a new stove and send her the stove over which we've cooked so many trail meals together?
The other issue is that I don't know what stove to consider in either case. If I get something for her, it needs to be a white gas stove, since she's gunning for the Wonderland Trail this fall, and not using fastpacking strategies. If I get something for me, I'd want either something I can hang (although I have an MSR superfly, I'd have to build the hanging kit myself), or something good for Denali.

Suggestions?

A stove for Denali (XGK) is not a stove I take backpacking (Dragon Fly). And that stove is not the stove I take on lightweight climbing trips (hanging Brunton F-RAPTOR) or car camping (double burner). And of course there is my old Seva 123.

I would find a stove that fits in the gaps and IMHO not sure you have any other than a stove for Denali.

My suggestion is save your money and send her the Brunton for the Wonderland and general camping usage. Get the two burner for car camping and make do the with the superfly otherwise. Then pick up and XGK for Denali.

How long is this situation going to last? Is there an end in sight or is this forever?

Longish term (up to a couple of years), but the other issue is that we like having separate trips as well as trips together, and at the moment, I can go backpacking, and she can go on a car-cragging trip, but we can't really do both unless we're together. So a little more versatility would be handy. The mean reason I like having another white-gas stove in the mix is the serious temperature dependence of cannister stoves. Even with the gee-whiz, brand-specific fuel for the superfly, I just can't use it on cold mornings unless I go to a lot of trouble to heat up the fuel.

My wife and I had a similar situation but it was only for about 15 months. My advice is to stay away from gifts like that. Buy something neutral, or buy a plane ticket to take a trip together. Allen had a good point, you want too many different types of stoves. I'm sure you've heard it before but distance is a bitch, sometimes it takes some thinking outside of the box.

Snow peak giga burner inside a ti 600 cup. A fuel canister fits in the cup also. Small, lite weight, hot....perfect.

We took a whisperlite to Denali 15 years ago. Worked fine. We had an extra whisperlite for spare parts, plus a (two?) little repair kit(s). This was for the West Butt for just my partner and I. You do not want a non-functional stove on that mountain. There were some clueless dudes up at 17k camp who's stove wasn't working and they couldn't figure out how to fix it; inexcusably unprepared in my opinion. If we hadn't given them our spare stove it could have been grim for them.

A canister stove might be better for the Cassin in a push, as it's easier to hang. Still, I like old reliable, field fixable stoves, even if they are heavy.

I have an old XGR from the late '80s with the non-flexible fuel pipe. A pain to pack with the rigid fuel tube but it burns anything. I drive a diesel and can use use my car''s fuel.

In terms of a gift, give the present that you want. That way you get to enjoy it. ;)

Kyle Curts wrote:Snow peak giga burner inside a ti 600 cup. A fuel canister fits in the cup also. Small, lite weight, hot....perfect.

I can vouch for this - especially in warmer weather. Won't work so well in below freezing temps with the lack of a wind shield.

Also agree that classic whisperlite stoves will work fine for Denali. Could save you $70. Either way you may want more than 1 working stove depending on the size of your group.

The trusty MSR Whisperlite is a true baller, is fairly lightweight, and works fine at elevation. I had a friend who used a Trangia, which I liked better because it avoided the annoying priming time that MSR stoves have. Either way, those things should last 20 years with cleaning.

I took a whisperlite Internationale with me on deployment to Iraq, twice. While no, there is definitely no mountaineering out there, it held up to constant and brutal abuse. Can't say that for myself. It was also a nifty feature to be able to use just about any fluid I could find. I used JP8 jet fuel, lighter fluid, diesel, gas. All of them were super dirty, but got the job done. Other than fast and light backpacking, it's a pretty all purpose stove.

bargainhunter wrote:In terms of a gift, give the present that you want. That way you get to enjoy it. ;)

Heh, nice! Did you see the Simpsons episode where Homer gave Marge a bowling ball? Get a new stove, then give her the choice of either.

I love my MSR Wisperlite, and the international takes many fuel types. In searghing what the XGK was, I found this page with a great argument for a different stove, a Primus Omnifuel. The last post says it can burn any liquid fuel, can use MSR fuel containers, and can adapt to cannisters. I swear there was a new MSR that can do this too!

backpackinglight.com/cgi-bi…