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Who uses Whisperlite

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    • Who uses Whisperlite

      I still have a few of these in the gear box and have to admit, in cold weather, love to fire this baby up. My go to is an alchy stove for spring summer fall, but when the temps drop the whisperlite with whitegas holds a place in my heart :) Nothing like a little prime, and then hearing this thing roar to life. Plus easy field service. Over time with proper maintenance this stove has been a keeper.

    • I have both a well-used Whisperlite and a newer, very lightly used Simmerlite. As far as I know both are still functional, certainly the Simmerlite is. The Whisperlite was getting a bit cranky, I had to disassemble and recondition the leather "piston" withn the pump. That one is 25+ yrs old and got at least 1000 miles on it between 1990 and 2002.

      After the Whisperlight I went with a Zip stove for a while, then a Jetboil for a bit, and finally to a Pocket Rocket.
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    • rafe wrote:

      I have both a well-used Whisperlite and a newer, very lightly used Simmerlite. As far as I know both are still functional, certainly the Simmerlite is. The Whisperlite was getting a bit cranky, I had to disassemble and recondition the leather "piston" withn the pump. That one is 25+ yrs old and got at least 1000 miles on it between 1990 and 2002.


      The simplicity of a Catcan is awesome, however, there is something to be said about a little maint on the o-rings and oiling the pump cup. If the catcan is a 4 cyl/ the whisperlite is a bigblock :) In recent years I have seen older Whisperlites restored and sold for good money on Eb-y

    • Kathy and I have an MSR Simmerlite that we use in winter.
      Every few years I fully disassemble the thing to clean it, inspect it, and replace the O-rings.
      It's got to be about 10 years old and gives us flawless service, which is a good thing since it is our winter stove.
      The other 3 seasons we use an alcohol stove.

    • July wrote:

      Back in the day, 80's, we all carried a whisperlite. Between 4 or so people would fix multicourse meals, and share as a feast... This was way before FBC... :)


      No -- back in that day we used Sveas. But I got to really disliking mine, had some scary scenes with it, and was really happy to ditch it when I discovered there was an alternative from MSR. The other contender was the Coleman Peak-1.

      Back then there were Gaz canisters and stoves, but they were single-sourced and thus not suitable for long-distance hiking.

      A Whisperlite with a 22 oz. fuel bottle was good for at least a couple of weeks of intense trail cooking.

    • WiseOldOwl wrote:

      Loved the wisperlite - but the boy scouts needed mine... I donated it.


      When we moved here the house had an LP hook up for the grill. So I donated the propane tank from my old one to our troop. Although a few times before that I had both grills going at the same if I had a lot of people over.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Ok so we have had a couple nights here down to 30', so fall is coming. Fired up the old shaker whisperite. Firing up an alchy stove is basically striking a match. I must admit I get a kick out of priming, pumping, and lighting this lil stove. Kind of like a little jet engine :) Did a systems check, all that was required was a little pump cup oil, and wiped and oiled o-rings. Then boiled a coffee, all set for snowfall!

    • In case you folks don't know Paul here is an expert (due to some great threads in the past) about what can be carried in the west or PCT, and other trails. (I am sure some of us are in on this)

      Refresh my memory Paul - most alcohol stoves are out. So are wood burning stoves - we are down to just wisperlight out there or is there another choice? What is legal in the high country?

      What surprised me Paul, is that just about everything is illegal above the tree line last time we were having a discussion?

      Paul is the go to guy on stoves out here.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

    • I've never owned one, grew up using a coleman peak 1 for backpacking trips, then I switched over to a Jetboil when I got back into hiking 5 years ago.

      When I was hiking in the Whites this past winter the guys who organized the trip brought two of them for the four of us to use, amazingly powerful stoves. I'm considering getting one for my winter gear.
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • Only during burn bans are wood and alchie stoves generally out.
      pmags.com/stove-comparison-real-world-use#burn-bans

      Colorado had a very wet summer, so no bans open open flames this past year. California? Another story.

      I generally go stoveless when solo. Canister with friends or my wife.

      As for the high country, since Amendment 64 was passed, Colorado has a high country in more than one way now.....

    • PaulMags wrote:

      Still use a whitegas stove quite a bit during winter. Inverted and remote canister stoves are slowly taking over even that niche. But, I really don't need (or want!) yet another stove.

      So for snow melting, break out the trusty MSR.


      Mags I was wondering, does the 'canister' need to be kept warm when deep winter camping to function properly? I know with the whitegas whisperlite I just prime for a min or two and temp really has no effect on the 'fuel bottle'.

    • PaulMags wrote:

      Many people will sleep with their canister even when used as a remote/inverted canister for winter use.

      Once it gets going, it seems to do well however.


      The convenience of the canister is without a doubt handy, as long as demand meets supply. While in the woods, I must admit, I still gravitate towards alcohol stove/wood. I think alot of conversation has evolved over just plain 'buildin' a wood fire'. :) Keep the other fuel in reserve. :D