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MSR Windburner 1.0L Stove Review

When MSR heard that I was heading to the Highlands they very kindly offered to let me test one of their Windburner stoves. I was mostly taking food of the freeze dried variety so wanted a stove mainly for boiling water. It looked a great option with fast boil times, impressive performance regardless of the wind and good fuel consumption. The only real negatives were that it’s a bit heavier than a regular pot and stove and takes up more pack space.

I hadn’t used a Windburner before this trip but being a serious tea drinker the convenience of having a steaming brew within a couple of minutes regardless of the wind had me sold. The stove totally lived up to expectations. We were often above the snow line so a fair bit of the water we were boiling was meltwater. The Windburner delivered consistently fast boil times. When we stopped for a break we could enjoy hot tea without any negative impact on our schedule. Assembling and firing up the stove couldn’t be easier. It lights with ease even in strong winds using either a firesteel or the Soto Pocket Torch XT that I’d taken. Once finished it packs neatly back into the pot along with a 100g gas canister. The handle on the cosy works well when pouring and the lid can be left on as it has a built in spout at one side and a strainer on the other if you are cooking pasta etc.

If you are mainly boiling water with only limited cooking use then I would give the Windburner serious consideration. It’s a beautifully engineered stove with MSR’s renowned attention to detail that performs as well as it looks.

Danny P