Welcome to the first of many gear reviews that you will see here on my site!
I’ve debated doing some gear reviews for a long while now. I really enjoy seeing other people’s honest thoughts and impressions on products that I am interested in buying. And I like sharing my thoughts on products that I have experience with as well.
I like sharing what has worked (and not worked) for me, so other people can make informed decisions before they make a purchase. So, let’s jump in!
Primus Classic Trail Stove Review
Today i’m going to offer up a short review on the Primus Classic Trail Stove and share my experiences with it.
I have used this stove quite a bit over the past few months, both on the trails and while goofing off on my own land. It primarily resides in my hiking pack so I’ll have a quick option to make a meal while i’m in the midst of a hike (as seen above).
The Primus Classic Trail Stove is powered by lightweight fuel canisters that are readily available in many outdoor and big-box stores. Due to this being a fuel driven cook system (and not a “campfire”) I can easily crank it up where I would otherwise be out of luck for making food over a flame (ie: most public hiking trails, due to open fire regulations).
What this stove gets right:
- Boil Time:
It boils water in a hurry! I have seen this little stove boil 2 cups of water in under 1:30 (a minute & thirty seconds). In fact, on the outing that you’re seeing pictures of I had to boil a cup or so of water and it boiled in under 1 minute. I am impressed and totally satisfied with the boil time of the Primus Stove. - Ease of use:
– Just take it out of your bag,
– Put the two pieces of the stove together,
– Affix the stove to your fuel canister,
– Crank the flame adjustment knob on your stove until you hear it making a whistling/windy noise,
– Hit it with a ferro rod, match or lighter to ignite,
– And you’re ready to boil water or cook!
…It couldn’t be easier. - Stable pot support:
I was personally curious to see if this stove would offer a stable pot support while cooking, and I can say that i’ve had no problems in this area. Even with the fairly large Esbit Pot (pictured here), it is still stable. Obviously you need to find a somewhat flat surface. However, as you see above – I’m on a rock floor that is far from being flat. I just picked the flattest area that I could find and rolled with it. No problems with this cook system being stable. - Any outages or problems with the stove?
I haven’t had a single problem, hiccup or outage to speak of with this stove. It has functioned flawlessly. - Price:
I’m sure this is the biggest selling point for this stove. It comes in under $20!
That’s unbelievably cheap for such a quality piece of gear. I assure you, even if you buy one of these and use it a few times while you’re out adventuring you won’t regret throwing this $20 bill into your pack.
What would I change:
I knew what I was getting when I bought the Primus Trail Stove, so I cannot really complain about the points i’m making below. I am basically just listing some things that would sway me to move to another product, like the MSR Pocket Rocket or the Optimus Crux.
- Weight:
Coming in at an advertised 8 ounces the Primus Classic Trail Stove is a lot heavier than the competitive options i’ve mentioned above (MSR/Optimus). While 8 ounces isn’t going to make it or break it for most people, some ultralight backpackers or even weight conscious individuals may find 8oz’s to be a problem. And i’ll be honest – This stove is one area of my load out that I will eventually be changing, simply due to weight. I love the Primus Stove – But when there are other stoves out there coming in at 3 ounces or so, I will likely explore these to help cut down my pack weight. - Size:
The Primus Classic Trail Stove comes in quite a bit bigger than most other backpacking stoves as well. And this is because of it’s fixed, non-folding design. Now, don’t get me wrong – It’s not overly large. It’s about 5×5″ (wide) and around 1.5″ (tall). But when compared to the other options, it’s about double in size. So don’t plan on nesting this stove within any of your pots.
If size & weight are not a concern for you and you’ve read my review thus far, I say you should buy this Primus Stove right away. You cannot go wrong with it.
In fact, even if I change over to an MSR or an Optimus to carry in my primary backpack, I will be keeping this stove around for various camp-outs or backpacks where weight/size isn’t a concern.
At the end of the day (no pun intended) this little trail stove allows you to hike in and make your dinner/eat in locations like the one pictured above. That was my view while eating dinner this past weekend! I wouldn’t have cared if I was cooking over a tin can that I fashioned into a stove as long as I was seeing that view (okay, yeah I would’ve – i’m too much of a gear guy haha). But you get what i’m saying.
The experiences and moments you gain while out in the backcountry are ones that you will not forgot. So, get some gear that you like and can depend on and get your butt out there!
Final Verdict (7/10):
- The Primus Classic Trail Stove is an excellent hiking, camping and backpacking stove at a wonderful price. For under $20 on Amazon, you just can’t beat it.
- In terms of function, it is flawless and simple to use.
- It’s size & weight could definitely sway weight conscious backpackers to go the route of a lighter folding stove. Which is where I am at right now.
- Overall Score from 1 – 10:
I’d give this a solid 7 out of 10. If weight and size were not a concern for me it would be rated higher without a doubt.