After lots of researching on the internet and reading of countless stove reviews I came to the result that I should buy the XGK EX from MSR. There are many cheaper multi fuel stoves, and some of them get good reviews, but this one packs small, simple to use, and reliable. It works as well in sub freezing temperatures, and in high altitudes.

This stove is probably not the best choice for gourmet chefs, as it is nearly impossible to regulate. On or off, but when it's on then it cooks really quick. It is relatively loud, but even the "WhisperLite" is not much less noisy.

Some think that petrol stoves/gasoline stoves give off a lot of sooty smoke. It only smokes during the warm up and while burning out, when it is on temperature it does not smoke.
One pumps pressure into the fuel bottle, and opens the valve until a little fuel sprinkles out. After closing the valve again one ignites the fuel sprinkles, and waits until the fuel is nearly burned out, then one opens the valve again ad lets the stove burn until the flame turns blue. All this takes less the 2 minutes. Up to the time when the flame turns blue the stove gives off sooty smoke, therefore one puts the pot on only after the flame is blue. When one is done cooking, one takes the pot off the stove, and then closes the valve. Then one best puts the still burning stove to the side, as it will start to give off sooty smoke again, until the petrol/gas in the stove and hose is burned out. If one uses the stove as described before, one won't have a problem with the sooty smoke. The pots will become black after a while, but that is just normal when cooking with a open flame.

Many also believe that the food would taste like petrol/gas, that is absolutely not the case.

Conclusion: I'm very pleased with the stove, and can absolutely recommend it. Certainly not cheap, but a stove that works and lasts.

The MSR XGK EX multi fuel stove is also available at Amazon.com.

The petrol/gas stove does not come with a fuel bottle, it has to be bought separately. The shown pump (in the bottle) does come with the stove.

The fuel bottle is available in several sizes, 11oz - 0,33l, 20oz - 0,6l, 30oz - 0,9l. I bought the 20oz bottle, and one filling lasts for more than one week for two persons (coffee in the morning, and a real mean for dinner).

Conclusion: The aluminum fuel bottle is light, but very strong. Therefore it is often used for spare fuel instead of a jerry can.

The MSR Fuel Bottle and MSR pump are also available at Amazon.com.

For many years I carried this stove on my motorcycle travels. I was and still am very happy with the small packing size, as it is a large set, but fits perfectly into each other.

In Germany denatured alcohol is easy to get and cheap, but in many other counties it is much harder to find. So I once had to use rubbing alcohol, with 97% alcohol it burns of course, but it give off a huge amount of sooty smoke.

Alcohol has another disadvantage. The warmer it is, the more alcohol vaporizes, and then the stove works better. But this also means that if it is cold the alcohol is hard to ignite, and then it burns with only a small flame. It can be annoying to first heat up the alcohol with a lighter until it then finally ignites.

The burning time of one filling is only about 8 minutes, which is enough to heat up a can of food, but it is too short to really cook. Of course one can refill the stove, but it is a bit awkward, as the alcohol immediately starts to boil in the hot stove.

Conclusion: Really not a bad stove, but for me the combination of a petrol/gas stove and this pot set is the perfect combination.

A similar Trangia Storm Stove Ultralight is available at Amazon.com.

Even the best camping stove looses part of its power at even a small wind. Therefore a wind shield is a important accessory for every stove.

This wind shield really just is a stronger aluminium foil, but it works just fine. Even after many times of bending and folding the foil has not broken or ripped.

Conclusion: This wind shield works just fine, it is small and folds down to nearly nothing. It is not cheap, but it is worth it.

This wind shield is also available at Amazon.com.