Mt Whitney Zone Forums Gear Heads MSR Windboiler – Wind Testing

With their new Windboiler, MSR has definitely done a great job on the "human factors" (better handle, better lid, a cup that's actually useful, more slots so the pot attaches more easily, etc.), but if the Windboiler isn't significantly better than a Jetboil at handling wind, then it's really just a prettied up Jetboil.

So, how well does a Windboiler handle wind? I decided to find out.

I did several head to head tests with a Jetboil Sol in light to moderate winds. I could see that the Windboiler remained fairly constant while the Jetboil would lose ground (boil time would lengthen) as the winds increased, but I didn't really have the sense that I fully understood the capabilities of the Windboiler. Time to put it to a real test I thought.

So I headed to the windiest spot I could think of in Southern California – the San Gorgonio Pass area near Banning, CA, home to many a wind turbine.



I picked a spot for testing at the mouth of a canyon where I thought winds would come whistling through. I was not disappointed.


I have put up two videos on my blog that I think show the difference in the way a Jetboil behaves vs. a Windboiler in significant winds. Have a look if you like.

MSR Windboiler – Wind Testing

HJ

Good test, Jim. And nice stove. It looks like MSR has created a really good canister stove. If I had use for one of them, I'd put it on my Christmas list.

One of these days, I'll post a pic of my MSR Coleman fuel stove. It's my stove of choice for snow camping (but I don't do that much.) Do you know of any good videos showing people how to light one, with the tricky pre-heat step?

Speaking of lighting stoves, the liquid-fueled Coleman camp stoves were quite a chore to light, too. I even resorted to using a propane torch to preheat the hardware for a quick and easy startup.

Steve,

Post a photo of your stove. If I see what it is, I may have some specific recommendations. In general though, I've found a little squeeze bottle of alcohol to be the best (certainly the cleanest) way to prime a white gas or kerosene stove.

HJ