MSR Whisperlite Shaker Jet Review

"Lots of pluses and a few minuses as well. I have had no trouble simmering with mine and no particular problems of any other type mentioned... until this summer when I damn near blew up along with the stove! The rubber or neoprene gasket that provides the seal between the hose line and the fuel bottle developed many cracks during use last summer. During my last attempt to use it in the Adirondacks pressurized fuel started to squirt through the seal cracks and caught fire. Fortunately, I was still on hand and was able to extinguish the fire. There appears to be no way to get the seal out of its seat. Have turned it in to my retailer. No results yet! Would I buy another one? Nope!"

"The shakerjet model has all the great features of the traditional
whisperlite.... plus some extras. Requires less cleaning: you shake
it to keep it from clogging. A little more expensive, but it's much
sturdier and burns multiple fuels. Instead of the little folding legs
and the "shower head" fuel spray, it is a compact cylinder with a
single spray fuel jet inside the cylindrical body -- sort of built-in
windscreen. During a week long trip in the Joyce
Kilmer-Slickrock, (our first trip with the new stove) we didn't have
an ounce of trouble and used about a third less fuel than we
estimated (would have been more if we hadn't had to melt so
much snow). If you're a "stove jinx", as my boyfriend claims he is,
this is the stove for you."

"What a beautiful little piece of hardware! Perhaps only an engineer could love something built for function rather than convenience, but one of snow camping will sell you on this product. Small, light, efficient, and hot, this is the fastest way to get from ice to Ramen.

However, you need to learn how this thing works to use it effectively. It's not a push-button device, but requires some thought and planning to get the results you want. Simmer with a less than 1/2 full fuel bottle (bring an extra--empty bottles are light) and plan your cooking to avoid repriming.

Field service is the key, though. My first time out, a thoughtless companion dumped an entire pot of slop right onto the hot stove. The included tool let me disassemble the unit, scrub it clean, and reassemble in minutes. Didn't even have to let the thing dry before lighting!"

"I have had the shaker jet for about 2 years and I have not had any real problems with this stove. I use mine mainly to boil water for tea and coffee not to cook food I use MREs. Gets a qt of water boiling in no time at all..however I wish the windscreen that it comes with wasn't quite like bending a paper clip..eventually it will have been bent too many times then tear. As for reliability..it is extremely so.. Keep it clean, inspected and maintained like it says in the manual,and it will treat you right. I am very happy with this stove."