Snowpeak Litemax stove

I'm normally an Esbit kind of guy, but I got a deal on this stove and bought it for my mid-May Isle Royale hike. I think I'm now spoiled! Cannister stove cooking is sooo fast & easy … plus it avoids the Esbit odor & dirty pot.

This is my first experience with a cannister stove, but both of the guys I hiked with have used their Pocket Rocket's for the last few years. They liked the size/weight of my unit, and flatly declared that they preferred it. Given the cost, I don't think they will upgrade, but if you were buying one from scratch it seems you can't go wrong with it.

My SP stove boiled water quickly, and simmered without apparent fuss. It seems very solid, and I guess the only "negative" I can think of is that it did take on the "cooked titanium color" after first use.

(edited for typo)

Hi David

I haven't tested that one, but it is a variation on the original excellent GS-100 design. Same burner etc.

It should have much lower CO emission than the Pocket Rocket, stronger pot supports for sure, and will not focus the heat on the bottom of your pot as badly as the PR.

Cheers

Would seem like performance differences would depend on pot size and windscreen use.

Seems like Snowpeak may have made their Gigapower obsolete? Even the Ti version weighs more than the Litemax and costs more too.

I'd also be interested in hearing whether anyone has compared it to the gigapower… in regards to stability, simmering, and heat distribution (flame spread across bottom of pot). I guess the gigapower would be more stable due to the 4 supports instead of 3. The depth of the arms on the litemax may provide some wind protection though.

Ashley I'd probably disagree with you on this one. I think a three support is always more stable than a four, since it wont rock, like a four can/will.

Rod

Rod, that makes sense. But four arms will provide a larger base of support so that if the pot is knocked sideways it is less likely to tip. Having said that, you bump a pot on any of these stoves it's likely to be the end of your dinner!

Snow peak also makes a "micro max" version of the stove… also with 3 fold out arms. Difference is it weighs 3.3oz and is designed "to support heavy weights". Otherwise they look the same. They don't give a guide to how much weight each stove will support. I need a minimum support of 2kg I think. I've read some complaints that the MSR pocketrocket (also 3 arms) can't handle heavier pots.

I'd also be very interested to know how the litemax compares to the gigapower – specifically with regards to stability with pots containing 4-5 cups of water, how well the pot supports block the wind, and whether the pot support joints look like they will last a long time.

FWIW: I switched from the pocket rocket to the gigapower last year. My 1.5 and 2 liter pots caused the pocket rocket's pot supports to "wave around" when stirring Lipton meals. The waving was so excessive with the 2 L pot, that I fully expected the pot supports to bend and fold in half unless I stirred very lightly. The gigapower has very stable arms – it's no less stable than my wisperlight in this respect. The pot also sits enough closer to the ground on the gigapower that tipping the stove over is no longer the big worry it was with the pocket rocket. The gigapower is stable enough that my 7 year old could successfully make Lipton Alfredo meals, which thicken enough while stirring that stability is an issue. The Gigapower's side-aiming flames also did much better in light wind than my Pocket rocket, but still required a windscreeen in medium wind.

I have also found that the four arms on the gigapower provided a significantly more stable surface than any of the 3 armed canister stoves that I have tried.

Seems the Micromax is a Litemax with an auto igniter.

Litemax – 1.9 oz and 11,200 BTU
Giga Stove GST-100 (Ti, no igniter) – 2.5 oz and 10,000 BTU

Physical difference seems to be burner head, pot supports, and switch to a titanium or aluminum valve block instead of a brass valve block.

I own a Gigapower and I'm curious about the LiteMax versus the Gigapower:

1. When the valve is closed, does the wire adjuster align itself flush and straight with the stove for compact storage — or does it extend out at some weird angle like most of the Gigapowers?

2. The Gigapower performs poorly in the wind — to the point where Snow Peak sells an after-market wind screen that weighs almost as much as the stove itself! How much better is the LiteMax? Can it compete with the best canister stoves out there in wind resistance?

3. I can fit my Gigapower and small fuel canister inside my SP 600 pot. Can the Lite Max or Micro Max do the same?

I just read a review of the LiteMax in Backpacker magazine. It said that the LiteMax performed poorly below freezing, even when the cannister was kept overnight in the tester's sleeping bag. This is discouraging. (My PocketRocket has worked below freezing…although I had to place the cannister in a bowl containing warm water).

Can anyone vouch for the LiteMax's performance in cold weather?

> It said that the LiteMax performed poorly below freezing,
All uprights perform poorly when the fuel is below freezing. This has been well covered in several BPL articles.

> even when the cannister was kept overnight in the tester's sleeping bag.
Well, sure, it started warm – but cooled down. Figures.

> My PocketRocket has worked below freezing…although I had to place the cannister in a bowl containing warm water).
Hardly a fair comparison then. You would get the same results with the LiteMax: it is NOT the stove model but the temperature of the canister which matters.

The bowl of cool water trick is a very good one however. It pumps heat into the fuel.

Cheers

i own both (got the lite max as a gift)and find the lite max does better in a light breeze than the gigapower.

also the pot support is wider than the gigapower and sits my 1.3l evernew pot quite solidly.

the wire valve handle actually folds under the stove, sitting around the valve, not beside it. think 180 degrees from the photo above. on closer inspection of the photo, my stove has some holes in the pot supports and the valve has less metal… the photo must be of a prototype?

seating the stove securely on the canister to open the lyndal valve was a little harrowing the first time. it must sit very tightly on the canister because it only has a single o-ring, unlike the giga which has two. the large gasket around the base of the giga sits on the canister, but the lite max has two legs that come off of the valve and seat on the rime of the canister valve. but the advantage seems to be less gas escaping when i remove the stove and i have used the stove about 10 times and have seen little to no wear on the threads of the stove.

mine weighed 58g out of the box. as a side note, with the brunton remote stove adapitor with no legs and a hanging setup, it comes to a total of 166g (5.85oz)!!

and how… love this stove… get one

Ironically, the outdated photo was from the Snow Peak website! This seems to fit better with the model Chris descibed.

Hi Chris

> it must sit very tightly on the canister because it only has a single o-ring, unlike the giga which has two. the large gasket around the base of the giga sits on the canister, but the lite max has two legs

Never ever rely on the large flat washer that sits on the rim of the canister! It will not seal adequately, and serves very little purpose in practice. The O-ring inside the threaded part is IT. If you need to replace this in any stove I think a BS011 in Viton would be suitable.

Cheers

…but I think I'll stick to my Vargo Jet-Ti burner.

Eric

> …but I think I'll stick to my Vargo Jet-Ti burner.

There's not a lot of difference. I suspect they are all made by Kovea (in Korea) anyhow.

Well Roger you are probably right. My box says made in Korea on it.

OK, so I got my LiteMax yesterday and had a chance to fire it up. I noticed that the flames don't come straight up the center like the Pocket Rocket does. Instead, they shoot out towards the sides. In other words, the flame is spread over a larger area instead of being concentrated in the middle. Is this a good or bad thing? Would dispersing the flame make it more susceptible to being blown out in a wind? Has anyone tested their LiteMax in wind?

I'm running some laboratory tests on these stoves today and hope to have a review posted soon.

It depends. For me, the wider coverage is more desirable, especially when cooking. Instead of concentrating the flame in one small spot, you'll get more even cooking throughout the pot/skillet. If you're just looking for a torch under a small mug, you may opt for the more focused flame.

For me, since I don't cook–I just boil water for freeze-dried foods–this is not a relevant issue. I'm mainly interested in stove efficiency: a) L of water boiled per g of fuel consumed and b) performance in windy conditions. While a wide flame might help with a), will it perform more poorly under b)?

Curious why you made the switch?

I used to own a PocketRocket and now the SP Gigapower stove. The PR is a great little stove and the only reason I switched was because the Gigapower compacts down smaller — so I can fit both stove and fuel canister inside my SP600 pot/mug — something I couldn't do with the PR.

For boiling water (as in my case), the flame pattern makes no difference. However, the PR definitely performs better than the Gigapower in the wind. In my case, I have a piece of blue foam that does triple duty as sleeping pad foot section, sit pad — and wind screen.

The LiteMax shares the same burner head but now includes a built-in "mini windscreen". I wonder about its effectiveness. Hopefully, David, you can test it out in comparison with the PR.

Ben,

So are you suggesting that the Pocket Rocket's flame pattern (i.e., being more concentrated) is better in windy conditions?

I decided to try the LiteMax to
a) save weight (1 oz lighter!)
b) save space (it folds up so small it can fit inside my Titan mug!)
c) increase fuel efficiency (I heard it is more fuel efficient)

I'll try to run some lab tests today (I happen to have access to a chemistry lab!) and post asap.

I expect the Litemax to do better in the wind than the Gigapower, but the question is how much better? I think the Pocket Rocket would do the best. Even with the Pocket Rocket that my buddy carries, which does okay in the wind, I suspect you a giving away a lot of fuel efficiency if you don't have some method of blocking excessive wind.

Different ballgame without the wind. Then I would suspect the Litemax would be most efficient.

Would be great to see some testing to back this up!