anyone using the Snow Peak Gigapower LI?

Web site says 'not in stock', so I don't think they have actually reached production yet.

You could do worse than buy a Coleman Xtreme through eBay. It is regarded by many as the Gold Standard.

Cheers

Here is some for sale

http://www.backcountry.com/store/SNO0094/Snow-Peak-GigaPower-LI-Backpacking-Stove.html?CMP_ID=SH_FRO001&CMP_SKU=SNO0094&mv_pc=r126

They look very interesting. I may need to get one of these before next winter. I am a Coleman Xtreme user for short trips and use an MSR XGK Ex for long ones. I have been playing with my brother-in-laws EtaExpress this winter but not for melting snow.

Is it really that much better than grabbing a windpro and turning the canister upside down? 160 bucks for the LI vs 90 for a windpro. Is the 70 bucks paying for a fuel canister stand and moving the valve?

Thanks for the replies. I've read tons of great reviews for the Xtreme and it is tempting. I am just hoping, probably unrealistically, that I can get neither the same winter performance with a standard fuel canister.

I saw that campsaver.com had the stove in stock also and currently has a 20% sale. It's still a lot more expensive than an Xtreme stove.

I hear ya on simply inverting the canister on a Windpro, though, I have heard that the valve gums up when doing this with the MSR specifically. You would hope that there is more to the Snow Peak design that just an inverted canister (e.g. they talk about constant output through the life of a canister). Does the Xtreme work well simply because of the preheat tube and fuel intake on the bottom of the powermax canister, or is there more to the design?

Here is one thing about the Xtreme, (I know, off topic now, sorry.)

I dig a snow kitchen in the winter which has a place for my stove. I often leave the Xtreme still hooked to the fuel canister overnight right there. I can fire it right up in the morning. My experimenting with the other canisters has me sleeping with it in my bag to keep it warm.

That is a great idea of just turning the canister over. I ran out to try it with my Crux and poured water on my leg… ;-)

> great reviews for the Xtreme … I am just hoping, that I can get the same winter performance
> with a standard fuel canister.
Down to about -20 C you should be able to get the same winter performance IF you are using a canister with 30% propane. The canisters with less propane are mainly for warmer weather.

> Windpro, though, I have heard that the valve gums up when doing this with the MSR specifically
It has happened to me. But … it may take a while to happen, and you can always disconnect the stove from the canister (ABSOLUTE MUST!) and then whip the needle valve out and clean it with some TP. Does not take long.

See the article just published on Essential Stove maintenance for more info.

The Snow Peak brand is fairly good. Their Gigapower summer stoves (eg GST100) are highly recommended.

> Does the Xtreme work well simply because of the preheat tube and fuel intake on the
> bottom of the powermax canister, or is there more to the design?
Personally, I think there is a bit more to it. I think it is a combination of a number of little features and design tricks all come together in one stove. But I am biased (I own two).

Cheers

"You would hope that there is more to the Snow Peak design that just an inverted canister (e.g. they talk about constant output through the life of a canister). Does the Xtreme work well simply because of the preheat tube and fuel intake on the bottom of the powermax canister, or is there more to the design?"

I thought that a preheat tube and inverted canister was what caused the "constant output through the life of the canister". It seems like a pretty constant design, just like how all the sit-on-top canister stoves are basically the same.

> I thought that a preheat tube and inverted canister was what caused the "constant output
> through the life of the canister".
Provided you use the canister inverted all the time, yep.

Cheers

I'm fascinated by all backpacking stoves; I was interested in picking up a Snowpeak Delta Pod (9.7 oz remote canister) but balked at the $80 price tag. I found the same stove on ebay under a couple random brands for about $30. I'm guessing that it's originated from Kovea… perhaps the same for the LI?

I picked up the LI with the 20% off coupon and it will be here on Monday. My gear impulse purchase control is pretty much zero.

We are only getting down to the upper 20s F right now at night, so I probably won't be able to know how it performs in the cold until later this year. In the meantime, I can post some high rez shots on the forum.

Hi Brad

Yep, Kovea have been selling that for years.
They do make a lot of stoves for a lot of companies…

Cheers

Althou pics show the LI using the inverted GC, can I assume in fair weather it can used right-side up?

b.gin

I just received the GigaPower LI from Campsaver.com. I’ve included links below for some pics of the kit, top and bottom of the stove. Also, I included a link for a pdf of the manual (sorry in advance for the poor scan). Interestingly enough, the manual says that you cannot use the fuel canister right side up: “This is a totally different combustion system from the conventional combustion devices that use the fuel cartridge in an upright position.”

What’s in the box

Top of stove

Bottom of stove

Included Instruction Manual

You guys see anything unique about the design? I’m curious and do not have another stove to compare against.

Hi Kyle. Have you had chance to try this stove? What are you thoughts on it?

One of my concerns is the size of it. It looks quite bulky in your pictures. I'd be interested to hear what your review of it was.

> Althou pics show the LI using the inverted GC, can I assume in fair weather it can used right-side up?

Always. Applies to any stove.

Cheers

Hi Kyle

> Interestingly enough, the manual says that you cannot use the fuel canister right side up: "This is a totally different combustion system from the conventional combustion devices that use the fuel cartridge in an upright position."

That's not how I interpret what they have written. I interpret it in the usual way, to say that it uses a liquid feed rather than a gas feed. I can't see any ban on using the canister upright in what they wrote.

The pdf file seems to crash Adobe. Another try?

Cheers

Hi Roger,

I found this also and instead had to right click on the link and save the pdf and then open it manually.