Soto Muka Liquid-Fuel Stove for Snow Camping?

Outrageous Bias showing:

> -Lots of BTUs to melt snow
Canister stoves are more powerful than white gas (that surprised me too)

> -Ability to simmer to thaw precooked foods and to cook and reheat foods especially
> soups and sauces at high and low altitudes
Canister stoves excel; white gas does not.

> -To be able to turn off and then relight between courses to conserve fuel
Canister stoves excel; white gas does not.

– Relative fuel efficiency
Canister stoves excel becasue of the ease of turning off and relighting compared to white gas.

– Stable Support for 3 and 4 liter pots
Upright canister stoves not recommended here, but remote ones are fine.

Yes, I was a kero enthusiast until I actually physically reviewed some canister stoves. Oh – and canister stoves don't smell.

Cheers

Altho' I prefer a remote canister stove myself, the one signifcant advantage to white gas is that if you are using it a lot, white gas is a cheaper fuel.

Don't know anything about the Soto Muka tho'

The Soto Muka Stove – Review

GO HERE

Maybe that's the next economic stimulus, running natural gas lines into the mountains for the UL/SUL bpers so we/they can run canister stoves without packing so much fuel, it would bring the price down and make that type fuel cheaper.:) Then there is the jacked up prices for Coleman Powermax canisters now. I got a bunch last Spring with shipping at around $13 a canister, now they go for $24.
Duane

I debated just like you on which winter stove, and finally decided to buy Primus Omnifuel Ti. Mainly I will use it with a Gas canister and inverted canister during winter. But when required capability to burn white gas is nice.

Thanks Roger
I do take my WindPro when I go out by myself. But when cooking for a group, I prefer white gas because it is cheaper. So I was looking for evaluations of the Sota Muka.

"One cannot get a super low flame with the Soto Muka." (per the Seattle Backpackers review)

I'll stick with my MSR Dragonfly for several reasons:

1. super low simmer ability (Great for baking W/ my Outback Oven kit)
2. true multi-liquid fuel, including unleaded pump gas
3. it can use standard fuel bottles
4. it's bought and paid for

The purpose of depressurizing the stove is to prove a low-output flame that is good for baking and simmering. This procedure must be done with utmost caution! First, follow the normal lighting process to heat up your stove. Then turn it OFF and blow out the flame – MAKE SURE THAT THE FLAME IS COMPLETELY EXTINGUISHED! If your are using a MSR stove, carefully loosen the pump from the bottle (a ½ to ¾ turn) to relieve pressure. With the Soto Muka you can depressurize by turning the control dial to "Air." Be careful to avoid gas spray on you OR your food. Retighten the pump and pump TWICE with the MSR stove and DOUBLE with the Soto Muka, and light. You will need to pump occasionally to keep the stove running, but for the most part it will maintain a fairly consistent low flame.

Well I had an REI gift certificate and bought the stove.

After one trip, here are my initial impressions. After second trip I will write up a review for the review section

Positives
-Very light
-Throws out a lot of heat.
-Melted snow as fast as if not faster than my buddy's MSR
– 750 ml bottle burned for over 1 hour
– 1000 ml bottle burned well too
– I found for ignition, the 750 ml bottle needed about 40 pumps and then perhaps 20 more. While cooking the number of additional pumps was not all that different from my Optimus Nova

Negatives
-Does by itself not simmer as well as my Nova. I packed a scorch buster plate and used it to simmer my lentil stew
– The control value with its various positions is hard to read in the dark. Most of my other liquid fuel (LF) stoves can be operated almost by feel
– On the last morning, I was unable to pressurize the bottle. I am not sure whether it was user error or I had ice in the fuel line because I forgot to put the the plastic covers the night before for the female and male brass fittings where the fuel line connects to the pump.

Thank you for posting your impressions. Love seeing real user feed back.

Your impressions look like about what I encountered (I’m the person who wrote the review on Seattle Backpacker’s Magazine). It definitely is not a fine simmering stove (the Nova is fantastic at this), but it does a danged fine job of melting snow. It’s really a blast furnace of a stove.

What did you think of the windscreen?

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

Jim
I wind screen worked fine. I was using an OpenCounty 4 liter pot and had the windscreen loosely wrapped in a U shape so it was never that close to the stove and the stove was well ventilated.

I thought about switching to an MSR windscreen after seeing the complaints in various reviews but Muka states to use only their windscreen. Since there is an air vent at the bottom of the stove that serves as part of the "turbocharging" system, I thought it prudent to use the recommended screen.

One other point in regard to snow camping, as you know, this stove throws out a lot of heat in a tall column. I would have to be very careful if I were to use it in a vestibule.

I was pretty impressed with the Muka’s heat output — definitely something to be careful with when lighting the stove in a tent even though there’s no priming.

The windscreen is actually a Vari-Vent from Trail Designs and, believe it or not, is made in the USA, shipped to Japan, packaged with the stove, and then shipped back to the US. It’s a good screen, light and well made. I like how you can open and close the vents. I have no complaint about the windscreen, but with a blowtorch like the Muka, you CANNOT let the wind shift the screen into the flame. It will melt (so will an MSR or other windscreen).

I put a video up on YouTube. I think you can see the windscreen shifting around in the wind. I was on an 8,000′ peak at the time.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving