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4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Super Stove May 06, 2010
I got this stove to replace another MSR stove, the Whisperlite, which burned in house fire years ago and it has turned out to be an excellent stove. Here is a run down on my experience and impressions of the stove:
Performance - As with most other decent stoves, this one can boil water quickly, so that's not news. What it does do, however, that many do not is take the flame down to the lowest simmer. This is a great feature if you are doing some serious cooking that requires precise flame control. I've found the flame spread on this stove to be relatively narrow, so it's a good thing you can dial the flame down so as not to completely scorch what you are heating. The stove is extremely stable, with pot supports that can handle larger size pots and pans. It has a self-cleaning jet that has worked flawlessly when using standard white gas, and has been very reliable.
Size - It folds up pretty small and it is light enough, but it's still larger in these dimensions than the smallest stoves out there if only by a little. I don't store mine in my cook kit as it won't fit; that's OK by me, though, as there's always something in my pack that I can fit in there to save space.
Flexibility - As with the international version of the Whisperlite, this stove can burn different fuels, some with the same jet that uses white gas, and others with the included jet for heavier fuels like kerosene or diesel. This is an nice feature, I think, and makes it valuable component of your disaster preparedness kit in addition to regular camping and backpacking duty.
Noise - You've heard it before, and it's a fact with this stove: this puppy is noisy as all get out. Embarrassingly so, sometimes. I've had campers at adjacent sites look over to see what was going on when I cranked my stove up to full blast, and it makes me feel self-conscious sometimes when I'm cooking in the near-dead silence of a remote campsite. Don't use this stove if you want to be able to hear someone or something sneaking up on you, or if the hiss of a gas lantern (mild by comparison) bothers you.
Value - This one gives me a bit of pause. I think this is an excellent stove and despite some quirks (namely noise) I really love it. When the excellent Whisperlite can be had for so much less (even the international version) it is hard to justify unless you really, truly need that fine flame control or the security of having something a little more stable than most micro stoves.
Other thoughts - If you are only using your stove to boil water for purification or to rehydrate food, then I would go with a less expensive option where you don't need a fine flame control. Generally, I really prefer this kind of stove, with its fuel flexibility, over those that use a propane or propane/butane canister. I like the thought of being able to use gasoline or diesel in an emergency situation if I needed to. And, while I have had very good luck with canisters using my Gaz 470 (that I absolutely LOVE and still use on a regular basis) I wouldn't want that to be my only camp stove.
Be sure to use the heat shield and windscreen that come with this stove to protect the pump and fuel bottle; their use should not be considered an option. The stove is easy to prime using priming paste or a squirt of fuel let through the valve once you have pressurized the bottle. The stove comes complete with pump and basic tools to clean and/or change the jet, heat shield and wind screen, as well as a usable stuff sack.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Time tested, reliable and versatile. Dec 29, 2009
I purchased my Dragonfly when they first came out, probably ten years ago, and it has been a durable, reliable, trustworthy and versatile stove over the years. The Dragonfly burns liquid fuel (typically white gas/camping gas, aka coleman fuel) but it will burn just about any liquid fuel you can get your hands on. The flame on the Dragonfly is easily adjusted and, unlike many other gas backpacking stoves, it can be kept low which makes it great for cooking/simmering or even baking with an Backpackers Pantry Outback Oven which I do a lot of.
Many other backpacking stoves use gas cannisters rather than liquid fuel. The gas cannisters are easy (and expensive) but not nearly as versatile as liquid fuel and they can be hard to find out on the trail or in small towns whereas you can buy gas (good old gasoline) just about anywhere. One of the more popular stoves these days, the Jetboil Flash Personal Cooking System is great at boiling water but it isn't really able to cook in the insulated cannister and really requires a cookset (which the Dragonfly nestles into, just barely).
- If all you want to do is boil water for hot drinks or dehydrated camping food then go with the JETBOIL Flash. The Dragonfly can easily boil water for any hot drink or dry food but it takes about twice as long as the JETBOIL.
- If you want to cook real food in the backcountry, solid food like eggs, bacon, potatoes, pancackes, pasta, even burgers or steaks or if you want to use the Outback Oven to actually bake, then go with the Dragonfly - it won't let you down.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
loud but verssatile Aug 30, 2008
As mentioned, this stove is loud, extremely loud, at any setting. It has a very wide range - you can simmer without scorching thick stews or boil 4L of water in no time flat. Be aware however, that it can melt a hole in the wind screen or heat defuser just as easily. Or scorch the bottom of your pots about as fast - I've two to clean up at the moment.
Find the absolute lowest simmer setting right out of the box - you'll want to use it most of the time. When it's time to boil water crank it up loud.
It's a fuel miser compared to the WhisperLite.
The flexible hose is still short, stiff and stupid like other MSR stoves.
Stuff sack is too small for what we travel with.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Moto-Camping Must Have Aug 14, 2008
I've used this stove backpacking. It's great, light, etc. But, the fact that it can burn gasoline is a huge plus for motorcycle camping. Now I don't have to carry two kinds of extra fuel (one for extra range and one for cooking). The stove comes with different jet heads (for different types of fuel). Fortunately, the one for gasoline is the same for white gas, so I don't have any modifications to make when I switch from backpacking to motorcycle camping. Important: Use a foil heat/wind shield and you won't have the problem of the other reviewer (melting the plastic pump).
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Awesome stove! Light and easy to operate! Aug 04, 2008
This thing is great. We took it backpacking the day it arrived and had no problems at all. It is pretty loud, but it works great! It folds up really small and is VERY light. Pretty cool that it works with so many different types of fuel too. Highly recommended.
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