MSR Dragonfly stove review

When Anna and I started to plan our kayak trip up the Inside Passage to Alaska we talked about what we wanted out of this odyssey. We both enjoy cooking food and wanted to continue to eat tasty and healthy meals throughout our trip. We know of people who just brought dehydrated meals like Mountain House or Backpackers Pantry or who survived on just dried beans and vitamin supplements (they believed bears would not be drawn to the beans). We have no issues with dehydrated meals or beans, but neither of us want to survive on that for 3 months. We wanted to enjoy the whole experience of the trip including the food.

We worked hard to make up a meal plan that would give us variety and adequate calories. We carried fresh fruits and vegetables by converting Anna’s day hatch into a cooler. For us to make our food ambitions come true we needed a stove we actually adjust the temperature on. We needed a stove that is stable and could handle a 10 in frying pan. We wanted a stove that could burn readily available fuels and we did not want to rely on canister fuel or deal with the waste that comes along with that. Reliability was our biggest concern- we must be able to easily perform field repairs.


The only stove we found that checked all our boxes is the MSR Dragonfly. It is known for flame control and precision-simmering. We cooked brownies and made nice and fluffy eggs. We simmered sauces and browned meats. We perfected our pancake game. We made amazing cinnamon rolls and biscuits in our Outback oven. It was like we were at home on a real stove.

With white gas the Dragonfly can boil a liter of water in 3.5 minutes. Tipping over pots are a thing of the past thanks to the wide pot supports. Setup is fast and with the Shaker Jet technology we were able to keep the jet clean without taking the stove apart.

Just like with the MSR Whisperlight, lighting the stove takes a little practice, but once you are familiar with the process it is a breeze. The reason some people shy away from the Dragonfly is how loud it sound when cooking, but a solution has been found- a damper cap that cuts the volume in half on high and on low flame even more volume reduction. MSR does not endorse damper caps, but several are available and we used one on our trips with no problems.

We used MSR metal fuel bottles. We carried two 20 oz and one 30 oz for the longest leg of or trip and then shipped the extra home. The MSR Dragonfly can burn white gas, kerosene, unleaded auto fuel, diesel, and jet fuel, that’s a lot of choices. We were able to consistently find white gas and we used that for the entire trip as it burns the cleanest. But if we had needed to use gasoline or another alternative fuel, all that would need to be done is to change out the jet port with the provided tools.

Technical Specs

  • Price: $140
  • Width : 4 in Length: 4 in
  • Weight: 14.1 oz
  • Burn time (white gas) per 600ml / 20 oz. of fuel: 126 minutes Burn time (kerosene) per 600ml / 20 oz. of fuel: 153 minutes Burn time (diesel) per 600ml / 20 oz. of fuel: 136 minutes
  • Boil time (white gas), 1 liter: 3.5 minutes Boil time (kerosene), 1 liter: 3.9 minutes Boil time (diesel), 1 liter: 3.5 minutes Water boiled (white gas) per 100 ml of fuel:5.3 liters Water boiled (white gas) per 1 oz. of fuel:1.6 liters Water boiled (kerosene) per 100 ml of fuel: 5.7 liters Water boiled (kerosene) per 1 oz. of fuel: 1.7 liters Water boiled (diesel) per 100 ml of fuel:5.7 liters Water boiled (diesel) per 1 oz. of fuel: 1.7 liters

Pros

  • The wide and completely adjustable flame simmers like a champ
  • Reliable 
  • Multiple options for fuel
  • Wide pot supports
  • Ability to field maintenance Shaker Jet™
  • Great customer service and repair shop.
  • Made in USA Excellent Warranty 

Cons

  • Very loud 
  • Heavier then canister stoves and the Whisperlight  

Modifications

We used a damper cap to reduce the noise, however you should do your own research if you are considering this. There are risks with using a damper cap.

Conclusion

We love this stove, the ability to easily simmer and make some fun foods and not just boil water for dehydrated meals made this trip so much more enjoyable. We never had a mechanical issues with the stove and just gave it a shake for a couple of seconds to clean it out.