When Larry Penberthy, a Seattle engineer, inventor and mountaineer, founded Mountain Safety Research back in 1969, he was notorious. If a piece of equipment proved to be unreliable or potentially dangerous, he was unrelenting, both in his calls for accountability to the producer of that gear and in his quest to forge a better, safer and more reliable alternative. This didn’t make Larry many new friends in the industry, but it made him extremely good at what he did. The revolution he started sent shockwaves through the outdoors that can still be felt today. 

Arguably, the largest of those tectonic shifts was MSR’s entry into camp stoves. Today, nearly every liquid-fuel stove on the market draws from the DNA of MSR’s original stove. Along with a few key improvements over the years, that essential design still exists in our offerings as one of the most trusted extreme condition stoves ever made, the XGK™-EX stove.

Such a big innovation, along with its lasting impacts, is, in our humble opinion, worthy of closer review. So let’s go back to where MSR liquid-fuel camp stoves started and jump on the timeline of innovation that followed. It’s a short story, filled with familiar names and stoves that are still available and leading the pack today—a testament to the quality and thoughtful engineering that went into these iconic stoves. 

In the Beginning…

There is a slowly decreasing chance that if you’re reading this, you knew what life was like before modern liquid-fuel stoves. The classic Svea stove was iconic in the early 1900s, but it ran on kerosene, was prone to clogging, and put out precious little heat.

World War II ushered in the “gasoline” (white gas) stove, but it was essentially built on the same platform—a single combined unit of burner and fuel reservoir, which created other problems. Primarily, the volatile nature of white gas made it impossible to effectively shield the stove from wind and weather without risking an explosion. Furthermore, with fuel and flame so close together, a leak anywhere would immediately lead to a dangerous situation. These were also heavy and bulky designs with minimal options for field repairability. Coupled with poor performance in cold weather and at high altitudes, this made them a risky and inefficient proposition for serious adventures. 

Penberthy saw an opportunity to engineer something better. He knew that hydration was critical for both safety and peak performance, and poorly designed stoves were resulting in dehydrated climbers who could not melt enough snow to stay hydrated.

The First MSR Stove: The Model 9

In 1973, MSR introduced its first stove, the Model 9. Its primary evolution from existing field stoves was the separation of the fuel bottle and burner. Now, the pot could be completely surrounded by the included windscreen and set atop the base heat reflector without dangerously overheating the fuel reservoir or other sensitive components. Not only did this separation significantly increase safety and reliability, but it also resulted in a massive jump in efficiency, critical in the often remote and adverse conditions of high-altitude mountaineering. The stove could also be maintained in the field with minimal fuss. It’s not hyperbole to say that this innovation revolutionized stoves forever. Just take a look at any high-performance liquid-fuel stove made today, and you’ll see this design emulated in every single one. 

The 9a, released in multiple iterations, was the next stove to come, but it was essentially a series of refinements in the durability and function of certain parts. Small changes were incorporated at each phase, demonstrating Penberthy’s commitment to extensive field testing and striving for ever-improving designs, always seeking the best possible performance. 

Next Steps: The XGK Evolution

What’s better than a safe, efficient, and effective all-condition liquid-fuel stove? How about one that burns whatever fuel you can find? This is exactly what the now legendary XGK™ stove was—and still is. It was also released in iterations based on the fuel types it could burn, but the final XGK model was able to burn almost anything and could be essentially rebuilt in the field with few parts and a single tool. This is what keeps it—now named the XGK-EX— the gold standard when it comes to expeditions in the farthest-flung places. 

The key innovations here were fuel-specific “jets” and a fuel line that was now routed through the flame. The jets have ports designed specifically for each fuel type, and this, combined with the fuel line now pre-heating and vaporizing the fuel, opened up a new level of performance across a wider range of conditions and fuel types than any other stove.

Hearing the roar of an XGK at a basecamp in a remote location remains a rite of passage that’s not to be missed (as is the silence followed by turning it off)!

The WhisperLite™ Revolution

The iconic roar and toughness of the XGK are unmistakable and essential to its effectiveness for the task at hand. However, that kind of unrelenting performance is overkill for many who play closer to home. To bring that level of reliability and performance to a broader audience, MSR introduced the WhisperLite™ in 1984. It was a lighter, quieter and more compact liquid-fuel stove aimed at backpackers who didn’t need the sheer firepower of the XGK. Optimized for white gas and used primarily where that fuel was readily available, it would go on to arguably become the most revered and popular camp stove of all time. 

Future iterations would add multi-liquid fuel capability (WhisperLite Internationale), and even the truly “all-fuel” capable WhisperLite Universal, which burns both liquid and canister fuels. All of these stoves remain in our line today.

The Final Question: To Simmer or Not to Simmer?

Having achieved what was pretty darn close to engineering perfection with the XGK-EX and WhisperLite stoves, the one opportunity for improvement was in flame control. Can you simmer with an XGK-EX? Not really. A Whisperlite? Yes, but it takes some finesse between bottle pressure and the flame control knob to do it.  

In 1998, the DragonFly® stove was introduced, offering precise flame control and added stability for larger pots. The flame control knob was relocated to the stove (rather than on the pump, as with all other models), allowing for direct control of the fuel supply and excellent simmering capabilities. In addition, the much larger, loop-style pot supports doubled surface contact with pots and created an incredibly stable stove base, making the DragonFly a go-to solution for groups and those looking to do more than just boil water for dinner.

Finally, in 2002, MSR did something it had never done before—introduced a liquid fuel stove that is NOT still in the line today: the SimmerLite. These were the early days of the “Fast & Light” movement going mainstream, so we did our level best to make the lightest liquid gas stove around. It weighed a scant 6.4 oz. (the lightest at the time) and lost nothing on heat output, making it a success for a brief few years. However, this was also the time when the ultralight crowd began to switch over to a new class of insanely light and small canister stoves like the PocketRocket®.

Why Liquid Fuel?

While it’s true that canister stoves are extremely popular for good reason, here are a few key reasons why liquid-fuel stoves remain a staple in any backcountry quiver:

Reliability/Maintainability

Short of being crushed by a boulder, these stoves just. Keep. Going. Each is designed to be entirely field maintainable, meaning you can strip it down, clean it and replace nearly any part with a simple tool. This makes them invaluable when travelling far from home, or in heavy, institutional use situations where they get abused. It also means your grandkids will be able to use your stove. We sell an Annual Maintenance Kit and an Expedition Service Kit, both appropriate for all our liquid-fuel stoves.

Long Trips/Sustainability

Canister stoves are easy, but any trip over three or four days means you’re carrying multiple canisters. At some point, the bulk of multiple canisters tips the scales in favor of liquid fuel. Plus, if having a smaller environmental footprint is your priority, liquid-fuel bottles are refillable, eliminating the waste of disposable canisters.

Adaptability

White gas is nearly universally available. However, with a multi-fuel stove, you’re almost assured to never be without a viable fuel, no matter where you travel on the planet.

Today: A Testament to Reliability, Performance & Innovation

Our liquid-fuel stove offerings today clearly demonstrate the quality of our earliest ground-breaking designs. As mentioned, only one of those stoves is no longer with us, and the rest remain top sellers, year after year, and trusted partners for hardcore users like NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). This isn’t because they are trendy or come in multiple colors; it’s because they do exactly what you need them to do, with unbeatable reliability. These are the stoves that you can 100% count on, knowing that, with proper care, they will still be doing what they were engineered to do many decades into the future.

Liquid Fuel Backpacking Stoves