Thursday, September 24, 2009

Primus issues windscreen safety notice

In January, Primus announced a universal windscreen that attached to the top of a standard isobutane/propane fuel canister and worked with a variety of canister-top stoves. It was available starting in spring.

Designed to increase efficiency by blocking wind, the Primus Windscreen is the Big Bad Wolf’s biggest nightmare.

The 2-ounce windscreen sat erect atop a fuel canister to block the wind on three sides – about a 200-degree radius – of a canister-mounted stove. The opening allowed room for you to turn on/off the fuel.

On the top of the $15 windscreen, were strategically placed semi-circle cutouts to fit the stoves pot-holding feet.

Besides all that, for storage, the windscreen flipped upside down for a perfect fit around an 8-ounce fuel canister.

But note the past tense in the above description.

This summer I tested the Windscreen on a couple occasions with my ClassicTrail and was ready to post a review of it earlier this week.

However, it turns out Primus started taking the stoves off shelves in August because they regularly overheated with stoves that should have worked with it.

Primus Windscreen
Primus Windscreen

But consumers shouldn’t be too concerned.

“This is not a recall…..but a safety measure,” the company states.

With mine, I found that after 15 minutes of boiling water, the windscreen was way too hot to touch. I also had to be careful when I adjusted the gas so I wouldn’t burn my fingers as I reached through the screen’s open side.

“The text on the box ‘This windscreen fits Primus ExpressStove, Primus MicronStove Ti and most other cartridge stoves.’ is not correct: The MicronStove Ti is not suitable to use with the windscreen. We have decided to withdraw the product from our warehouse, rework the box and include a user instruction,” the company states on a safety information news release.

It goes on to say, “Primus ExpressStove fulfill the requirements but a number of present and older Primus products should not be used with the windscreen, eg. Micron,TiLite, ClassicTrail, Mimer and TechnoTrail stoves.”

Bottom line: If you have a Windscreen, which is ironically still posted on Primus’ Swedish Web site, expect it to overheat with certain models and be careful. If you don’t want to run the risk, return it.

Dealers should contact Primus to return all the Windscreens for a credit, and customers who return one should be given a refund – at which time Primus will credit the dealer.

The company does expect to launch a second generation Windscreen though. It should be announced next summer.

Posted by Ryan Dionne - Outdoors Guru at 20:46:26 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, August 10, 2009

Primus EtaPackLite packs a punch


photos courtesy Primus

Primus EtaPackLite

  • Pros: Entire system contained in one 1.2-liter pot; Has spring-loaded handle attached; Very efficient
  • Cons: Pot smaller than comparable stove systems; Round, flat stove base hard to keep level; Must pack bowl in pot to protect non-stick surface
  • Bottom Line: The Primus EtaPackLite is an efficient stove that, via incorporated elements, eliminates the need for additional cooking gear while on the trail. It’s well worth the price.
  • MSRP: $115

Primus’ Web site

    Having a pot/stove combination is great when cooking in the backcountry. Digging through your pack to find one unit instead of looking for your pot, stove and fuel separately is much quicker.

    The fuel-efficient Primus EtaPackLite stove is just that and more.

    Not only do all the components, including a windscreen, standalone stove, and bowl fit inside the 1.2-liter pot, a 100-gram fuel canister does as well. However, I’m an advocate for larger fuel canisters (more cost efficient and environmentally friendly), and my 230-gram canister won’t fit inside.

    The Lander, Wyo.-based company claims that the pot’s lid, which easily locks into place, doubles as a colander. You can simply boil your pasta, turn the pot over and dump the water through the holes.

    While the BPA-free ABS plastic lid on my test stove was solid black plastic, which made it hard to tell when water was boiling, the stove found in stores has a translucent grey lid that makes it much easier to see bubbling water.

    The 2-person stove, which weighs 21 ounces (about 1.5 pounds), has a heating ring on the bottom said to make the stove 75-percent fuel-efficient. While I can’t speak to that exact efficiency, the stove seemed to boil water incredibly quickly.

    When stored, that heat ring has a protective cover that I used both as a plate and a bowl, and it’s held in place by a spring-loaded, attached handle that flips up when you’re using the pot. The handle stays put better than those of comparable stoves on the market.

    Then, to protect the pot’s non-stick coating from the stove, windscreen and fuel canister when stored, Primus included a large bowl that slips inside the pot, which I also found very useful.

    The stove itself has a roughly 12-inch-long gas line that screws on to an LP fuel canister and a piezo igniter essentially eliminating the need for matches or a lighter.

    But the base of the stove is round and flat making it hard to keep level when in the backcountry.

    I also found that the 1.2-liter pot was barely big enough to cook dinner for two people.

    While backpacking in Colorado, the pot was filled to the brim with two Ramen packets, some egg powder and some dehydrated veggies. It worked, but it didn’t leave much room for stirring.

    However, the EtaPackLite is less expensive than similar stoves on the market and its pros easily outweigh its cons.

Posted by Ryan Dionne - Outdoors Guru at 15:47:01 | Permalink | No Comments »