Owner: Thomas
Used since: 2013
Tested by: Thomas
Review by: Thomas
Primary Use: Light-weight / multi-day hiking, Canyoning
Review:
I bought this stove in an attempt to again downsize the weight and size of my backpack on multi-day hikes as well as have a small emergency type stove for our team's longer canyoning trips where a warm soup comes in handy at times. While the stove is a well manufactured product with excellent simmer functionality and high burn rate, I am not entirely converted to use it on a regular basis during hiking adventures. The unit is small and compact, weight is quite ok - however, because the radius of the heating element is pretty small (compare to my other reviewed stove - the Coleman Outlander), it takes quite a long time to boil cold river water for instance or cook a decent meal.
You can turn the flame right up and it really fires like a rocket - yet it doesn't seem to deliver the heat and quick cook time that you would expect. At the same time you need much more gas because you do have to crank the flame up quite a bit. For that reason I decided to use a Jetboil system (see my other review on the Jetboil Flash) - it cooks way more efficient and fast. Its a different concept, however for multi-day hiking trips I found it a better alternative than the Furno + pots. With the Jetboil I can cook things faster and need less gas, meaning less weight for a small gas bottle. The 360 Furno and its small pot set is still a great product and some may like that package, however for me there are limited use-cases for it.
Pros:
- Includes a storage case
- Small and compact size with fairly light weight
- Small pot +lid that comes with it is sufficient to cook a decent meal for 2 people
- Excellent manufacturing quality
- Great simmer capability (the stove is really fine adjustable)
- Powerful flame output
Cons:
- Small radius of heating element
- Despite its powerful flame, it takes a long time to cook a full pot of cold water
- The weight and size savings of the stove will be offset by the requirement for a larger gas bottle since you will need to turn up the flame quite a bit for fast cooking
Comment:
A good product, however I would purchase other models and makes for efficient and light-weight cooking.
Manufacturer Website:
http://www.summitgear.com.au/360-furno-stove-and-pot-set/