Advantages
- Small
- Folding
- Stores in concave bottom of 8 fl. oz. canister
- Larger burner
Disadvantages
- Instability - Center of gravity (with full pot) vs. footprint diameter
- Worse with 4 fl. oz. canister
- No windscreen
Notes
- Mounts on top of canister
- Consider a stabilizer stand
- Pack weight: 3.8 oz. (108 g)
This is the first canister stove that I bought. I had a trip planned for Havasupai, in the Grand Canyon. With summer temperatures and little wind in the Grand Canyon I had decided that I wanted a smaller, lighter stove. After talking with several people and doing some research I decided on the Crux. I liked the size of the burner head, and the fact that the stove came with a "pouch" that stored the stove in the concave bottom of an 8 fl. oz. canister.
After purchase, testing only re-enforced that I had made a good decision. My three day trip in to the Grand Canyon proved the stove even more. This was my mainstay summer overnight camping stove for several years, until I spent way too much money and purchased a MSR Reactor.
At the time of my purchase, I did not know that you could not use a windscreen with this style of stove, and none of my research mentioned the danger of using a windscreen with a canister. For my trip into the Grand Canyon the Crux performed flawlessly and since there was never any wind in the canyon, I never noticed the lack of a windscreen. Several weeks after the Grand Canyon trip, I took this stove on a solo overnight trip to one of my favorite fishing holes. At this particular location a light wind is always present especially in the morning and evening as the nearby valley warms and cools. That evening as I was attempting to boil water for my evening meal, I became very aware that upright, top mount canister stoves are susceptible to wind. I had to move my meal preparation area to find a more sheltered location.
On my return from the above trip, I started my research into windscreens for the Crux. I liked the stove enough, that I did not want to change to something else. At the time, no one made a windscreen for an upright top mount canister stove. Today is a different story. Optimus now makes a windscreen for the Crux and Crux Lite. Of course they have made the windscreen specifically for use with the Optimus Terra Solo or Terra Weekend HE pot, but I have found that the Titan kettle that I own is almost exactly the same dimensions as the Solo pot, and functions nicely with the windscreen. The only thing I do not like about the windscreen is it fixed size, and I have difficulty packing it since it is rigid. The windscreen does pack around the Terra Solo and Weekend pot very nicely.
You can also purchase a stabilizer stand for the canisters. These give a much wider footprint. I have found that not all the canisters have the same outside dimensions. As a result the plastic legs similar to the Optimus Canister Stand or the JetBoil Fuel Can Stabilizer work best for the matching brand canisters. The MSR Universal Canister Stand works across every brand canister that I have been able to test (Primus, Optimus, JetBoil, MSR, and several other less know brands).
After purchase, testing only re-enforced that I had made a good decision. My three day trip in to the Grand Canyon proved the stove even more. This was my mainstay summer overnight camping stove for several years, until I spent way too much money and purchased a MSR Reactor.
At the time of my purchase, I did not know that you could not use a windscreen with this style of stove, and none of my research mentioned the danger of using a windscreen with a canister. For my trip into the Grand Canyon the Crux performed flawlessly and since there was never any wind in the canyon, I never noticed the lack of a windscreen. Several weeks after the Grand Canyon trip, I took this stove on a solo overnight trip to one of my favorite fishing holes. At this particular location a light wind is always present especially in the morning and evening as the nearby valley warms and cools. That evening as I was attempting to boil water for my evening meal, I became very aware that upright, top mount canister stoves are susceptible to wind. I had to move my meal preparation area to find a more sheltered location.
On my return from the above trip, I started my research into windscreens for the Crux. I liked the stove enough, that I did not want to change to something else. At the time, no one made a windscreen for an upright top mount canister stove. Today is a different story. Optimus now makes a windscreen for the Crux and Crux Lite. Of course they have made the windscreen specifically for use with the Optimus Terra Solo or Terra Weekend HE pot, but I have found that the Titan kettle that I own is almost exactly the same dimensions as the Solo pot, and functions nicely with the windscreen. The only thing I do not like about the windscreen is it fixed size, and I have difficulty packing it since it is rigid. The windscreen does pack around the Terra Solo and Weekend pot very nicely.
You can also purchase a stabilizer stand for the canisters. These give a much wider footprint. I have found that not all the canisters have the same outside dimensions. As a result the plastic legs similar to the Optimus Canister Stand or the JetBoil Fuel Can Stabilizer work best for the matching brand canisters. The MSR Universal Canister Stand works across every brand canister that I have been able to test (Primus, Optimus, JetBoil, MSR, and several other less know brands).
Do I recommend this stove? Yes, I really like this stove, and the windscreen is not a requirement.
Note: The Crux Lite is a non-folding version of this stove which is 11g lighter. I prefer the folding version because it stores in the concave bottom of an 8 fl. oz. canister.
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