Canister Stoves - Optimus Vega

Advantages

• Built-in stand for inverted canister stand
• Low center of gravity
• Wide pot stand
• Small total package
• Fuel efficient

Disadvantages

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Notes

• Pack weight: 8.4 oz. (237g)

This stove is the reason I do not recommend the MSR WindPro II. I had originally bought the WindPro, then upgraded to the WindPro II for the inverted canister design. A season or two after purchasing the WindPro II, I came across the Optimus Vega. I was immediately impressed with the design and sturdiness of the stove. The fact that it was a couple ounces lighter than the WindPro II did not hurt either.

The Vega fuel valve has two folding wire legs that when unfolded support the canister in the inverted position. The fuel hose is a little longer as well. The stove folds very neatly and stores in a small included stuff sack. A windscreen is also included. The whole package is significantly smaller than any other stove I have, with the exception of the Optimus Crux. The unfolded stove is also shorter than any other stove, making the center of gravity lower, and hence a more stable stove.

Do I recommend this stove. Yes! I wish that I had found this stove before purchasing the WindPro or WindPro II stoves. I could have saved myself some money. I have only used this stove a couple of times, since it is fairly new. I must still be in the honeymoon phase because I really cannot point to anything that I dislike.

One of the things I like about this stove is the burner head size.  Some of the canister stoves have such small heads, that the center of the pot is over heated while using the stove. Other stoves have such large burners, that the flame jets past the edge of the pot and heat is lost. I use a Titan Kettle almost exclusively. The Titan diameter is such, that a 8 fl. oz. canister fits snuggly inside the pot. With such a small diameter pot, many burner heads are too large. The Optimus Vega burner head is middle ground, and works very well with my Titan Kettle.  Note, the Crux appears to use the same head. This stove fold really well, with the folded legs curving around and protecting the fuel line and generator.

As I continue to use this stove, I will update this post as necessary. 

My use and testing show that the stove boils 2 cups (~500 ml) of water using a MSR Titan Kettle in 3 1/3 minutes using .2 oz. (by weight) of fuel. With the Terra Weekend HE pot, the boil time is 2 1/4 minutes, but pot weight increases significantly in respect to the Titan Kettle.