Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

This stove is heavy and loud. Surprisingly loud! It doesn't simmer and it is downright bulky.

Why the 5 rating? Because for melting vast quantities of snow (or ice) this thing cannot be beat unless you want to pack in a Pratt & Whitney F100-229 turbofan.

Seriously, this stove should have a thrust rating on the side of the box.

I have an older Whisperlite Intl. and I've owned an Optimus Nova but neither match this one in power.

When it is 5 below zero and you watch a pot of (mostly)ice and water achieve a violent boil in no time at all you begin to love it. An amazing performer.

Rating: 5 / 5

I've retired my XGK from backpacking -- it's too heavy, and too noisy (REALLY noisy)-- but it still does duty every winter.
I have a plane and the engine requires pre-heat to start reliably in cold weather. This is because aircraft typically use the lightest possible battery. Combine that with 50 weight oil and you can see what the problem is.
Anyway, conventional preheaters typically take up a fair amount of space. Most pilots purchase preheat from the airport operator but they have hours of operation and don't always exist. The XGK burning kerosene combined with a lightweight flue pipe to channel the heat into the engine compartment makes for an excellent portable preheat source.

I recommend it highly.

Rating: 5 / 5

I've owned the earlier model, XK, for over 30 years. I've rebuilt it twice.
It has always been a solid performer. As noted above, it is heavy and noisy.
I'll use it now for group cooking (weight). I've gone to an MSR Whisperlite for winter use, and an MSR Pocket Rocket for three seasons use. I've found you can trust MSR products.