Snow Peak GigaPower LI Backpacking Stove (Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008)

This product feature was published in conjunction with the Virtual Pack Project from Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008. Click here for more information about the ORWM 2008 Virtual Pack Project.

At the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2007 we were introduced to the Snow Peak Metal Crab which represents Snow Peak's first foray into the realm of remote canister stoves. That stove was a direct competitor to the Coleman Xtreme which we consider to be a very fine stove for winter expedition use. However, like the Coleman Xtreme, that version of the Metal Crab was rather heavy at 14.5 oz.

The new version of the LI Backpacking stove has now raised the bar to a new height for remote canister stoves that fully support inverted canisters. The weight has been reduced to 10.4 oz (295 g) and the power output has been raised to 10,000 BTU/hr (2.9 kW). Of course, there are few occasions when you want that much power, but melting snow is one of them.

The LI Backpacking stove has true support for the use of inverted canisters as advocated in our previous articles Selecting a Canister Stove for Cold Weather Backpacking Part I: Stove and Fuel Fundamentals and Selecting a Canister Stove for Cold Weather Backpacking Part II: Commercially Available Canister Stove Systems. This technique allows the LI Backpacking stove to solve the notorious problem of low fuel pressure due to canister cooling and preferential evaporation of propane in the fuel mixture. This stove could make an excellent addition to a backpacker's winter kit, especially for snow conditions. It is for this reason that we have decided to place this stove in our virtual backpacker's virtual backpack.

We look forward to reviewing this stove in more detail in the future.

• MSRP:$159.95
• Weight: 10.4 oz (295 g)
• 10,000 BUT/hr (2.9 kW) output.