I finally gave in and bought a used MSR stove after my buddy swore by it for years

My friend Dave kept telling me his MSR WhisperLite was the best thing since sliced bread for backcountry cooking. I always thought my old Coleman was just fine, even if it weighed a ton and took forever to boil water. Last month on a trip up near Mount Rainier, my Coleman crapped out on day two and Dave loaned me his spare. That thing boiled two cups of water in like 90 seconds flat, even with a breeze. I found a used one on Craigslist for $40 the next week and it works perfect. Anyone else have a piece of gear they were stubborn about until a friend proved them wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

irisowens1mo ago

Reese, did that buddy with the expensive sleeping pad actually sleep in your Walmart one for a whole trip? Because I find people's tolerance for "fine" changes around 3am when their back is killing them and they can't feel their hip anymore. The difference between gear that just barely works and gear that actually works well is usually a night of terrible sleep or a soggy tent. You don't realize how much your cheap stuff is costing you in comfort until you don't have to deal with it anymore.

reesej271mo ago

Wait is it really THAT big of a difference? I mean yeah my old Coleman was slow and heavy but it never actually broke on me. I feel like people hype up gear way too much just because it costs more money. I had a buddy swear by his expensive sleeping pad and mine from Walmart works just fine for half the price.

jamie_adams1mo ago

Pushed back hard on my older brother for years about his high-end tent. I swore my cheap Ozark Trail was good enough because, hey, it kept the rain off my head. Then we got caught in a surprise storm up in the Winds last summer and his Big Agnes stayed bone dry while mine started dripping on my face around 2 a.m. (a real mood killer). Spent the rest of that trip sleeping in his fully sealed, well-ventilated tent while mine was basically a soggy sauna. Went home and bought a used Marmot off FB Marketplace the very next week, no regrets. It's wild how fast I went from "overpriced nonsense" to "yeah okay, you were right.