MSR
MSR DragonFly
- Weight: 1/10 How much it adds to your pack.
- Packed size: 3/10 How much room it takes in your rucksack.
- Boil speed (still air): 6/10 How fast the maker says it boils 1 litre in still air. Wind slows every stove: see Wind performance.
- Wind performance: 5/10 How well it keeps boiling in a breeze, as sold, without an extra windshield.
Cooking proper meals rather than only boiling water: the second valve at the burner gives fine flame control
- Fuel
- Liquid
- Weight
- 401 g
- Boil 1 L, still air
- 3:54
- Windshield in the box
- Yes
Packed size 1.178 L, 15 cm long and 10 cm across Compare with a 2-litre bottle
Shorter than a 2-litre bottle and about as wide as one. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
Needle Sports £189 In stock. Free delivery. RRP £210.00 shown on the page; 1 in stock; stove only, no fuel bottle.
View at shop: Needle SportsEllis Brigham £200 Out of stock. No RRP shown on the page; shows out of stock with a notify option.
View at shop: Ellis BrighamPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Weight
From maker's figures 1/10How much it adds to your pack. 1: A real weak point.
MSR gives a minimum weight of 401 g and a packaged weight of 506 g and does not say what each includes. The fuel pump is in the box and the method counts it on a liquid-fuel stove; every reading is in the 300 g+ band: MSR's 401 g, PopUpBackpacker's about 457 g for the stove, pump and windscreen together, and Needle Sports' 510 g with windscreen, heat reflector, pump and bag. The fuel bottle is not included.
Packed size
From maker's figures 3/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 3: Below average. Fine for some trips, not others.
MSR gives its dimensions as 15 x 10 x 10 cm (not labelled packed or in use). Two sizes are equal, so we work it as a roll 15 cm long and 10 cm across: about 1.18 L, in the 0.6-1.59 L band (as a box it is 1.5 L, the same band).
Boil speed (still air)
From maker's figures 6/10How fast the maker says it boils 1 litre in still air. Wind slows every stove: see Wind performance. 6: A bit better than average.
MSR gives 1 litre in 3.5 minutes on white gas and diesel and 3.9 minutes on kerosene. The slowest, 3.9 minutes (234 s), is in the 230-299 s band, close to the 229 s line. Expedition Portal boiled 1 litre in about 4 minutes at about 1,800 m.
Wind performance
Estimate from maker's specs: windshield in the box 5/10How well it keeps boiling in a breeze, as sold, without an extra windshield. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Estimate from maker's specs
In short
Good for
- Cooking proper meals rather than only boiling water: the second valve at the burner gives fine flame control
- Groups and large pots or frying pans: the pot supports are wide and stable
- Winter and expedition use: liquid fuel keeps working in freezing air, and it burns white gas, kerosene, unleaded petrol, diesel and jet fuel
Strengths
- Dual-valve design gives simmer-to-boil control; three reviewers rate its simmering the best in its class (OutdoorGearLab, PopUpBackpacker, Expedition Portal)
- OutdoorGearLab calls it the most stable stove in its review, with a wide, low platform for large pots
- MSR's windscreen, heat reflector, fuel pump, small-parts kit and stuff sack come with it; the fuel bottle does not
- Burns white gas, kerosene, unleaded petrol, diesel and jet fuel (MSR)
- Field-maintainable with a self-cleaning Shaker Jet; Expedition Portal's stove went more than 10 years of hard use without failing
Weaknesses
- 401 g (MSR) up to about 457 g with its pump and windscreen (PopUpBackpacker), and about 1.2 L packed; OutdoorGearLab says it suits base camp better than backpacking
- Loud: Expedition Portal, PopUpBackpacker and Robert Twentyman all mention the noise
- Needs a stove-specific pump, and PopUpBackpacker's 12-year-old stove needed new O-rings in the burner-side valve
- Priming can flare: Robert Twentyman warns of fireballs if you open the valve too early
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (7)
- MSR (Cascade Designs): DragonFly Stove, product page (US site, in dollars; SKU 14096)
- Needle Sports: MSR DragonFly Stove (UK listing, part number 14096)
- OutdoorGearLab (Ian McEleney): MSR Dragonfly review
- PopUpBackpacker: MSR DragonFly Stove, 12 Year Review
- Expedition Portal (Christophe Noel): Long Term Test, MSR Dragonfly Stove
- Backpackinglightse (YouTube): MSR Dragonfly stove. Best stove for winter and MC camping
- Robert Twentyman (YouTube): MSR Dragonfly review, used on every kayak expedition since 2020