Soto OD-1R Microregulator Backpacking Stove

So I'm gradually going through my gear and upgrading to smaller/lighter weight items.  My goal is to have my pack under 30 lbs for everything (water, gear, food, clothes, etc.)  if/when my son(s) go to Philmont- and for that matter any other backpacking trips.  To that end, I most recently replaced my stove with the Soto OD-1R micro-regulator stove.  I originally purchased this stove from REI for the small size and small weight, but after my purchase I learned more about why the stove was given an editor's choice award in 2011 by backpacker magazine.

I'll start with my own observations and then conclude with repeating some of the Soto marketing material.  First notice the size of this stove... I placed a quarter beside the stove for comparison.  The weight comes in at a mere 2.6 oz.  Granted the canister adds to that weight, but I don't count it directly because I wanted to use a butane stove so the weight of the canisters will be consistent across ANY of my stove choices.

Compared to a quarter

 

Opened up and setup



 

 

This is the stove setup.  There are actually three pot supports, but the angle I took the picture only captured two clearly.  You'll have to look REALLY close (almost at the 1 o'clock position) to see the 3rd support.  You can also see that I added a fuel can stabilizer made by JetBoil (found it on clearance for $7).

 

I can boil 8 oz of water (approximate altitude 550 ft, temperature ~78) in less than 2 minutes.  Boiling 2 cups only takes just over 3 minutes.  The stove also has an integrated piezo starter that worked well everytime I tried it.  I didn't try to stress it to see how much weight I could put on it before it breaks (for rather obvious reasons).  As a backpacking stove for boiling water, I'm pleased. 

 

 

Now for the shameless marketing material.... as I said, I bought the stove for the size/weight.  After researching my new purchase, I came to learn the Soto OD-1R is different than other tiny stoves due to the patent pending microregulator.

 

One of the unintended benefits is the performance of this stove remains steady as the temperatures drop.  Traditional stoves that use a needle system see performance drop as the temperature goes down.  

Second, as the gas in the canister is used (or temps drop or altitude increases), the pressure inside the canister goes down.  As the pressure inside the gas canister goes down, stove performance goes down as well- unless you have a stove with a microregulator.

 

 

 

YouTube video showing the benefit of the micro-regulator.