The Soto WindMaster Canister Stove is more windproof and uses less fuel to boil the same amount of water than other canister stoves. This includes the Soto OD-1R Microregulator stove and the Soto Amicus.
The chief difference between these stoves is the shape of the burner heads and the way the pot supports work. The WindMaster has a burner head that is recessed below a metal lip designed to provide better lateral wind protection with a clip-on stove support rather than one that’s integrated.
Otherwise, the inner workings of the two stoves are identical including the same overall design, simmer control, integrated piezo lighter, and microregulator valve.
A Group System Stove
The WindMaster also makes a good multi-person or group stove because its 4-arm stand can accommodate larger cookpots and even frying pans. The only downside in my mind of having a detached pot support is that it is so easy to lose because it is not part of the stove.
Likes
- Very lightweight canister stove – 2.3 ounces, including small diameter pot stand.
- Boils water very fast – 11,000 BTU.
- Improved wind resistance
- Very small and easy to store in a cookpot with a large fuel canister.
Dislikes
- Easy to misplace the pot stand and the stove can’t be used without it.
Manufacturer Specifications
- Output:2800 kcal/h 3260w 11000 BTU
- Burns approx.1.5 hours with 8 oz.(250g) canister.
- Weight:2.3 oz.(67g) with the pot support
- Dimensions when in use (Stove body + Pot support):3.6 x 4.7 x 3.9 inch (9.0 x 11.7 x 9.7 cm)
- Dimensions when stowed (Stove body only):1.9 x 3.6 x 3.5 inch (4.7 x 9.0 x 8.8 cm)
- Dimensions when stowed (Pot support):3.7 x 0.4 x 1.0 inch (9.4 x 1.0 x 3.3 cm)
Disclosure: The author received a stove for this review.
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I would question the more focused heat production, too. Like the JetBoil, without a pot capable of using the excess heat (a heat exchanger) efficiency could be a bit less than optimal. The narrow gap between the burner and the pot could also lead to somewhat higher CO production than the older stove.
The biggest improvement i see here is the interchangable pot stand. I find it frustrating to have to own different stoves for different sized groups, this makes much more sense.
I think they’re on the right track with the recessed burner head. I beleive the key to a more wind resistant stove would be a head shaped like a rocket nozzle or an inverted bell. Holes at the shape of the bell should be sized large enough to draw in the correct oxygen ratio for the most often used burner setting, and the bell should be sized large enough so that 100% of combusion occurs internally. The shape of the nozzle would then focus radient heat upward while forcing hot ehaust gasses up toward the pot and through the heat exchanger to escape.
The drawback would be a stove that is a little taller and a little heavier.
Maybe you should look at an MSR Reactor. That’s more or less what it is – a closed system optimally tuned to boil fast. No simmer though. see my review – https://sectionhiker.com/msr-reactor-1-0l-stove-system/
Confused:
This review kind of goes against what you said on the MSR Reactor not many months prior to this post.
“I don’t want to sound too cynical, but I’ve gotten a bit skeptical about canister stove manufacturer’s efficiency claims and take them with a grain of salt.”
My comments regarding your data on the MSR Reactor:
“Agreed earlier from V. A review is not really regurgitating manufacturer data and calling it all good. Companies fib all the time and get away with it.”
So which is it on the MSR Reactor? You agree with data or still are deciding how you want to review items. Consistancy in the review process is a quality review, but hammering some and leaving the big boys to slide on their numbers is not what some (me) look for.
Really – I think I’m amazingly consistent. First off, I never recorded any data for the MSR stove and reviewed it based on it’s functional merits not its boil times or any half assed measurements of boil times that I preformed. While I did provide a reader with a list of the manufacturer’s boil time claims, I never claimed that they were accurate, only that that was all the information I had available.
see https://sectionhiker.com/msr-reactor-1-0l-stove-system/
But what puzzles me is why you think I’m sliding on Soto or MSR. Once again, I’ve reviewed this stove on its functional merits and provided some movies which seem to contradict their claims about wind resistance.
How have I been inconsistent? I’m not getting it.
Your review of the MSR uses data from the manufacturer in the review, and it was not until you were called out on it in the comments that you said it was manufacturer data. I don’t own either stove so I could care less about them. Its the process of the review that seems different. Please clearly state that data you use is your own, or the manufacturers data in the future.
My comment on this review is that you kind have said you take the data as a grain of salt.
So if it is a grain of salt could you clearly state in the future that you did not record any personal data, and are using manufactures data?
Thanks outdoors
Great site by the way
Good feedback – I’ll make it clearer. You might also find this post amusing – not sure if you missed it.
https://sectionhiker.com/alcohol-stove-boil-time-videros-theater-of-the-absurd/
I refuse to publish my own boil time data because of the absurd lack of uniformity in how such tests are conducted and the fact that they can’t be duplicated in anything approaching real world conditions.
Bought this and promptly returned it going back to my OD-1R … the removable pot stand just didn’t make sense to me and the entire stove as a whole took up more space then my OD-1R …. might have some wind benefits but just wasn’t impressed.
Yeah – I’m sending mine to a friend who reviews hiking stoves. Took me a while to find the pot stand after I’d misplaced it. Stupid to not have the thing attached more permanently to the burner.
Seems that losing the pot stand is only an issue if you remove it after each use. Is there some reason one can’t just leave it attached? (I have the pot that comes with the Amicus combo, and have no trouble fitting a small cylinder, spoon, and the Windmaster with stand attached into the pot.)
Just finished a 100 mile hike in the Shenandoah’s with this stove. Besides being terrified of losing the support (I didn’t), it is the best stove I’ve used. Incredibly light, don’t have to look for matches/lighter, and jaw droppingly fast boil times. I never had a problem with wind. Because of the fast boil times it is super stingy on fuel. I have no data to back this up, just my impressions from the trail. Also using the Olicamp pot per your recommendation. That pot was an ounce heavier than advertised, but a sweet size and works great with this stove.
Hi Phil, I recently purchased a WindMaster as my Crux stove broke. I took it on a 3-day backpacking trip two weeks ago with a small canister (3.5 oz Jetboil canister). Because I tend to drink two large pots of tea per day, one of these canisters often doesn’t quite make it. On this occasion I actually had enough fuel left over to make another pot of tea at home. It definitely seems to boil the water about twice as quickly as my old Crux and gives me the impression of more concentrated heat. One morning it was a bit slower as it was about 40 degrees but it still boiled the water quickly. Overall I really like it. But I will try hard not to lose the pot support!!
Regards, Christine
The question I have is 2 fold. Reading on the Soto site it appears that the Windmaster This appliance shall only be used with Butane 70%/propane 30% mix gas canister certified to EN 417 yet there is no Mention of this that I saw on the older OD-1R. I am just starting to look into a canister stoves and wonder if this could be a issue one stove over the other? My second question is with the WIndmaster burner being so close would one be better off to use a alum pot vs a Ti pot? Otherwise will food be more apt to burn in a Ti pot using the Windmaster vs the Older OD-1R
I’m considering this stove for my kit, deciding between this and the micro rocket. I think your idea of windproof may be a little skewed. The stove itself cannot control or protect the flame above the stove the way a complete system like the jetboil can, but rather protect the flame from blowing out, which the OD-1X seems to do very well. I like the way the pot support contacts the pot, but agree that it needs to be attached.
Thanks for the review!
Soto has a reputation of making unsubstantiated marketing claims based on mumbo jumbo science. I was just calling them on it, but you’re not the first person to call me skewed. :-)
I purchased the Soto Windmaster Stove and like everything about it except for the detachable 3 prong pot support. It seems easy to misplace. The 4 prong pot supports attach to the stove.
I was on the trail 5 days/4 nights and burned a little more than one 8 ounce canister. I had 2 teenage boys with me and we did not actively conserve fuel. I boiled water for 1-2 cups of coffee and oatmeal every morning, We made 3 separate meals every night for the 3 of us. We fried fish 2 nights in a row.
This stove is easy to control the flame.
I normally use stoves on their lowest setting…to save fuel (don’t care about the longer boil time). Anyone know how much fuel this stove uses on the slower/simmer setting (grams/minute…or minutes/4oz canister)?
Thanks!
Jim
Flat cat gear sells a wind screen for it which reduced the fuel required even more – they probably have the stats on their website.