Gear Review: GSI Pinnacle Canister Stove

The Bottom Line: The GSI Pinnacle Canister Stove is tiny, ultralight, and provides better fuel efficiency than other stoves in its class. It may boil water a bit slower and have a slightly heftier price tag than the MSR PocketRocket 2, but this is by design! It will use less of your precious fuel doing it, and it packs down smaller than a fist.

Boiling times are efficient with the GSI Pinnacle Canister Stove. Photo by Emily Pennington.

One of the things I was particularly impressed with was the boil time for a full liter of water. Though advertised at 3.5 minutes per 0.5 liters, I managed to get the Pinnacle Canister Stove to boil a liter in under 6 minutes! (5 minutes and 42 seconds, to be exact!) If you're going on long outings and don't want to carry a ton of fuel with you, this is a feature to pay attention to, as the Pinnacle weighs about the same as other similar ultralight stoves.

The set up for this backpacking stove is a bit trickier than other ones I've fiddled with. One must first rotate the spokes out from the center piece and then flip them up and out from the middle. Once "flipped out," the spokes didn't feel particularly sturdy to me, and I wasn't 100% confident that my large pot full of boiling liquid was as stable as I would want it to be in a high wind or inclement weather situation. That being said, once I settled the fuel canister itself into a bit of sand or soft dirt on the ground, it stabilized enough to cook a tall pot of water safely.

The little carry sack that comes with the Pinnacle is a great add-on that is smaller and easier to pack down than the rigid plastic case that the MSR stoves tend to come in. However, the cloth sack means that it doesn't provide the same protection, so pack carefully or nestle it inside your cookware. (The GSI Pinnacle pairs perfectly with the GSI Pinnacle Dualist Cookset).

Though this tiny but mighty stove is made by GSI, it's important to note that it is compatible with fuel canisters from other retailers as well. Just look for the circular, screw-on top that most dome-shaped cans at REI or your local outdoor shop will have. GSI and MSR both make great fuel blends, and JetBoil even makes a backpacking stove-compatible four-season blend for frigid winter adventures. Pro tip: Sleep with the fuel in your sleeping bag if it's going to be below freezing at night so that it works instantly the next morning for coffee and other necessary delights!

Whether you're trying to cut down on weight or bulk, this compact stove will keep you covered in both arenas, as it is the lightest I've seen in its class and packs down smaller that its MSR competitor. It makes the decision to pack or not pack a stove easy, as it barely adds anything to your backpacking kit's size.

At the end of the day, this is a super light, easy-to-use backcountry stove for those who like to save weight when they're backpacking. At just 2.4 ounces, you won't find anything lighter that's as durable as this workhorse. Plus, the added benefit of fuel savings is well worth considering. If you have the extra cash to spare, it's a worthy alternative to the PocketRocket 2!