My old MSR WhisperLite finally gave up on me in the Sierras last month

I was about 8 miles into a 3 day loop near Bishop and went to fire up my stove for dinner. The pump seal just crumbled and fuel started spraying everywhere instead of pressurizing. I spent 20 minutes trying to dig the old seal out with a twig but it was totally shot. Ended up eating cold ramen and granola bars for the rest of the trip while my buddy's stove did double duty. Anyone else had a piece of gear fail after years of trust and had to switch brands on the fly?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_schmidt601mo ago

Brand Stockholm syndrome, huh? I guess my old WhisperLite and I had a good run, but for a minute there I felt like I was breaking up with my camping soulmate. Cold ramen is a humbling experience though, makes you really appreciate a buddy with a working stove. I think I'm gonna start a support group for people who've been betrayed by their gear.

skyler431mo ago

Years of trust" is just brand Stockholm syndrome dude. Gear fails, move on.

gonzalez.reese1mo ago

Take a hard look at why you bought that brand in the first place. Was the gear actually better or did you just trust the marketing hype and the community around it? Sometimes the real problem isn't a broken stove but that we backed a company like they were our friend instead of just a vendor.