Gear Talk: MSR Stoves

I thought I had posted about my MSR troubles, but I guess I hadn't, so this is an entire story and not just a follow-up.

Last week I pulled out my MSR stoves, a Dragonfly and and International 600, so that I could examine them for signs of age and replace any gaskets that needed replacing.

I bought the Dragonfly at release, which was 1998 I believe. When I replaced the fuel valve after inspecting the gasket the pump body split open. Ok, that pump gets replaced.

Next I moved on to the International 600, which is probably three years older than the Dragonfly, but when I went to remove the fuel valve I found the pump body was already split there. Obviously a problem with the pumps, but they are old so I didn't think it would do much good to complain and I bought new ones.

When the new pumps arrived, the troublesome part of the pump housing had been replaced with brass. I guess I wasn't the only one that this happened too. And now I'm back up to two working MSR stoves. Back when I did still actively spend time outdoors I had moved away from relying on cooking, so they are only marginally more useful fixed than they were broken, but in the fall and winter I'm certain I'll appreciate them a little more than now.

I really want the MSR titanium cooking set because of how light it is. My inclination not to cook has been the only thing saving me from purchasing them.