SNOW PEAK GigaPower Stove with Piezo

"Works great for how small and compact it is. VERY easy to set up and screw on to the canister. Only small con is the piezo....sometimes it takes quite a few clicks before it lights. Either take a lighter with you or be patient. Overall I am very pleased with this stove."

"after much deliberating, i got this stove since i noticed all the avid climbers on our patrol carried this one. rarely does everyone agree on a piece of gear, but they did on this stove. it's lightweight ( one of the lightest), bombproof in the elements - altitude, snow, rain, muck & extreme cold. it's been about 7 years now & mine is still working perfectly. this is an adjustable stove which you can use with almost any pot or pan (try frying eggs with a JETBOIL). the photo shows some of my stove collection. this is by far the best one out there in terms of durability, weight & compactness.



[my JETBOIL's piezo failed on the first trip. the pot locks to the stove by tabs which easily bend & you can't cook anything other than water unless you spend another $20 for a pot support]



this giga power is designed to fit into the snow peak titanium pot along with a canister of fuel. i also throw in a backup lighter & matches along with a set of titanium utensils. how perfect is that?



in the photos are a partial list of my stoves & the pots that accompany them - from expedition white gas set to a homemade sodacan alcohol stove.



as you can see, the giga power stove is the best combination out there."

"Bought the stove for a 4 day kayaking trip in Prince William Sound, Alaska. It worked without a hitch the whole trip! very stable with a 230g canister and 4 prongs instead of the 3 you see on most featherlights. the piezo igniter worked on the first click every time and after cooking for two people 4 days we still had a fair amount of fuel left in the container. flame control was good also, easily simmering chili and soups."

"Got one to replace MSR Pocket Rocket.



Pocket Rocket pot supports are too flimsy. Struts are so thin that pots sway and twist when sturring Lipton noodles & rice dishes. Happens too much even with the MSR 1.5 litre pot, and much more with the 2 litre pot.



With Snowpeak Gigapower my pots no longer sway or twist. Gigapower is also less tippy on uneven ground (approximately 2-3 times as stable as pocket rocket)



Gigapower flame pattern also created less of a hot spot and was easier to cook Lipton Fettacine Alredo without sticking. (2-3" circle had sticking problem with pocket rocket and MSR teflon coated aluminum pot.)



Gigapower was also a lot better in a light to medium wind - but both needed a wind break of some sort for medium to heavy wind. The Gigapower did flame-out more at minimal gas setting, but delivered much more flame to bottom of pot at 10-25% gas setting. (Pocket Rocket flame blew sideways).



Also - piezo ignitor is AWESOME. Had issues getting 2 different (full) Bics to light at 35 degrees (F). (Approximately 10-20 trys required to get a small flame).



Plus - piezo allows stove to be relit without removing pot - which eliminates (almost non-existant) flame out issue at VERY low gas setting. Piezo seems very sturdy (not bendy, or bump-prone) and looks easily replaceable. It's held in with two #1 phillips screws."

"Great Product. Tested in many conditions. Lightweight and effective. Recently went to Colorado to climb some 14ers and cooked at over 14 K feet. Worked very well. Also got the Dualist cook set that seems to be designed to also store the stove in a special pouch inside the main pot. Great buys on both."

"fantastic stove! Very small yet powerful and lit on the first piezo strike each time.



Fits very snugly with an MSR 113g canister into a GSI soloist kit. I also threw the Giga Power windscreen in the bottom of the Soloist. Fantastic compact kitchen!"

"The stove is great! I was using the stove with a GSR Minimalist kit from REI. I attached the fuel cannister and pressed ignite.The stove ignited as was boiling 2 cups of water in 2 minutes and some change."

"This stove is head and shoulders above other lightweight stoves for SO many reasons. It takes only seconds to set up, lights easily and reliably, it burns hot, is surprisingly stable, and folds up tiny.



How's this for easy-to-use? I can fit the stove, fuel canister, and my trimmed spoon all inside my 0.9L pot. To use it, I simply screw the stove onto the fuel canister, fold out the 4 wires, start the gas, and click the Piezo igniter. Done! No one in camp can start cooking faster than I can!



It's so stable because the cooking surface has 4 wires instead of 3 - and they are actually level when unfolded. This makes it much easier to balance a full pot when cooking. Also, because the cooking surface is lower than other stoves, it has a much better center of balance. And don't think that having 4 wires makes it more bulky. I tried fitting other "tiny" stoves in my pot and they just wouldn't fit.



As for performance, it throws nicely distributed heat that can easily be adjusted with the large gas control lever. The Piezo lighter hasn't failed me yet and is placed far away from the flames (my fingers appreciate that). If you want fast, lightweight, and hassle-free then this is the stove for you."

"Got the job done @ 9,100 ft does not work well with wind sheild. (heated up and shut off) So the wind kept blowing it out. After cooking I removed the stove from the fuel can and the remaining contents of the fuel spilled everywhere. The best thing about the Snow Peak Giga Power Stove combo is the Ti mug it comes with, and I guess the fact that it stores 2 canisters of fuel. because you mat need it-"

"Bottom Line: This is a well-made, lightweight, simple stove that will provide the lightweight/ultralight backpacker or day-hiker with the means for hot meals with minimal fuss and excellent reliability. If you want finely-crafted cuisine, you're just going to have to go with a larger, heavier model in order to be pleased.



Why I Bought It: I need a lightweight, ultra-reliable stove that can provide me with boiling water for hot meals when day-hiking, or on minimal-gear overnights. I don't want anything fragile...the things I own get used and abused, not pampered. I don't need to saute crab cakes with this class of stove, so a wide burner head isn't the top priority. Efficiency and compact size are important.



Good Stuff: It's solid, well-made, and has a minimum of moving parts...four folding pot supports, the piezo ignition and a valve. It's light, compact, VERY HOT when running at maximum output, and it will easily nest inside a reasonably-sized pot along with a canister of fuel, the accompanying windscreen, and some folding canister supports. The noise is not overly obtrusive until one turns it up on full blast...and even then, I find it tolerable. When placed over a 220+ gram container the assembly is reasonably stable, providing that one does not place a larger (6" or greater diameter) pot on it. The addition of a fourth folding support is appreciated...this makes the cooking surface more stable, in my opinion. When a set of folding canister supports are used on the bottom of a canister, the unit gets very tip-resistant...which is good when you have boiling water involved. The heat output is exceptional at even low levels, and at a moderate output, the stove performed wonderfully: it will easily boil water in the advertised time limit, but reducing the flame to a much more efficient level (read: "not full-blast") didn't really add much more to the boiling time, and also didn't cause the stove to run abnormally rich, as is sometimes the case. The adjustment valve handle is easily reached from under a pot, and it folds up neatly when stored. Also, the heavy wire pot supports fold in such a manner as to make a cage around the burner, which will further insulate it against impact damage when stored in the provided case. The piezo unit is easily removed, should one not want to use it...word of advice: the screw that holds it on is thread-locked - a little bit of heat, and it will come right out. Cold-weather/cold-cylinder testing (it's 15 degrees outside as I write this) wasn't great, but it was about what I expected: a bit sputtery, but again, I find that reducing the flame back from the maximum helps. The stove is very, very resistant from being blown out by wind...I tried blowing it out, and couldn't do much good. With the windscreen (sold separately) and a custom shroud (as per another reviewer) this thing is as wind-resistant as you're going to get, and the gain in weight is minimal. No soot or cleaning required thus far (several hours of burning time). I'm impressed.



Bad Stuff: The piezo ignition does not do a great job of ignition, and as a result, I simply removed mine and kept it in the original box. A butane lighter easily lights the stove, however, and as I always carry backup fire-making devices, this is not an inconvenience at all, to me. Some may not like it. Cold weather/cold-cylinder performance isn't great, but can be improved by either warming the cylinder, or not running the stove at maximum output. If winter backpacking is your thing, I suggest liquid fuel, because none of the canister stoves are going to be exceptionally reliable. The biggest complaint that I have is probably the coarseness of the adjustment for the gas output...the "Off" and "Angry Volcano God" settings have a difference of no more than 1/3 of a turn on the valve...thus, in order to light the stove, you have to BARELY crack the gas valve open, and even then you get a lot of pressure from the screen-style burner. It's just too much volume for the piezo ignition to handle...but, as mentioned, a lighter (or match) works great. It will also light from a firesteel-style starter, incidentally. A gas regulator or a finer control valve would be welcome improvements to this stove, but the lack of them do not impair the function, considering my purchase priorities. Were it not for the coarse adjustment, this would be a five-star purchase.



In Closing: If you're realistic about what you get with any micro-sized canister stove, then you'll be pleased with the Giga Power. Were I to purchase again, I would skip the piezo ignition addition and put that money into the accompanying windscreen (still sold separately). If you're looking for backyard-grill-like performance, you're going to have to suck it up and go to liquid fuel. If you want hot cider on a cold morning, this is your baby. Ditching the piezo system saved me a bit of weight and made this little thing as nuke-proof as a pint-sized stove can be."