Australian Hiker

Rating

MSR® IsoPro™ Fuel 110 gram canister

Now I know not everyone uses stoves that rely on disposable gas canisters and this is very much a personal choice and one that is very common among those who camp overnight. From my perspective, I camp in a number of areas that ban liquid fuel stoves during periods of high fire danger so this forces the issue on my stove choice. While I do occasionally use hexamine stoves, I am pretty much a canister stove user.

Many, many, years ago there was an ad on TV with the tag line ‘Oils aint oils’. The idea here was that to the untrained eye while all (car) oils looked the same, the technology behind them was different and unless you knew the difference it was hard to judge the price and quality from appearance alone. The same can be said for gas canisters. When you go into your local outdoor store and see different brands sold at different prices without any real explanation. So why is that?

The main difference between the brands, apart from price, is the gas inside the cylinders. Gas canisters for hiking consist of a mix of propane and isobutane and depending on the mix, some canisters will perform better in different conditions in particular, very cold conditions in the Northern hemisphere winter and to a lesser extent in Australia when camping in sub zero/snow conditions. For most of us however, having gas canisters that deal with extreme cold isn’t an issue. However if you do need a cylinder for extremely cold conditions, then talk to your local outdoor store and seek advice on which brand to use.

Now back to the size of canister you need. For 3-season hiking, its really going to depend on three main factors:

• Stove type
  • Integrated canister stove
  • Non integrated stove
• Cooking style – are you just boiling water or are you cooking?
• Is it cold weather (i.e. sub zero or snow conditions).

Disposable gas canisters come in a range of sizes with the common (approximate) sizes being 100 gram, 230-240 grams and 450 grams. From what I have seen on the trail, the 230 grams size appears to be the most popular followed by the 450 gram size. Having said that as an integrated canister stove user (e.g. Jetboil), my/our personal choice is the 100 gram size as it not only fits inside my stove unit, it is lightweight and will last for my typical trip length. If I need a bigger gas supply, I prefer to use multiple 100 gram canisters.

While there are a number of different brands of gas canisters on the market, I prefer to use the same brand of gas as my stove so I as I write this review I have just changed over to an MSR stove and in addition I do camp in cold conditions so for at least during the colder months of the year I opt to use MSR gas canisters.

As MSR like to state:

• “The MSR IsoPro canister range is a performance-boosting, 80/20 blend of isobutane and propane, with the purest isobutane (5% or less n-butane) of any canister fuel. This clean-burning formulation maintains higher internal pressure at lower temperatures than standard butane/propane mixtures, delivering superior cold weather performance and more consistent output over the life of the canister.”

So in short if you are cold weather camping then you are best opting for a cold weather gas with MSR being the most readily available. While I talk about 100gram canisters (gas amount) these MSR canisters actually contain 110grams of gas which means that even during warmer periods these small canisters will last longer as a result and as someone who skirts a fine line on gas use this extra 10% of gas provides me with a buffer.

Now for the downside and really there are two. Firstly these canisters come with a price premium of around $2.00 / canister however for the average hiker that isn’t going to be a problem unless you are overnighting every weekend. The second negative and one that is common to brand name gas produced by the stove manufacturers is that outside of the major cities it can be harder to find which means if you are doing hikes like the Bibbulmun or Heysen tracks where you are resupplying in a town every 5-8 days you will typically only find the ‘generic’ brands rather than the ‘branded’ options.

So is this gas worthwhile using? Short answer is it depends. If like me you usually only use the small canisters then having the additional 10% that these canisters come with is well worth it. If you are also a cold weather camper then yes the MSR option is the way to go as this gas is designed for these conditions.

We Like

• 110 gram size (gas capacity) is lightweight and compact and will our needs as a couple for 6 days
• MSR IsoPro is a performance-boosting 80/20 blend of isobutane and propane
• Uses the purest isobutane (5% or less n-butane) of any canister fuel
• Maintains a higher internal pressure at a lower temperature (lasts longer, particularly in cold conditions)
• Clean-Burning: Zero-maintenance combustion
• The 4 oz (110g). canister is sized to fit inside most stove pots

We Don't Like

• 110 gram canisters are more expensive per gram of gas than bigger canisters

Best Uses

• For disposable gas canister users who do minimal cooking, particularly in colder conditions and are mainly rehydrating as opposed to cooking

Buy One

You can purchase disposable gas canisters from almost any outdoor store in Australia. However, I have found that 110 gram canisters can be hard to come by in remote towns given the stores prioritise the larger canisters

Other Versions

• MSR® IsoPro™ Fuel 227 grams
• MSR® IsoPro™ Fuel 450 grams

MSR ISOPro Canister fuel 110 grams

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

13 October 2024

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