If you're only going to聽buy one stove for camping and backpacking, especially if your adventures often take you overseas, make it the 听($140).听
The best part is its versatility. The WhisperLite聽Universal is the only stove on the market that can burn both isobutane and liquid gas fuel. This means that you while ideally you can classic canisters found at REI, in a pinch it will even burn聽unleaded gasoline.
I tested the stove聽on a six-month adventure to Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I used it nearly every day to cook聽breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I lived out of my backpack and abused this stove to no end. It handled everything without mistake.
When traveling, I found it incredibly freeing to be able to buy whatever fuel was available to me鈥攆inding canister fuel in the remote mountains of Puerto Rico wasn't really an option. The ability to roll up to a gas station and fill up my tiny fuel bottle made this stove ideal for remote locations. With the easy to use adapter, it's a simple to switch between fuel sources.听
The one thing this stove isn't ideal for is for quick cooking, like making coffee or boiling water for pasta. Although it will certainly get the job done, compared to other models, the WhisperLite聽Universal can be a little burly to unpack just for a cup of joe. It also takes much longer to boil water with than the or similar .听
I do recommend聽investing in the 补苍诲听迟丑别 . If you want to own this stove for over 25 years鈥擨 know people who have鈥攔egular maintenance聽is crucial. But even if you do neglect it, nearly every part is replaceable聽either through the maintenance kit or through MSR directly.听