Primus Portable Stove Cooking Systems

The Eta Express is the simplest of the Eta stove series. As with others, in the series, the Eta Express is a heat exchanger stove designed with efficiency in mind. It looks like the main aim of this stove (other than to cook) is to save weight and space. Total weight including stuff sacks is 16.1 ounces and it packs very small.

The burner of the Primus Eta Express is identical to that of Primus Express and Primus Micron. The whole system comes with a tall aluminum pot with a heat exchanger at the bottom. There's a fold-out handle covered in plastic and a windshield that sits on the pot supports.

The pot can only hold about 1 litre of water and you can't even boil that much without making a mess. It's designed as a one-man cooking system but you might be able to use it for two. The lid can be used as a frying pan though it's a bit small. Both pot and lid have a non-stick coating referred to as "triple layer Titanium non-stick coating" by Primus.

You need to buy the fuel canister separately but it can be nested inside the cooking system. If you have difficulty in locating a Primus canister fuel, other canisters might work as well. In fact, tests have shown that the stove consumes less fuel with fuels other than that from Primus. Other brands with compatible canisters include Brunton Bruntane, JetBoil Jetpower and MSR IsoPro.

The flame produced is narrow and it goes well with the slender pot. This combination is probably the main reason that it can boil water so quickly. It can boil water in 2.5 minutes.

You can get the Primus Express with a piezoelectric ignition or without one. While the piezoelectric ignition is convenient, it may prove to be unreliable in high winds. You should always have firestarting materials with you anyway.

What's in the box?

Stove - 3.6 oz. (102 g)
Non-stick Pot - 7.7 oz. (218 g) - Diameter - 4 3/8" (11 cm) - Height - 4 3/8" (11 cm)
Non-stick Lid/Pan - 2.5 oz. (71 g) - Diameter - 4 3/8" (11 cm) - Height - 4 1/8" (3 cm)
Windscreen - 1.2 oz. (34 g)
Cloth to protect the inside of the pot - 0.4 oz (11 g)
Storage Bag for stove - 0.3 oz (9 g)
Storage Bag for whole cooking system - 0.4 oz (11 g)
Manual

This is the big brother to the Primus Eta Express Stove. It's the first heat exchanger cooking system from Primus and the second system to be introduced in the market (first was Jetboil).

The pots are made of the same material as the Eta Express but while the Eta Express is compact, the EtaPower is huge! As a cooking system, the EtaPower is more than sufficient for four hungry campers but judging from it's size, it has to be. It takes a lot out of the backpack real estate. As large as it is, anything bigger than an 8 ounce (220g) gas canister would not fit inside the pot.

Neither is weight the selling point for the EtaPower. The whole cooking system weighs 29 ounces. The insulated carrying case weighs an additional 7.4 ounces (210 g) but there seems to be nothing that can justify the additional weight.

The windscreen weighs a whopping 4.3 ounces (122 g) but if you're really concerned about weight then you can leave it behind and go for a lighter option instead. The windscreen can't be used with anything other than the Eta pot so you need to remove it if you want to use the pan. You can handle the windscreen and the base almost immediately after use.

Primus claims that by using the EtaPower pot system with any ordinary stove will make it 50% faster and more efficient. Despite the size of the pot, it can still boil water in under 2.5 minutes at room temperature and normal altitude.

Construction is so easy that you can probably put it together without even looking at the instructions.

EtaPower MF

There are two versions of the EtaPower, the MF and EF versions. EtaPower MF is the multi-fuel version which allows you to use white gas, gasoline/petrol, kerosene or LP gas. Three different jet sizes for the burner are included in the box as well as a 10.6 ounce (350 ml) fuel bottle, ErgoPump, and a lubricant. The multi-fuel version is suited for extremely low temperatures and high elevation.

What's in the box (EtaPower MF)?

Cooking unit and base - 8.9 oz. (252 g)
Non-stick 2.1 L EtaPower Pot - 9.1 oz. (258 g) - Diameter - 7 1/2" (19 cm) - Height - 4 1/4" (10.8 cm)
Non-stick Lid/Pan - 4.5 oz. (128 g) - Diameter - 8 1/2" (21.6 cm) - Height - 1.4" (3.6 cm)
Windscreen - 4.3 oz. (122 g)
Pot gripper - 1.6 oz. (45 g)
Tool - 0.6 oz. (17 g)
Carrying case - 7.4 oz. (210 g)
Cloth  - 0.5 oz (14 g)
ErgoPump - 3.6 oz. (102 g)
Manual

EtaPower EF

The EF stands for Easy Fuel. It's easier to use canister fuels than to use liquid fuels because all to you need to do to light up the stove is to turn the knob open and use the piezo-electric ignition to get it burning. Canister stoves may not perform as well as liquid-fuel stoves in low temperatures and high elevation.

What's in the box (EtaPower EF)?

Cooking unit and base - 8.6 oz. (244 g)
Non-stick 2.1 L EtaPower Pot - 9.1 oz. (258 g) - Diameter - 7 1/2" (19 cm) - Height - 4 1/4" (10.8 cm)
Non-stick Lid/Pan - 4.5 oz. (128 g) - Diameter - 8 1/2" (21.6 cm) - Height - 1.4" (3.6 cm)
Windscreen - 4.3 oz. (122 g)
Pot gripper - 1.6 oz. (45 g)
Tool - 0.6 oz. (17 g)
Carrying case - 7.4 oz. (210 g)
Cloth  - 0.5 oz (14 g)
Manual

This is the lighter version of the EtaPower cooking system, about 9 ounces lighter. Performance-wise it's about the same but you can only fit a small gas canister inside the pot when packed.

Gone is the aluminum pan/lid but in its place is a plastic lid which can be locked in place. The strainer on the lid is a really cool feature because I use it a lot.

The polypropylene food-grade bowl doubles as a protection for the titanium non-stick coating. There's another bowl that protects the heat exchanger when it is packed. Also missing is the pot grabber which is replaced by a handle also holds the bowl that protects the heat exchanger.