Saw one of these -new - on ebay, and got it for a very good price (31 pounds delivered..)
I've been doing a fair bit of reading on these Far East multi-fuel stoves. From what I can gather, there's the Chinese copies (BRS-8 etc) and the Korean Kovea stoves. The Kovea Booster+1 used to be sold as a Brunton Lander in the USA. A Scandinavian guy on the Spiritburner website said that the Kovea Booster+1 was legal in Scandinavia (can't remember which country!) but the Chinese copies weren't, as they had failed during the testing.
Kovea make clear in their packaging that this is strictly a white gas and canister-gas stove. Nowhere does it say it'll burn paraffin/diesel/jet fuel etc, unlike some of the Chinese copies. By all accounts, none of the Chinese copies will burn paraffin very well, needing excessive pre-heating and even then the flame is unreliable. So I won't be trying paraffin in this one.
So far I've only tried it on white gas (Aspen 4), using it to both prime and power the stove. And I have to say that its a real star. Let a couple of seconds'-worth of fuel dribble onto the priming plate from the jet, then shut off the supply. Light and prime. As priming flame dies away, open bottle valve, and off it goes - perfect blue flame. Boiled some water in my Imusa grease-pot, then used that to boil my breakfast eggs! No apparent leaks or other problems, pump nice and smooth, legs supportive and will accommodate a wide range/width of pans.
One thing that did surprise me though. Several reports I've read said that it simmered well on the gas canisters, but less so on the white gas. Well, I have to say that it simmers very well on white gas too. Possibly not quite as immediate as the Omnifuel, with its secondary valve right next to the burner jet, but with a few seconds practice, you'll get it to simmer very well. On full chat, it'll boil water very rapidly.
It comes with a 580cc fuel bottle, maintenance kit and tool (containing spare nozzle, various washers etc), mostly metal pump, instructions in English!, and a nice compact carry case into which fit the burner head and body, fuel line and connectors, spare cap for the fuel bottle (assuming you keep the pump in the supplied bottle), spares and maintenance tool.
So - first impressions are very good. Looks a well-made piece of kit, and doesn't claim to be what its not. I also got an adaptor to fit it inside a Trangia kit, and will try that out in the not too distant future. But, so far, so good!
I've been doing a fair bit of reading on these Far East multi-fuel stoves. From what I can gather, there's the Chinese copies (BRS-8 etc) and the Korean Kovea stoves. The Kovea Booster+1 used to be sold as a Brunton Lander in the USA. A Scandinavian guy on the Spiritburner website said that the Kovea Booster+1 was legal in Scandinavia (can't remember which country!) but the Chinese copies weren't, as they had failed during the testing.
Kovea make clear in their packaging that this is strictly a white gas and canister-gas stove. Nowhere does it say it'll burn paraffin/diesel/jet fuel etc, unlike some of the Chinese copies. By all accounts, none of the Chinese copies will burn paraffin very well, needing excessive pre-heating and even then the flame is unreliable. So I won't be trying paraffin in this one.
So far I've only tried it on white gas (Aspen 4), using it to both prime and power the stove. And I have to say that its a real star. Let a couple of seconds'-worth of fuel dribble onto the priming plate from the jet, then shut off the supply. Light and prime. As priming flame dies away, open bottle valve, and off it goes - perfect blue flame. Boiled some water in my Imusa grease-pot, then used that to boil my breakfast eggs! No apparent leaks or other problems, pump nice and smooth, legs supportive and will accommodate a wide range/width of pans.
One thing that did surprise me though. Several reports I've read said that it simmered well on the gas canisters, but less so on the white gas. Well, I have to say that it simmers very well on white gas too. Possibly not quite as immediate as the Omnifuel, with its secondary valve right next to the burner jet, but with a few seconds practice, you'll get it to simmer very well. On full chat, it'll boil water very rapidly.
It comes with a 580cc fuel bottle, maintenance kit and tool (containing spare nozzle, various washers etc), mostly metal pump, instructions in English!, and a nice compact carry case into which fit the burner head and body, fuel line and connectors, spare cap for the fuel bottle (assuming you keep the pump in the supplied bottle), spares and maintenance tool.
So - first impressions are very good. Looks a well-made piece of kit, and doesn't claim to be what its not. I also got an adaptor to fit it inside a Trangia kit, and will try that out in the not too distant future. But, so far, so good!
