The Primus ETA Solo is an all in one burner and potset.  It is fast, easy to use and economical to run.  The burner unit stores inside the pot when you are transporting it along with a 100gm propane canister.  It comes complete with a hanging unit that is great for keeping it off the ground and a conversion kit if you want to use other larger pots or frypans.

You need to detach the canister and store it on top of the burner, at first I found this a bit of a nuisance but it does stop you from accidently leaving the stove on when transporting it and also the metal bottom of the canister can leave a mark on the bottom of the pot if it is stored first like you tend to do with the Jetboil PCS.

 Attachment of the pot to the burner is very secure, and I find it easy to attach and detach but you do need to use two hands.  A word of warning is to keep a close eye on the pot if you have it nearly full, if it starts to boil over it is hard to get to the control knob to turn it off and you can not  detach the pot fast enough...

The heat exchange rings at the base of the pot do two jobs, they contain the heat making it very efficient you do not get heat spilling out the side of the unit when it is on.  It also makes it the burner windproof with out having to add extra windshields.   I find that I can go for 3 days on one 100 gm canister, that is cooking dinner and brewing up 3- 4 coffees a day with gas to spare. 

The only issues I have with the unit is the peizo start,  I have managed to bend it a couple of times because it sticks up.  It still works after bending it back but I always carry a lighter as a back up. 

To sum it up it is a great unit with a super quick to set up and fast boil time, with the conversion kit I can put a larger pot on but I find with the pot I can boil and reheat most things.  Because of the amount of gas you do not use you do not carry the same amount of gas with you if you are going away for a few days this can really add up to weight/bulk savings.  I would recommend anyone who is trying to reduce the bulk and weight of their kit.

 

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • fast boil time
  • complete with hanging kit and conversion kit
  • windproof
  • efficient on gas.

Cons

  • Conversion kit fiddly to set up
  • peizo fragile.