Mark and Hana cooking a meal on their MSR Whisperlite during a four-year, 45,000km journey through the Americas. Photo: Mark Watson

‘The best stove ever’ she whispered

Wild Gear

View more by author

Mark Watson

Mark is Wilderness’s gear editor and a dedicated storyteller, documenting his adventures in both words and photos.

By Mark Watson

Our gear editor’s MSR Whisperlite is well travelled, from European road-tripping to cycle touring in Asia and an epic 45,000km journey in the Americas. It has cooked udon in Luding and quinoa in Q’ero with fuel from hundreds of sources. What is it that makes this stove so enduring?

There was a time when MSR stoves were ubiquitous. A few years ago you could visit any backcountry hut and, if you had company, they would more than likely all be cooking on the same noisy conversation-killing device. Many of us will be familiar with that moment when the final hut meal is cooked and […]

About the author

Mark Watson

Wilderness gear editor Mark Watson divides his workdays between graphic design, writing and photography. His passion for tramping, climbing, cycling and storytelling has taken him all over Aotearoa and the world in search of great trails, perfect moves and epic light. He has published four books and his photographs have featured in numerous publications. Especially motivated by long distance travel, he has tramped Te Araroa and cycled from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.