Every time I exit the Colorado Convention Center after attending Outdoor Retailer, there are a few new items that really impress me. Something revolutionary or an item to make life better in the outdoors. An item I must get my hands on for one reason or another. This winter, one of those items is a clever new stove from GSI Outdoors, the Pinnacle Pro. I literally did a double take as I hurried past the GSI Outdoors booth between meetings. Breaking stride just long enough to see what this slender beauty had to offer. And I was quite impressed.
When we got into Overland travel a few years ago, I did a ton or research before hand to prevent making potentially regrettable purchases. Yes, we too read gear reviews. At the time, we were utilizing my Toyota Tundra as our Overland vehicle which offered a lot of storage space. So my purchases were durability oriented rather than size and weight conscious. This mentality led me to a large but expedition worthy and bombproof portable camp stove. Which I have no regrets purchasing as it’s been our best asset for cooking everything we eat on the road.
This winter, we decided to downsize and purchased an FJ Cruiser to become our dedicated Overland vehicle rather than converting my work truck back and fourth every weekend. This will allow more frequent adventures and way less prep and recovery time as the vehicle will be packed and ready to hit the trail at all times. The only drawback is that the FJ Cruiser is a much smaller vehicle than the Tundra. Good for maneuverability on the trail but slightly lacking in storage space. So we need to be smarter and more streamlined in our Overland loadout. And this new Pinnacle Pro Stove from GSI Outdoors would check those boxes.
Pinnacle Pro Stove Features & Specs:
- Dimensions: 20.0″ x 12.4″ x 1.4″
- Packs down to 1.4″
- Dual 11k BTU compact regulated propane burners
- Dual piezo ignition
- Unique non-stick coated drip pan for easy, low-water clean up
- Suitable for all propane 1 lb. fuel canisters or LPG tanks with appropriate adaptor
- Folding locking legs for full height table top cooking and efficient storage
- MSRP: $169.95
The 20″ x 12.4″ footprint is a couple inches shorter than our current stove. But this beauty folds down to a mere 1.4″ tall which reduces the thickness of our current stove by more than half. Now that I built a rear drawer slide out system for the FJ, this massive reduction in packed volume will really help us store the things we need in the drawers. Additionally, with an estimated weight of only 10 lbs, this will save us another 7 pounds.
Deploying this mighty stove is as easy as folding out the legs, flipping up the top which is supported by a pair of side wind breaks and lifting the burner rack. Turn the gas on and click the dual peizo ignition and flame on! A nice bonus feature is a non stick drip pan to catch that bacon grease making clean up that much easier.
Small in size but huge in power, this compact 2 burner stove cranks out 11,000 BTU’s per side. That’s actually 1000 BTU more than our current stove. Although the Pinnacle Pro Stove can be fueled by 1 lb. Propane canisters, I highly recommend upgrading to a 1 gallon reusable propane tank to reduce the waste created by the disposable green bottles. An additional adapter will be required if you go this route. The dual burners are lit with a dual piezo ignition system and controlled separately for a more versatile cooking set-up.
With an expected availability date of July 2020, I’ll hopefully get my hands on a unit as soon as possible to begin testing. This stove will pair nicely with my Gourmet Griddle and Glacier Stainless Base Camper kit, both from GSI Outdoors. Although I’m not sure this stove will be as bombproof as our current set-up, I’m not sure it’ll need to be. Now that it’ll be stored in a carpet lined drawer inside the FJ rather than bouncing around in the back of the Tundra, it won’t see the same abuse. I am curious however, with some additional working parts like the folding legs, grill rack and piezo electric ignition, how those features will hold up over time. Most of my Jet Boils have piezo ignitions and they have a tendency to fail at the worst of times. However, this is easily overcome with the flick of a lighter.
Sorry for the teaser but now we wait until July…
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I have waited FOREVER for this crowdfunding campaign to be fulfilled and finally received the product. My initial thoughts:
1. Nice and solid product. It is deceivingly HEAVY which may or may not be a good thing. The metals used are solid and stout = durability. I guess you will be car camping with this so weight shouldn’t be too much of a con
2. My lid does not stay closed. The lid “locking” mechanism is a weak and soft rubber in the lid corners that friction squeeze between the lower main body when closed. The rubber is so soft and flexy that when closing the rubber gets pushed out of the way instead of staying in place and squeezing between the gap. The lid, being SO heavy just flops open. I received a replacement and the replacement had the same issue. Even if the rubber were to stay in place, for such a heavy lid to be only held with these little rubber parts was not a good idea. They should have made a more positive locking mechanism. Poor form on GSI’s part (see pic).
3. The burner adjustment knobs seem nice. Nice and smooth and tight. But the adjustment only occurs in the first 1/4 turn of the knob. You go from OFF to MAX in 1/4 turn. The rest of the turn has no affect.
Overall this price should warrant a product in which closer attention to detail was made. While the stove cooks well, these minor flaws turn me off.
Thanks for the insight. I still have not received a sample to test. GSI kinda went dark with their PR outreach.