When you’re out in the wild, having a stove that can withstand the challenges that mother nature throws at us is crucial. The Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove rises to this challenge, offering top-end performance for backpackers. Designed to excel in high altitudes, cold weather, and windy conditions, this stove stands as one of the top contenders in the market right now.
Quick Overview
- Weight: 180g / 6.35 oz
- Boil Time: 96 seconds per 0.5 liter
- Power: 9894 BTU
- Fuel Type: Isobutane
- Material: Stainless Steel / Copper
The Fire Maple Polaris Pressure Regulator Remote Gas Stove is an advanced, lightweight camping stove, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts who face challenging environments. This stove is engineered to work efficiently at high altitudes, in cold temperatures, and even when it’s windy.
The key feature is its pressure regulator, which maintains a steady flame, ensuring your cooking isn’t interrupted, even if the fuel pressure drops. It’s incredibly fast, boiling two cups of water in just 90 seconds, and its compact design makes it an ideal choice for both solo hikers and group campers. With its ability to offer simmer control, this stove is versatile enough for a variety of recipes, making it a great choice for anyone looking to prepare meals in the great outdoors.
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Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove Features & Specs
Pressure Regulator Valve
The Polaris remote stove is equipped with a highly efficient pressure regulator valve, designed to maintain a constant flame intensity even when fuel levels are low or environmental conditions are harsh. This translates to a hassle-free cooking experience, crucial when the elements are against you. You can rely on this stove to perform consistently, offering a robust flame regardless of the altitude or the chill in the air.
Rapid Boil
One of the most impressive aspects of the Fire Maple Polaris Stove is its rapid boil capability. With a maximum output of 9894 BTU, it can boil half a litre of water in a mere 96 seconds. This feature is a significant time-saver, one I particularly appreciate after a long day’s hike when in need of a quick hot meal or drink. The ability to boil water rapidly is not just a convenience; it’s a game-changer in scenarios where efficiency and speed are essential, such as during bad weather or when you need to purify water quickly.
Lightweight and Compact Design
Weighing in at just 180 grams, this stove stands out as a lightweight leader in outdoor cooking gear. Its compact design, folding down to a mere 81x81x91 millimetres, makes it exceptionally easy to pack and carry. It fits quite neatly inside a mug. The stove’s compact and featherlight design ensures it won’t add significant weight to your load or occupy excessive space in your backpack, allowing more room for other vital equipment.
Durability and Build Quality
Not only is this stove efficient and versatile, but it also boasts a robust build quality, thanks to its construction from high-grade stainless steel and copper. These materials are renowned for their durability. Stainless steel offers resistance to corrosion and rust, ensuring that your stove remains in top condition even after exposure to moisture and varying weather conditions. Copper, known for its excellent thermal conductivity, enhances the stove’s heating efficiency. This combination of materials guarantees that the stove can endure the physical demands of the outdoors.
Simmer Control
The Polaris stove excels in versatility with its excellent simmer control, allowing you to cook a wide range of dishes beyond just boiling water. Whether you’re simmering a stew, frying a morning egg, or gently heating a soothing beverage, this stove has you covered. The ability to control the flame precisely means you can tackle various recipes, allowing your outdoor cooking experience to be as diverse as you desire.
Stability
The benefit of a remote stove is that it offers a significant advancement in stability compared to more commonly used screw-on gas stoves. Its design incorporates sturdy legs that securely clip in place, providing a firm and stable base for cooking. This feature is especially beneficial when cooking on uneven surfaces often encountered in the wild. With the Polaris stove, there’s a reduced risk of tipping or wobbling, which not only makes cooking safer but also ensures your pots and pans stay securely in place.
Ease of Use
The intuitive design ensures that assembly is quick and hassle-free. To set it up, simply unwrap the hose once removed from its fabric carry case, unfold the legs until they slot into place, and then screw the valve onto the fuel canister. Once set up, the valve offers precise simmer control, allowing for fine flame adjustments, and catering to various cooking needs. It’s important to note that the stove does require an external flame or spark to ignite. This might mean carrying a lighter or matches, but it’s a small consideration given the stove’s overall convenience and performance.
Price
When it comes to pricing, the Fire Maple Polaris Remote Stove stands out for its affordability, retailing at just over £50. This is particularly noteworthy when you compare it to similar models from renowned brands like MSR or Primus, which often come with a higher price tag. The Polaris offers the same high-level performance, durability, and versatility as these more expensive counterparts, but at a fraction of the cost. This makes it an excellent value-for-money choice for both budget-conscious adventurers and those looking for quality without the hefty investment.
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Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove Pros and Cons
Pros
- Can be used with a high windscreen for increased efficiency without the risk of overheating the gas canister.
- Offers greater stability than traditional screw-top stoves.
- Excels at high altitudes and in cold or windy conditions.
- Compact and lightweight, weighing in at just 180 grams.
Cons
- Piezo is not included, requiring an external flame or spark to ignite.
- Designed for use with Isobutane, which might not be readily available in all locations.
- While great for solo travellers or small groups, its size might be limiting for larger gatherings.
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My Experience with the Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove
During a recent day hike, I brought along the Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove to test its practicality on the trail. Mid-hike, I found a quiet spot to take a break and decided it was the perfect opportunity to make a fresh cup of coffee.
Setting up the stove was straightforward and quick. It was impressively lightweight and compact, tucked away neatly in its carry bag, it was barely noticeable in my daypack.
Despite a mild breeze, the stove’s flame remained steady and strong, boiling the water rapidly. I wasn’t cooking on this occasion but was impressed with the stove’s simmer control which will certainly come in useful when preparing meals.
Overall, the Polaris is a fantastic compact stove, perfect for year-round adventures. The only thing missing from the stove in my opinion is a built-in ignitor which would have saved me time from digging around my pack for a light.
Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove Alternatives
Now let’s see how the Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove stands out from the pack by comparing it with some other remote stoves.
Fire Maple Blade 2
While the Fire Maple Blade 2 Titanium Backpacking Stove is impressively lightweight and durable, perfect for ultra-light backpackers, it falls short in efficiency compared to the Fire Maple Polaris. The Blade 2, with a boil time of 3 minutes 25 seconds per half litre, it is significantly slower than the Polaris, which can boil water in just 90 seconds.
The Blade 2 is more suited as a three-season stove, whereas the Polaris excels in various conditions, including high altitudes and cold weather. This makes the Polaris a more versatile and time-efficient choice for a broader range of outdoor adventures.
MSR WindPro II
The MSR WindPro II is a commendable stove, offering enhanced cold-weather performance and a remote burner design for stability and wind protection.
However, when compared to the Fire Maple Polaris, it has a slightly slower boil time, taking 3.6 minutes to boil 1 litre of water. While the WindPro II includes additional features like a canister stand which allows you to invert the gas canister and a windscreen and heat reflector, the Polaris still maintains an edge in boil speed, efficiency and weight.
PRIMUS Gravity III
The Primus Gravity III is another solid choice for backpacking, offering stability for larger pots and a preheating coil for cold-weather use. However, when compared to the Fire Maple Polaris, there are some distinctions to consider.
In comparison to the Fire Maple Polaris, the Gravity III is notably heavier, weighing 260 grams against the Polaris’s lighter 180 grams, however, the additional weight is due to useful extras like a windscreen, ignitor and heat reflector. While the Primus Gravity III and the Fire Maple Polaris share similar features and functionality, the Polaris emerges as the more budget-friendly option, offering comparable performance at a lower price point.
More Camping Stoves
Take a look at our Best Camping Stoves list to compare how the Fire Maple Polaris Remote Gas Stove compares against others.
Still interested in more from Fire Maple? Check out my review of the Fire Maple Polaris Cooking System.
More Polaris Remote Gas Stove Photos
Final Thoughts
For those seeking a reliable, efficient, and high-quality stove for their outdoor adventures, the Fire Maple Polaris stands out as an excellent choice. While it would benefit from an integrated ignitor for added convenience, its rapid boiling capability, lightweight design, and stability more than make up for this. The affordability of the Polaris, compared to similar models, further solidifies its position as a top choice, offering great value for backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Get 10% off Fire Maple gear with code: STEVE10
Learn More
Like this review? Well, you’re in luck as I’ve got a bunch of other great resources for you to explore here…
- Wild Camping: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
- Best Tents For Wild Camping
- Best Hammocks + Best Bivvy Bags
- Best Portable Camping Fire Pits
- Best Places for Wild Camping Wales, Scotland and The Lake District
Fire Maple provided me with a free sample of the Fire Maple Polaris pressure regulator remote gas stove to test and review, however, my review is independent of the supplier and reflects my own unbiased opinions. Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if purchases are made through those links at no additional cost to you. You can read my affiliate disclosure in the privacy policy.
About the Author
Steve Cleverdon is an adventure blogger dedicated to helping outdoor enthusiasts make the most of their outdoor experiences. With years of travel and many epic adventures including a 3000-kilometre solo hike across New Zealand, Steve has amassed practical knowledge on outdoor gear. You can learn more about his adventures here. Through expert reviews, recommendations, and guides, he equips his readers with the best gear for their next adventure. If you want to send Steve a quick message, visit his contact page here.
