I'm so happy to hear you cover fuels, especially C10 - C20 fuels. I haven't heard anyone else cover the importance of fuel and it's effects on health and equipment. Thank you.

Someone who really knows what they are talking about. Very, very helpful

I've just subscribed after watching this video. Despite using an MSR DRAGONFLY since 1994, I learnt alot from your video, especially use in cold/Arctic conditions, e.g. alcohol priming, use with gloves etc. I'm on my 4th DRAGONFLY, tried Primus Omifuel, preferred the DRAGONFLY. I used it for White Water kayak trips, (not below 5c) in Alps, California mountains, international backpacking trips, e.g. around Andies Patagonia, Sea kayaking and Open Canoe trips. So mostly 5c to 35c conditions. I nearly always use unleaded automotive petrol/gasoline as the most common fuel after a flight or walking off a river, is petrol, anywhere in the world. Your video was therefore excellent as it from long experience in an environment that I've not been in. In 25 years of using the MSR DRAGONFLY, the big plus is the dual valve, excellent flame control. The minus, is the plastic pump, the restrained for the plunger is a small plastic lug. Also aggressive baggage handling has broken the brazing of the burner from the swinging stand. Albeit the stove is still usable after. After long periods simmering, I crank to full power to clean jet before shutting off. By comparison, I found the Primus Omnifuel a dirty more difficult stove, but I only used it on one 6 day trip. Based in UK, kerosene is known as paraffin. Paraffin home heaters, once common in 1970s , are now a thing of the past, and paraffin is harder to get. Although, I've watched many utube videos, you have niche knowledge from use in harsh environments. So please, more content 🙏.

Sorry, due to unknown technical problems I cant answer direct to jaktkit any more. Therefore I post my reply here. I once accompanied a biologist to Greenland to work as his polar bear guard on his research trip to "Hold with Hope" to gather data of the arctic wolf. He lived in Alaska and worked all his life in Greenland. We discussed CO poisoning and the risk of loosing a tent by fire in length. He told me he doesent know and not even heard of a single professional (guide, prospector, pilot, hunter) who cooks outside of the tent. And the sirius Patrol has decades of experience as a unit in arctic terrain. They consist basically only of 6 two men teams of the danish army, which travel for two years on dog sledge through the high arctic in winter. They have a standardized equipment and as military they follow strict procedures to minimize the always present risk in the artic, as you mentioned. They also cook inside the tent as a general practice.

One of the most thorough and informative vids on KZfaq. No nonsense, practical advice. 'Mitten proofing' and the foil base were top tips.

By far, THE BEST VIDEO on #OptimusNova in particular and generally, too!

Thanks for your insights regarding the Optimus Polaris.

Great information here and has helped me decide on the Nova over some other options I was looking at. The information about fuel was very interesting and revealing.

Make more videos, i will watch all of those 7 times, too. This is fantastic

A lot of critical information shared in your review including the fuel structure & health hazards to be mindful of. Now it made me want to get the Optimus Nova. I'm glad I stumbled into your channel. Subbed!

Excellent video

Many thanks! Very helpful

Thanks for sharing. Good form all the way. Important real life knowledge to be found here. Great. 👍❄️

Thank you. Excellent video

Thank you very much for your video. I learned a lot and honestly bought the Optimus Nova afterwards and tried to burn lampoil for the first time. In the past it was always powerfuel. The oil burned perfect. Thanks again and please share more of your experience. Take care

Great practical use tips!

Useful informations! Thank you

Please make more videos that explain the rest of your backcountry ski equipment

Thank you, I have learnt alot. 👍

Liked your video. Thanks for sharing your opinion as substantiated by experience and facts. I'll be looking at kerosene as a fuel with alcohol as a started ..best to avoid issues rather than solve them. Thanks again..

Really good informative vlog, I have a Nova and just given it a full service. Runs like a dream now and will be using your advice this winter. I noticed a set of parawings on your jacket? Great vlog - stay frosty :)

Thanks, love your video. I have a Primus Omnifuel, similar to the Nova. Kerosene is king! It absolutely works all the time and is inherently safe. And I learnt something about the C20 structure. The Primus is a little bit more primative in that it has a separate pricker for the fuel jet. But I don't mind. I do have an Optimus Hiker+ which is a Nova disguised as a 111 stove and love the magnetic jet cleaner in that. I detest those gas canisters that realistically end up as landfill (or far worse, discarded in the wilderness) because many curbside recyclers will not handle them due to fears they may explode in the hands of their people who are sorting this material. I urge all to seriously consider kerosene as a fuel, even for fair weather camping.

Nice to hear an intelligent person for a change..

I have the original brunton nova,Optimus Polaris, omnilite Ti, Optimus Explorer No.11 and several other box stoves like Optimus 111t, 111c and 199 that I love. Sometimes I use an Optimus alcohol cookset 77a or 81 trapper in summer. The Polaris doesn’t burn kerosene well at all. My box stoves are perfect running kerosene. I love using my nova or omnilite for kerosene. The omnilite and omnifuel burn kerosene very well since you change the jet to burn it but I don’t mind at all because it burns so well!

Thanks for the experience based tips, coupd save a finger or two in the cold!

wonderful video - great info

Great video and tips. I would add that my Nova responds to changes in flame plate height. As delivered, the stove will burn kerosene and white gas, but I got a good bit of a helicoptering sound, which annoyed me. I have two flame plates, so I ended up raising the flame plate to burn kerosene and lowering the other to burn white gas. You have convinced me to leave the Nova set up for kerosene, which it now does without the annoying sound. It burns like a champ with a beautiful blue flame. I think this is a way to adjust the fuel/air mixture.

Very interesting regarding the fuels. All of the anecdotal "advice" I have heard/read over the years was that white gas/naphtha was the cleanest burning option to use in my Nova, and that kerosene would require more stove maintenance, however none of those people have your experience/resume. I'm not sure how easy it is to find kerosene here but perhaps I will switch to using kerosene in my Nova. Also interesting regarding the priming... I have always primed using the main fuel but perhaps I will switch to a priming fuel. Thanks again for the video!

Thanks, KZfaq needs people like you to share their experiences than a useless KZfaqr, thanks a lot I personally got a lot from you.

I have just bought a primus omnifuel..Very useful information on fuels and operation of these stoves. I am not familiar with them, Thankyou. I would also be interested on your thoughts about clothing and equipment (backpacks/tents etc.). In Britain, rain is a constant problem and the further north the problem is midges and snow in the winter as you probably know. I look forward to more of your insights. ❄️❄️

Excellent video! I own various models including the newer Nova, the older Brunton Nova and also an older 3278 Primus Varifuel Himalaya (with the full aluminium pump) and I must say that the later is superior to any Nova. Like the Nova It's made to burn only liquid fuel but you need to change the jet. I only burn kerosene and I doubt that anyone going on an expedition would bring more then one kind of fuel. Even if it were the case it's till very easy to change the jet in a minute. I find that performance wise a designated fuel jet it superior to a jet that burns more then one kind of fuel like the Nova. Also the Primus has much less parts then the Nova. It has only one fuel control valve which is situated on the pump but still have a great simmer capability. I do understand the the Primus Himalaya has been discontinued since the late 1990s early 2000s and the Nova might be the next best thing. Again great video, hope to see more especially about stoves.

Tack för informationen och synnerhet delen om bränslen. Har kört mitt nova på många "tunga" bränslen men biltemas tändvätska är svårt att slå både per pris och tillgänglighet.

Bra video med många tipps ❤❤

Great information Jaktikit!! Would love to see you do a video focusing specifically on the different fuels types multi-fuel stoves can burn and why some are preferred over others. For instance, you recommend igniting with alcohol bc it’s cleaner…. Why not just use alcohol as your primary fuel so you use the cleanest fuel the entire cook.

Thank you Magnus for sharing your wisdom! This is by far my favourite video on the Nova as well as extreme cold weather strategies. Very useful details! Unfortunately my previous comment did not post for reasons unknown so here’s a shorter version. Your Video sold me on the Nova! I was originally heading towards the Polaris but your comments changed my mind. Unfortunately the Nova is no longer sold in North America but it seems available in Europe. Do you know Magnus or does anybody else know what is the status of this stove? Is it still in production? Will it be completely discontinued? What is the best way for me to purchase and get it shipped to Canada? Maybe purchase a second for spare parts in the unfortunate event that the Nova is discontinued. Is the Primus Omnifuel a good second choice for running on Kero and overall quality of build? Thank you for your help!

18:03 lol so true, I am wanting to use kerosene in my stove but I’m finding when I pour into the funnel from the 5 litre original container because of the viscosity it drips down the bottle, so when I put the bottle on the floor there is a pool of it off the bottle my only issue is the amount of wasted fuel.

well done

Thanks for the video! Very instructive. Is that a 1L or 1.5L fuel bottle?

Have you tried the combination of MSR Whisperlite Universal with the Optimus Polaris pump? This combination fixes all the issues with each stove, the MSR has specific jets for each fuel type, is built relatively quiet out of the box so no ‘silent/quiet caps’ are needed, has a cleaning rod for cleaning out the fuel hose if dirty fuels need to be used, the stove is slightly lighter than the Optimus Polaris. The Optimus Polaris pump has the on/off ability by flipping the bottle over so system is dry, and the pump has a fuel valve on it as well as the MSR fuel hose also having a fuel valve so these two valves together enable the Whisperlite Universal to simmer with liquid fuels similarly well as the Optimus Polaris, also the Optimus pump is more durable than the MSR pumps

Excellent video and great instruction! Alcohol for priming! Thanks! Turn the fuel cannister to off to prevent leakage !

Thank you for all this information, it has helped me in a big way! I was wondering though....I noticed that on the fuel bottle, you have some tape around it, is this for a specific reason? (insulation, grip, etc) Looking forward to your videos and knowledge :)

outstanding presentation packed with VERY useful info. I wasn't aware that there were "kerosene like" fluids (your C10-C20 designation) especially charcoal fluid, even lamp oil (!!!) -- most of these things are available in Walmart like locations (i.e. COMMON). Coleman fuel (whatever brand) is not as easy to find. I too use alcohol (91% isopropyl works OK and again is easy to find but denatured alcohol (mostly ethanol) is widely available in places like Home Depot/Lowe's. "yellow HEET" (mostly methanol) is another fuel that is commonly used by those favoring alcohol stoves. I never considered the potential for Coleman type fuel to adversely affect stove parts (O rings, etc.). In some respects, the oily nature of kerosene might enhance the life of these same items. What size jet do you use with this stove for kerosene? most Primus type stoves (like yours) come w/ 0.35mm jet and I've been of the impression that 0.28mm is preferred for kerosene type fuels. I liked your snow scenes -- but found myself putting on a jacket when these came up!

thank you for this video :) i do have a question, how exactly do you perform your "cleaning shakes. " ? it is out of the picture, so we cant see. Do you simply turn the burner upside down, and shake it a bit, so that potential dirt can fall out and down ?

Will you please tell me more about your ecpeditions

For info: do carry the alcohol (etanol) in a plastic bottle as shown in the film. Never in an aluminium bottle since alcohol will dissolve the aluminium.

Great video in a classic Scandinavian no-nonsense style. (And yes I learned something. 😀). I have a nova from about 2003 and understand it's a quality product. I also have a manaslu 121, which also runs on kerosene and primes with alcohol but without the cejn coupling to the bottle and the fuel hose. Do you have any experience of how long the fuel hose on the nova should last before failing? (The nova is great and very stable being low down, but the hose worries me....altogether it's a fairly complicated bit of kit. The manaslu is fun too, and is very robust, but feels a little tall!!)

Ska jag köpa Nova eller Polaris? Vill he en som går som en klocka med så lite problem som möjligt. Vilken typ av flytande bränsle är att föredra och varför? Har i princip bara kört gas dom senaste 10åren.

Great Video and very practical advise! I am from China , and we do not have the Arctic , would like to try it in TIbet(High altitude , cold),.

Great video! I have the original Nova with the CEJN quick connects. I've heard other have had issues with the connectors, but I have not. It's been a great stove. The only problem is that you must remember to never close the spindle valve on the stove while it's still hot. Which I did when I first used it. I never close it at all now, as there really was never a good reason to close it, though it took me 2 times to learn that lesson. Evidently, there is differential expansion between the spindle and the tube housing and when it cools, the tube contracts more than the spindle. if the valve is closed, when it cools, it tightens so much that you can's open the valve. I had to heat the stove with a propane torch and it moved easily. Curious if you ever made that mistake or if they designed a fix in the later models. It burns very well on gasoline, white gas, kerosene and JP-8 but it won't burn cleanly on diesel fuel. While I have NO desire to experience extreme cold survival, I have always had incredible admiration and respect for people who do. I enjoy reading about the polar expeditions of the last century. Amundsen was one of the toughest men ever to walk the earth.

Thank you for the useful information! Question: my thought was to buy the nova with trangia conversion kit and to use it with a silencer cap (BernieDawg Dawg-a-nova) for pretty much all year round use in northern sweden. I saw yor thoughts on that in the end of the video. Would you recommend against the silencer cap and to use the stove in a trangia? And what is kerosene in sweden, and what brand do you buy? is it ”lysfotogen” or ”lampoil” at biltema?

Thanks for this very informative video! When I look at Biltema's data sheets for tändvätska, lampolja, and lysfotogen, they seem to consist of basically the same hydrocarbons. Do you know how they differ?

Apologies for the all the questions - I'm very pleased with the kerosene performance and trying to understand the tips you've provided. As to the fuel filter: when you say that cotton is sufficient, do you mean to pry out the clogged original white filter and stuff the cotton into the tiny compartment at the end of the fuel line that previously held the white filter? Thank you!

I got some kerosene and did some experiments with both kerosene and priming with alcohol. Results were excellent! I have a practical question: you describe an advantage to kerosene being its low volatility, which makes it more stable in the long-term. I noticed this cuts both ways - white gas evaporates, which means when you pull out the pump (or spill some fuel) it vanishes. Kerosene doesn't. This isn't a big deal around the house - a simple paper towel cleans it up. In your experience, what do you do in the field if you want to pull the pump out and cap the bottle, or worse, deal with a spill? Thanks in advance - was very impressed with the kerosene performance on a cold November night!

Are you going to talk about ski use tomorrow? Maybe shelter

Tack för videon! Vet du förresten om om det finns något fotogen i detaljhandeln numera som man kan lita på håller hög kvalitet och fungerar vid -30?

17:56 Every decent arctic explorer that I know of, uses the stove inside the tent. I did so as well on a month long expedition. Without any Co2 problems. I guess the problem starts if you sleep in a kind of Iglu or any other snow construction: thats highly dangerous.

white spirit( turpentine) is also a super fuel and affordable. carbon structure(C10-C13), boilingpoint 130C. But as you pointed out, you have to preheat with alcohol. And i noticed that your flame were pulsating. Perhaps I can give you an advice. Don`t fully presurize the the fuelbottle 20-25 pumps . More like 6 or 7 pumps to start with. When the stove is lit you can ad more pressure to the bottle. Thank you for informing properly how to use a multifuel burner. There are so many on u tube that doesn`t.

When running on kerosene in cold, I find the stove won’t run correctly with the silent cap. The flame spreader works fine albeit noisy. Silent cap is fine with all fuel in summer.

The BRS 8, appears to resemble (is a copy of) the Nova. Have you experience of the BRS 8, compared them ?

Kero is stable and will save plastics and o-rings but white gas is simple and effective and requires less priming. I am used to kero with 85 Loke and 111 but I run Polaris and Nova on both gas and kero with almost no difference. Gas is sometimes even better.

Iam debating whether to buy the Optimus Nova or the Optimus Polaris to us with the Trangia cookware. What is your opinion?

Talk about your skis and pack and where you go

i have the optimus polaris. should i burn kerosene in it instead of white gas? thanx

arctic ???