Primus Eta Spider

Very well made, stable, dependable, rugged, super-quiet and efficient stove. Delivered from Primus to work with canister (LP) gas, but will also burn white gas, kerosene, paraffin, and unleaded fuel with an optional multi-fuel kit. Not sure, but I would not be surprised if it would also burn Jet-A fuel.

bare bones setup without the windscreen

stove sitting inside of the windscreen. hard to see but each foot is secured by a magnet in the base of the windscreen.

notice all the tiny holes in the "collander" lid

the "smallish" .035L liquid fuel bottle included with the optional multi-fuel kit


the entire setup. not pictured is the field maintenance kit (included in the muti-fuel kit) which comes with the 3 fuel jets, a wrench, a thin wire to clean the jets and a small tube of grease to lube the fuel pump handle. 

Lower left is the (T-shaped) non-working Piezo igniter...which does NOT ignite the fuel!! My one and only (very minor) complaint against this stove. 

The only negative I have to get out of the way first is the included, hand-held, Peizo igniter does not work. This is the "T" shaped tool in the lower left of the last photo with a black plastic top and chrome down tube.  

Apparently this is a common issue as I have read in many reviews about this and other Primus stoves. No big deal though. There IS a visible spark with every click, but the spark is so far up in the tube, it will not ignite the fuel vapor. Really this is a very minor complaint.

Now, ALL the good stuff!

The stove looks great! The included pot has a "colander" lid and on the bottom of the pot there is a design feature that transfers the heat from the flame


to the contents of the pot very efficiently and evenly. The pot has a rugged non-stick surface similar in look and feel to Teflon. Maybe it is Teflon?? Anyway, it works!

The stove burns very, very quietly even at full blast, and is adjustable down to just a simmer while burning either LP (canister gas) or liquid white gas from the red fuel bottle. 

I like the fact the stove sits right on the ground either inside the base of the windscreen with a magnet to secure each foot, or stand-alone right on the ground with no windscreen. In NO configuration does the Primus ETA Spider stove EVER sit on TOP of a canister, which is in my opinion, a poor design in an effort to save a few negligible ounces of weight at the expense of having a very unstable, top-heavy stove which can easily tip over. Even with the add-on canister "feet" attached to the base of a canister, I just don't like that configuration. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

The ETA Spider is delivered from Primus to accept canister (LP) gas via the included braided metal hose and works perfectly right out of the box that way. For cold weather camping I ordered the optional multi-fuel kit which includes a small .035 Liter fuel bottle, three different fuel jets and a maintenance kit for a mere $80 on Amazon.

It took me about 15 minutes (and three glasses of wine) to install the liquid fuel parts and light the stove using the white gas. To go back to the canister would take about 1 minute total to change out the jet. Very efficient design by the Swedish :).

***Also, a nice design feature is that during cold weather, the canister can be inverted while cooking to increase it's usability as the temps go down.

The included carry case also doubles as a heat-resistant, insulated "pot cozy" to keep my food warm after it comes off the stove.

One other key factor that led to my decision to purchase the Primus over the very popular MSR stoves is that while again, saving a few meaningless ounces of weight, MSR made the (very unwise) choice to supply its liquid fuel bottles with a PLASTIC pump handle, and the Primus pump handles are made of steel (read:heavier, yet more rugged and durable).

Many reviewers have had this plastic pump handle fail (break) on their MSR stoves. Not to bash MSR though. They DO build very high quality tents and stoves, and other equipment, but the plastic pump is certainly a weak link regarding their stoves based on many reviews I have read.

Bottom line is this: the Primus ETA Spider is a very efficient, reliable, well made and versatile stove. While a bit heavier and bulkier than some other stoves, I think it will be more durable and will last longer than many competitor's stoves in the long run.

As always, I will gladly "man-up", grow some muscle,  and carry a little extra weight to have the luxury of superior, more durable and reliable equipment once I arrive at my campsite.