Optimus Crux Lite Solo vs. Primus Micron and Snow Peak Solo

Hendrik started a passaround for testing the Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook System and I was randomly chosen one of the lucky five to lay my hands on it. Having completely forgotten about the passaround I was confused when I received a duct-tape wrapped package yesterday. This morning I shot some pictures on my balcony and cooked my morning coffee with it.

My scale gives a little heavier results than Henrik’s. It says the whole set weights 279g (Hendrik got 269g), which is pretty good but not perfect.

For comparison I pulled out my Snow Peak Mini Solo Cook Set plus Primus Micron Stove Ti 2.5. This set contains exactly the same parts, the pot is about 50% bigger (780ml vs. 540ml for the Crux set). It weights only 240g.

All measurements for this review were made on the same scale so even if it is a little off, the relative differences should still be correct.

Optimus Crux vs. Primus Micron stove

The difference in the stove is negligible: 70g for Primus and 74g for Optimus. There are a few small differences between the two stoves.

The Primus is a little bigger than the Optimus, it’s hard to measure the diameter so I measures the distance between the tips: 9.5cm for Optimus vs. 11.5cm for the Primus. I don’t think this makes a difference for any normal sized pot. And if you want to use a huge pot, you probably won’t use these ultralight stoves anyway.

The Primus has a roughly 5cm “hole” in the middle. If you use a pot with a diameter close to 5cm it stand on the stove. This is not a problem for the pots included in both sets and I haven’t seen any other pot small enough to make this a real problem.

Primus uses a solid plastic knob to control the flow of gas, Optimus uses a folding wire “handle”. I personally prefer the Optimus solution, in my opinion the plastic knob is the only ugly part used on the beautifully engineered Primus.

Both stoves are tiny when folded. Primus has the smaller head but Optimus uses the space better. There is no “lost space” around the body where the arms fold back on the Primus.

Preliminary result: DRAW

Optimus vs. Snow Peak Solo pot set

Between these two pot sets the differences are more noticeable than between the stoves.

Just looking at the specs the Snow Peak set is clearly superior. It weights only 131g with 780ml pot (+19g if you carry the lid) compared to 184g with a 540ml pot. I filled both pots to the top, so the usable volume is probably closer to 750ml and 500ml.

The handles are a lot better on the Optimus set. Rubberized, longer and firmer. I especially like the folding mechanism used on the cup which folds the handle under the bottom. I’m not 100% certain how long the rubber coating will last. As you can see on the the pot, it has already taken some damage. But for now it feels great.

Both set have volume markings. Optimus in the pot, Snow Peak in the cup.

And the winner is…

For me the combination Primus & Snow Peak is still superior, but only by a tiny margin.

Both stoves are great, pick up whichever one you get cheaper – which is probably the Optimus. Optimus, build your set out of titanium and you are in the lead, your set is already more usable thanks to the superior handles. But I won’t pick a set that’s heavier and smaller. I think the size of the pot is big enough with 500ml but too heavy compared to Snow Peak.

And thanks again to Henrik for organizing this passaround. I will send the package back to you next week.