GSI Pinnacle Pro 2 Review

The Pinnacle Pro is a sleek, compact, and attractive car camping stove. The rugged cooking grate folds open for easy cleaning, and it boasts a number of innovative design features. However, this stove boiled water the slowest in both our boil and wind tests and proved fuel inefficient compared to the other stoves in our review.

Performance Comparison

We wanted to love this sleek and attractive stove, but were disappointed by its performance in several key metrics.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Time to Boil

To test boil time, we measured how long it takes to boil 1 quart of cool tap water in a windless environment. With a boil time of 6.5 minutes, the Pinnacle Pro was the slowest in our review. The stoves with cooking grates situated closest to the burners almost always boast the quickest times; however, the rugged cooking grate of the Pinnacle Pro situates your cookware 1.5 inches away from the burner. This is likely why it finished last in our boil test.

With a large gap between the burner and the cooking grate, this stove had one of the slowest boil times of any stove in our review.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Wind Resistance

To test wind resistance, we time how long it takes for each stove to boil 1 quart of water with a box fan situated 24 inches from the stove. The Pinnacle Pro again performed the worst of any stove in our review, surpassing the 20-minute mark, which is our cut-off for this test.

The Pinnacle likely did poorly in this metric owing to the L-shaped (rather than rectangular) windscreens and the distance between the burners and the cook surface. With a DIY windscreen, this stove could handle wind better, but with the steep price tag, we would expect a product to be designed to perform well without post-purchase modifications. If your cooking plans account for meal prep in windy environs you may want to check out the stoves in our review with superior wind resistance.

While the L-shaped wind screens create more space for cookware handles, they fail to provide sufficient wind resistance.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Simmering Ability

With the large gap between the burners and the cooking surface, the Pinnacle Pro simmers well. However, in any situation where we needed high-power output, this stove failed to live up to our standards. If you only need to simmer to prepare your meals, it will not disappoint, but if you need to cook quickly after a long day of backcountry adventures, you may want to look elsewhere.

As long as there is no wind, this stove simmers well, owing to the large gap between the burners and the cooking surface.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Ease of Set Up

The Pinnacle Pro performed well in this category. To set up this slim stove, you flip open the legs, open the stove, click the windscreens in place, and screw the regulator onto the back of the stove.

To set up the stove simply open the stove, secure the wind screens, and attach the regulator to the back.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

We appreciate the design of the regulator port because the exposed threads on the receiving end diminish the likelihood of cross-threading your regulator. This is an issue on stoves with internally-housed regulator ports, as they have soft brass threads, and it can be challenging to visually ensure the port aligns with the regulator before threading it. To protect the exposed threads, the savvy engineers at GSI included a thread cover on the back of the stove, which you flip closed when not in use.

Unlike most other stoves, you can find the regulator port on the back of the stove. The innovative design of the regulator port means the threads are easier to sync-up to avoid cross-threading.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Ease of Care

The Pinnacle Pro performed decently well in this metric, too. To clean the stove, simply flip open the cooking grate and scrub the non-stick stove surface. We did find it a little finicky to unlatch the grate, and we were a little disappointed with how the metal components of this stove vibrate when stored vertically in a vehicle. However, as long as you store it horizontally, the stove is quiet in transit. Be fair-warned, the stainless steel exterior does attract fingerprints, so you will want to keep something on hand if you want it to stay shiny and clean.

To clean the drip pan, unhook the cooking grate, fold it forward, and scrub away. Keep in mind: it takes a little effort to unhook the grate and could steal your skin if you're not careful.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Portability

With an impressively slim design, the Pinnacle Pro stashes easily in a car camping kit or the back of a vehicle. However, it does not feature a carrying handle, and it is relatively heavy, so it is not as easy to carry as some of the other stoves. Unlike some of the thicker stoves in our review, you cannot store the regulator inside the stove while in transit. To rectify these minimal issues, GSI offers a canvas carrying bag to transport and protect your stove, though this is, of course, an additional expense.

This slim stove stashes well in your car or van, but the lack of handle makes it more difficult than other stoves to carry, and the stove is too compact to store the regulator inside the stove when not in use. GSI makes a carrying case that could remedy both problems, but for the price we would expect these features to be integrated into the stove.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Value

The Pinnacle Pro does not live up to our expectations for a top-of-the-line car camping stove. We would expect a stove to boil fast and resist wind like a champion for a price tag this steep. Instead, the Pinnacle falters in both of these crucial metrics. While it is aesthetically pleasing and boasts some innovative features, without some design improvements, this stove does not provide the function we expect for the price.

The flexible regulator does not stow away inside the stove nor does it hold your propane bottle at the appropriate angle to avoid freezing when the fuel gets low. Both things we would like to see on a stove at this price point.

Photo: Mary Witlacil

Conclusion

The highly anticipated GSI Pinnacle Pro is all form, no function. It boils slow, provides minimal wind resistance, is relatively fuel-inefficient, and is relatively heavy despite the trim design. We hope that GSI improves upon these design flaws in future releases.

This sleek, stainless steel stove is certainly attractive, but it did not live up to the hype. Hopefully subsequent iterations of this stove will address the design flaws we noted in our review.

Photo: Mary Witlacil