Review of the Primus Mimer burner
Primus Mimer is a powerful and reliable camping burner with a lot of shortcomings. Yes, it is capable of boiling a liter of water in less than 4.5 minutes, but at the same time it is extremely heavy (240 grams), too demanding on the dishes, and not ergonomic enough.
The Primus Mimer comes in a simple fabric case. The case is not very spacious - it is quite difficult to stuff the burner in there. Moreover, the neck of the cover does not close completely (see photo below) and unwanted debris can easily get inside. The burner weighs 240 grams (this is a lot), and the cover weighs 15 grams.
In the transport position, the gas valve at the burner is simply unscrewed. Nothing folds or hides anymore. To protect the valve from dust and debris during transportation, I additionally hide it in a plastic bag.
The gas valve handle is old-fashioned - plastic. The problem, in fact, is not so much in the material of the handle, but in its length. The now widespread folding frame handles made of steel wire are much longer and allow you to fearlessly adjust the flame even when the burner is hidden under a large pot. But the Primus Mimer is a fairly large and powerful burner and it would be quite logical to use it with large pots.
The non-folding pot supports have a recess in the center that is too shallow. This means that when using dishes with a rounded bottom (thick-walled aluminum pots and cauldrons), it may be difficult to make the pot stand still and not sway. A burner screwed onto a cylinder is already an extremely unstable structure, but with a rolling pan it will generally be an attraction for the brave. On the website of one of the online equipment stores, I read that the cross-shaped support for the bowler hat acts as a built-in windbreak. Don't believe such statements. A true windbreak, to be effective, needs to be huge and dense, and these tiny pieces of iron don't protect against anything. In short, fiberglass has not been canceled.
A huge disk with nozzles produces an excellent flame. The gas burns smoothly and calmly. Even at maximum speed, Primus Mimer behaves decently and does not scream in a bad voice - the burner operates quietly. If you put a pot on the fire, then the already wide flame spreads even wider. The liter pot with a bottom diameter of 13 centimeters that was used in previous experiments turned out to be too small for this burner - part of the flame did not fit under its bottom and slid along the walls. Therefore, if you do not want to waste gas, then it is better to use Primus Maymer together with wider dishes.
It took 4 minutes 20 seconds and 20 grams of gas to bring 1 liter of water to a boil with the Primus Mimer burner. This is about 1 minute faster than the result of the previously tested Kovea Power Nano.
I bought Primus Mimer a long time ago - either in 2003 or 2004. And even then this model was positioned as classic (read retro). Then I was won over by the seller’s argument about the simplicity and reliability of the design. This is the truth, Mimer is a reliable thing.
However, now my criteria for evaluating burners have changed and I would hardly buy the same one. A burner screwed onto a cylinder should not be powerful and heavy - due to the instability of the structure, you still cannot place a large pot on it. Well, of course they do (and I did), but it’s wrong and dangerous. Tipping pots lead to nasty burns from boiling water and are, of course, a fire hazard. Therefore, for cooking for a large group, it is better to use much more stable hose burners, and for one or two people, ultra-light burners like the Kovea Titanium (60 grams!) are perfect.
The Primus Mimer has not been with me in the mountains for a long time and is now living out its life as a backup fire source in my city kitchen.