I picked up this Coleman 400 at a garage sale for very few dollars. It looked new. The date stamp says August2003. Without agonizing over it much, I fed the pump cup a drop of oil, fueled it, pressurized it and put a lighter to the burner. It lit immediately and, after the recommended additional pumping, it quickly generated a pretty blue flame. Looking at other postings I got a clue as to why this model is called "Feather 400". Earlier versions weigh in at 28 ounces while this one comes in at 24.5 (they claim 24 on the box). Besides eliminating the cleaning lever they also seem to have switched to a plastic surround at the pump valve. Okay - not a lightweight by today's standards but a compact, easy to use unit for car camping. And morning tea on the patio. It is hot. It only took a couple of minutes at half throttle to bring two cups of water to a rolling boil.
best stoves going in my opinion - easy to use and reliable, i have three of these - various versions and they will all out boil a well sorted x-gk at sea level - if they have an achilles heel it is that they need clean, high quality fuel, like any thoroughbred. but if i could only have one stove it would be one of these - no question
I used mine on wilderness canoe trips for many years and never had a problem with the way it lit and burned.after 15 years of two week trips twice a year the burner bowl which is made from lighter metal broke away from the rivets. they did other things to make a "feather" like an aluminum fuel cap and holes in the feet. I should note that canoe tripping is hard on gear. it's left at home now and to save weight I just take a Gaz burner head and a couple cartages.
The box for the "feather" claims 7,500 b.t.u. (I don't doubt that - it puts out more heat than some of the burners on my stove in the house.) In a post from Idahostoveguy on the 400A he mentions a BTU/H of 8,500. I wonder if the cleaning wire in the Feather version restricts fuel flow? I found that compared to the Svea 123 and the MSR Whisperlite the priming ritual for the Coleman 400 is much simpler and lacking in mysticism. Some would miss that.
Many think the 400B is inferior to the earlier 400 and 400A. My experience does not agree. Perhaps I got lucky, according to some owners, but in many ways mine is the best stove I own. It starts easier than any other liquid fueled stove I own, including my Colemans (400, 400A, 502), Optimus 8R, 99. My Coleman 550B is a very close second in the starting test. My 400B boils water faster than all my other stoves, including 413G and 425E. It is even faster than my only cartridge stove, an MSR Superfly. Mine also simmers on par with my Coleman 502 and as well as the 400 and 400A, although the control is not quite as smooth as those two. And it is lighter than all except the 550B. Great stove for me, but as they say, your mileage may vary.
