Lighting stoves without flare-up

What’s the best way to light a camp stove without getting too big of a flare-up? I have an MSR WhisperLite.
— Phil the Fireball, Johnstown, Pa.

A. Good question, Fireball. For this one we turned to MSR’s Michelle Vela, who spent three years in the stove repair department learning every inch of the WhisperLite. She says: “The best way to start a stove without a big flare-up has everything to do with how much fuel you initially let flow into the priming cup at the bottom of the stove.”

Here’s how:

1. Turn the control valve on the fuel pump until you can hear the sound of gas.
2. Then, shut the valve off. The fuel you heard will be enough to flow through the fuel line and into your priming cup.
3. Light the fuel to prime your stove.
4. When the flame begins to die down, slowly crank open the control valve.
5. Once the stove is heated and running, you can turn the control valve on full blast.