Love the stove... had an older model 10 yrs back and just picked up a new one since I have gotten back into backpacking... Anyway, the Q is: is there a trick to adjusting the flame? seems like it is an all out blast or nothing... Anyone have any tricks for me?

Once you know the trick, it's pretty easy to simmer or even bake with this stove (we cooked up orange rolls and even a loaf of sausage cheddar bread the last trip I used it on). Once you have the stove running, blow the flame out but don't turn off the fuel. Then, pick up the fuel bottle and slowly loosen the pump until you hear the hiss of air escaping. Quickly tighten the pump again. You've now depressurized the bottle, and your stove will burn at a much lower and controlled temperature. Just relight the burner on the stove, and you're good to go.

The Whisperlite is kind of infamous for its on/off setting. You can get it to be a slightly lower flame, it just takes a delicate touch and simmer is never really going to happen.---------The new pump will help a little bit. The way it works is, unlike the old pump that gave you only a quarter of a turn before it was completely on, the new pump allows the user a full rotation of the on/off valve before it's fully on. However, it's got a huge lag in how it reacts to the valve. You can simmer quite well with this stove with some practice. Not pumping the fuel bottle fully is another way of keeping the flame low. With practice you can get really good at getting the flame low enough to simmer, cook pancakes, etc. It's important, however, that you use the windscreen in order to keep the flame from blowing out. The beveled burner helps to maintain the flame, but you have to keep your eye on it if it's windy (although you do have to prime the stove initially, if the flame does blow out, you can immediately re-light it without having to prime it again).