MSR Reactor Stove System

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

Worked fine at 9800 ft. elevation in the Tetons. Boils water very quickly. Stability OK if base under gas cannister chosen with care.

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

We use two of these stoves for a 12 person Boy Scout crew hiking at Philmont in New Mexico. Boils water very quickly which is then used to hydrate food. Only negative is that there are not any pots or pans that you can use directly on the burner. MDS should design some pots/pans that you can cook with for this stove.

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

I have had this stove system for about 2 years now and I have never had any problems with it at all. I am more of a light packer for the most part. My boy scout troop goes on long camping trips very often ( 4-5+ days) and this stove has repeatedly outperformed any larger stove system and any lightweight system I have ever owned. It may seem big, but you can fit a fuel canister, the burner, and the cleaning cloth that comes with it all in the system itself or inside the pot. The handle clamps over the top and has a hinge so it is compact and secure for any long hike or short day hike. It boils 2 cups of water in less than a minute and thats all you can ask for if you use Mountian House food products, it even has a 2 cup marker in the pot for your convienence. The burner is not self lighting but any simple match or lighter or if your good enough a magnesium stick, can light it very easily. If it had an auto lighter such as the jet-boil, which my father uses, it would deserve 5 stars easily ( even though my dad asks all the time to use it because it outperforms the jetboil anyday ). The fuel consumption is little to none and for a 7 day, 3 times a day trip, I usually go through about 2 or 3 canisters, not the big green ones but the small red ones. This stove has served me well in the Allagash, atop Mt. Washington, Mt. McKinley, Pikes Peak, the Grand Canyon, and even in the cold of Alaska this baby fires right up first time everytime and never fails to amaze me. This stove is the only non- lightweight gear that I have but it is well worth the extra 10 oz, which is nothing much anyway. The only complaint that I would have about the system is its burner is rounded so that it fits the pot perfectly, but not any regular flat bottom pot, you have to hold it above the burner which isnt that much of a burden but is the only compliant I can think of. Those who say it is unstable must either set it up on a non-flat surface, or are in very heavy wind. As the pot just sits on the burner and doesnt twist on as the jet-boil does, but it also spends about half the time on the burner as the jet-boil is very slow at boiling water. Lastly you can put the stove system away almost instantly after you use it as it cools off very quickly and is simple to pack. Just remember it goes cloth-burner-fuel-top. The fuel fits perfectly on top of the burner and the lid sits perfectly on the top of the fuel, holding it in place. Overall you will spend a lot more in fuel for other systems and have to pack more fuel for longer trips. The MSR reactor is an all-in-one package that fits perfectly into a heavy or light packers gear. You will not regret buying this system at all, trust me I'm an Eagle Scout.

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

I like this stove very much. It is strong, powerful, light, easy to start and control.But I do not like the cover of the pot. The material of this cover is plastic. I think the metal material is better than plastic.

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

Really fast heat times with effecient use of fuel

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

BACKPACKING TRIP HOT WATER BOILING UNDER 2 MIN!

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

Works great and is easy to set up. In my opinion, works better for boiling water than for actual cooking as it's a little hard to dial it in for simmering. I appreciate the ability to use a canister in cooler/higher altitude situations where I would normally switch over to a white gas stove.

As the cannister serves as the base, the setup is a bit less stable than some other stoves. It would also be nice if the stove could be secured to the burner like you can with the Jetboil.

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

This thing is amazing. Big enough to cook for two, probably even 3, self contained, and POWERFUL. I absolutely love it!

Comments about MSR Reactor Stove System:

Used it on 3 day hike in the highest area of the Smoky Mountains and the stove performed perfectly.