Backpack Stove Review - MSR vs Jetboil ***Updated 2/3/20***

[DaisyChain]

Was your boil test with 16 oz or 32 oz (one liter) water? REI specs the MSR Windburner at 1 Liter in 4.5 minutes. Your result seems much better. The Jetboil Flash originally caught my attention, but the many flambe reports are very concerning, so it is off my list.

 

[Jordan Budd]

Was your boil test with 16 oz or 32 oz (one liter) water? REI specs the MSR Windburner at 1 Liter in 4.5 minutes. Your result seems much better. The Jetboil Flash originally caught my attention, but the many flambe reports are very concerning, so it is off my list.

I used 2 cups. That seems to be the standard for freeze dried meals.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RazAlGhoul]

This new MSR stove is pretty interesting, but certainly not anything that would replace my JetBoil. As Brett and Doug alluded to, the critical flaw as I see it is that this isn't truly an integrated canister system, it's just a stove that uses a special pot. The greatest appeal of the JetBoil PCS (that the GCS doesn't share) to me is the fact that the system is integrated both when stowed and when cooking. This allows for more flexibility while cooking, making it easy whether you're sitting in snow or standing by the trail making a quick brew (or hanging from a wall on a tiny ledge, etc etc).
As for boiling over, the JetBoil will boil over fairly quickly if you aren't paying attention, but I've never had a problem with it. When cooking in a tent or bivy, I'm generally not distracted when dealing with a lit stove anyhow, for obvious reasons.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

Just finishing up this written review. Included I did the efficiency test.. due to living in the middle of nowhere and lack of fuel canisters I did 5 boils each and let the stove cool down each time before doing the next boil. Plus dumped the water and added the same temp water every time. Temps were 65 degrees, I live at 4,500 ft and the canister used on each stove was a Jetboil brand. I weighed the canister before and after the 5 boils for a difference.

Jetboil Flash boiled in 1:19 and used 20g of fuel after 5 boils.

MSR Windburner boiled in 1:28 and used 26g of fuel after 5 boils.

MSR Reactor boiled in 1:51 and used 23g of fuel after 5 boils.

In no way do I consider myself a scientist so I wouldn't consider this info concrete fact but it's what I found. In all honesty for me this info is useless because I need a stove that is going to be reliable every time and if it takes an extra few seconds to boil then whatever. I'll also say I think the Jetboil's efficiency is going to decline with the wind based on my experiences with it in the field.

Stay tuned for the written review and video.. also a podcast coming soon about my findings.

It would have been nice to include the jetboil minimo in this as I feel its a much better stove to the flash.

 

[Jordan Budd]

It would have been nice to include the jetboil minimo in this as I feel its a much better stove to the flash.

It would have, yes. If you have both stoves and want to compare them I know Robby takes article submissions from members.

 

[Andrey_Seregov]

This summer, while relaxing in Italy, I bought a Jetboil for hiking. For half a year of use, I had only two problems: The first and most famous: if the temperature in the street drops below +5 degrees, the gas works very poorly, you have to make efforts to make the burner work. Second: my friend Jetboil has the first version (I have the second generation). Over time, the piezo-ignition burned out, he had to order a new one on ebay and change it on his own. In general, Jetboil is a good system for its money and works out all of them to the last cent.

 

[JJB]

Great info as I'm in the market for a new stove. Thinking that I'll go with the MSR Reactor

 

[Jordan Budd]

This summer, while relaxing in Italy, I bought a Jetboil for hiking. For half a year of use, I had only two problems: The first and most famous: if the temperature in the street drops below +5 degrees, the gas works very poorly, you have to make efforts to make the burner work. Second: my friend Jetboil has the first version (I have the second generation). Over time, the piezo-ignition burned out, he had to order a new one on ebay and change it on his own. In general, Jetboil is a good system for its money and works out all of them to the last cent.

I agree it's a pretty good system for the money. But the last part, did you mean the Jetboil out works all stoves?

 

[Justin Crossley]

Jordan's review is complete. Check it out.

MSR vs Jetboil Showdown

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

It would have, yes. If you have both stoves and want to compare them I know Robby takes article submissions from members.

I do not have both at this time only the MiniMo.

 

[Crang]

Being able to simmer is important to me. Recently upgraded from an MSR Whisperlite to a Primus Omnifuel. I can run butane, white gas, diesel fuel, kerosene and most flamable stuff. Definitely works as advertised. It was actually stressful to chenage off the Whisperlite as Ive trusted one for almost 30 years but the Omnifuel is rock solid-

 

[AK_Skeeter]

For cold conditions, the pressure regulated canister stoves, like the MSR Reactor, offer better performance.
Sleeping with the fuel canister and stove in a sleeping bag, insulating the system with a cozy, etc.

Compared to canister stoves, liquid gas stoves like the old MSR Whisperlite perform better in really cold environments.

 

[Jdanderson19]

Thanks, this review was very helpful

 

[prm]

Well done review, thanks.

 

[Mattltaylor79]

Hey all, I just got 3 backpacking stoves in from Black Ovis for a review. The MSR WindBurner, the Jetboil Flash and the MSR Reactor. The WindBurner and Flash are more “apples to apples” but I wanted the Reactor in the review as well. With the 225$ price tag, I wanted to know what you were getting with the price difference versus the other 2 stoves.

I also run the MSR Pocket Rocket and the Soto Windmaster small stoves as a “build your own” system which I’ll also cover in the review. This could be a good one!

***Update 2/3/20*** Review is complete! MSR vs Jetboil Showdown

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Thanks Jordan for the side by side comparison. I have been using a pocket rocket for years and in January this year in Az on a Coues hunt it let me down. The wind was to much and I ended up with a not so warm Vapor pack. I wasn't sure which one to go with but I'm gonna head towards MSR and not a Jetboil. Again good info, thank you.
Matt Taylor.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

Great review.
I happen to have an older jetboil that I still occasionally use. It is melted, but still works. In my opinion it is only good for boiling water. I do like the integrated ignitor, mine still works after many years. My jetboil is one of the older ones made in USA before Johnson Outdoors bought the company and moved production to China.

I love the Reactor. I have the 1.7 liter pot and it fits as a nice little package with the fuel can inside. When hunting with buddies, I often heat water for coffee and freeze dried meals for them as the Reactor stove just always works. It’s great for two people if you want to save weight of a second stove. One thing I love about the MSR stoves (I also have a multi-fuel XGK) is that they are made in USA. I keep a mini bic lighter with my stove and have never had an issue.

One accessory that should be considered with these stoves is a “Hanging Kit”. MSR makes nice hanging systems for both the wind burner and reactor. I loved my old Bibler hanging stove and MSR really nailed it with their kits. If you are on snow, in a tent or on uneven ground, the hanging feature is great.

I didn’t see the hanging kit available on Black Ovis site, but you can buy direct from MSR.

Reactor® Hanging Stove Kit | Reactor Stove Systems | MSR®

From awkward bivies to big wall climbs, the Reactor hanging stove kit lets you bring the power and efficiency of the Reactor Stove System anywhere.

www.msrgear.com

 

[wadegarrett]

Forgive me if I missed this mentioned somewhere, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether it's possible to use the reactor with a non-msr reactor pot or pan in a pinch. Are the radiative elements higher than the rim of the stove? Would it damage the stove if a surface was directly in contact without the heat exchanger?

 

[Jordan Budd]

Forgive me if I missed this mentioned somewhere, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether it's possible to use the reactor with a non-msr reactor pot or pan in a pinch. Are the radiative elements higher than the rim of the stove? Would it damage the stove if a surface was directly in contact without the heat exchanger?

I don't think you could damage anything, but the burner of the Reactor is fairly round so nothing flat like a pan or regular pot will sit on it. And it sticks above the rim where the pot grabs onto. The reactor just sits on top of the burner, it doesn't latch in any way. Now the Windburner you could definitely use a flat pan and get by. The burner is recessed below the rim where the pot grabs onto so any kind of pot could sit directly on top. I'm not sure how evenly the heat would be in a pan using that method but it could work.

In a real pinch you could hold a pot/pan above the reactor burner while it boils or cooks but I don't think I'd recommend it.

 

[Thor45]

Thanks for the review. Appreciate the content

 

[bobclem11]

Thanks for the review. It’s nice to see the other options out there. I’ve ran a Jetboil for years and the only complaint I’ve ever really had with it is the igniter burning out but I’ve recently been thinking of changing over to a new system.