Jetboil vs. MSR Reactor

Any user comments on these two products?

Plenty of side-by-side reviews to be found online.

Based on one or two side-by-side winter camping comparisons in my own experience, the Reactor is a superior stove: virtually windproof, and boils water appreciably faster. But the Jetboil is a good stove too (if you don't need to do anything besides boil water), packs a little smaller, weighs a little less, and costs a little less.

The nice thing about the jet boil is that the stove clips into your mug/cup, which makes cooking a little bit easier (you don't have to balance the cup on the stove).

I have a Pocket Rocket, which is MSRs much less expensive canister stove, and I've been pretty satisfied with it. It's only about 40 bucks (compared to 100 for a jet boil and 160 for the reactor!)

One note about canister stoves though, they lose a lot of their effectiveness in cold temperatures in the winter due to the cold, especially if the canisters aren't full.

JetBoil worked good for me, 3 seasons...if all you need is boiling water...Used a Whisperlite in winter til last year when I bought this..It works great in cold weather..you don't need to warm the cannisters..and it weighs next to nothing...It and a cannister fit in my 600ml pot..

Hikes4fun said:

JetBoil worked good for me, 3 seasons...if all you need is boiling water...Used a Whisperlite in winter til last year when I bought this..It works great in cold weather..you don't need to warm the cannisters..and it weighs next to nothing...It and a cannister fit in my 600ml pot..

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Thanks ....never heard of this one. Works in cold weather and cheap by all standards!

An alternative to either stove is a pocket rocket with a wind shield. I made the one in the picture out of some roof flashing and some stainless tig rod. It bumps the real world fuel economy up by 20 to 30%. The shield is made of "springy" aluminum with a lock seam, its height is set up so that it can be collapsed to fit in the pot.

If you do try a shield on a cannister stove, it is extremely important to not cover the fuel cannister as bad things can happen. The hanging shield in the picture acts like a chimney and also cuts out issues with breezes.

peakbagger said:

An alternative to either stove is a pocket rocket with a wind shield. I made the one in the picture out of some roof flashing and some stainless tig rod. It bumps the real world fuel economy up by 20 to 30%. The shield is made of "springy" aluminum with a lock seam, its height is set up so that it can be collapsed to fit in the pot.

If you do try a shield on a cannister stove, it is extremely important to not cover the fuel cannister as bad things can happen. The hanging shield in the picture acts like a chimney and also cuts out issues with breezes.

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Interesting... care to maybe post a few pictures of what the shield looks like flat, and how it attaches to the stove/pot?

Sorry I dont have a picture of it flat but this top view may help. The shield was made out of the remnants of an alcohol stove experiment so there are a few extra holes. The only tricky part is making a loose lock seam on the edge of the aluminum (unfortunately its cropped off in the picture). The spring tension of the flashing keeps enough tension on the seam that it stays together. The hanger clips are made from stainless tig rod that I had in the shop, the clips stay on the burner all the time, there is an upward bend on the shield end of the clip that fits through the hole and the wieght of the shield holds it in place.
MSR used to sell a similiar stove set up for hanging from a tent. I think I built mine before they came out with it, so I think they copied my design. I used it over about 10 years of section hikes on the AT and still have it, although since finishing, I dont tend to backpack as often.

I will admit it takes getting used to as access to the gas control is a bit tricky as the bottom of the shield is just about level with it. I was willing to put up with it as it makes the stove a lot easier to use in light breezes and for simmering. I used to do a lot of one pot Lipton type meals, so its basically bring it up to a boil and then simmer. Without the shield, I had to use it in a sheltered area and if there was a slightest hint of a breeze, I had to turn up the stove to compensate. A typical MSR cannister without the shield would last 10 days of two hot meals for one person per day. With the shield I could get 13 days. I expect the efficiency gain is far more when its used for simmering than used for outright hard core boiling, so for those who use freeze dried foods extensively which required an initial boil and no simmering it may be less efficient.

Hikes4fun - I hadn't known about the SOTO line. Have you (or anyone else here) tried the canister refueling system? http://www.sotooutdoors.com/od-trc.html

The problem I have with the MSR Reactor and the Primus ETA solo is that they basically stole an innovative design that someone put a lot of time and effort developing.

I used to scoff at the jetboil, then tried it and now love it.

peakbagger said:

Sorry The shield was made out of the remnants of an alcohol stove experiment .

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Why did you give up on the alcohol stove?

peakbagger said:

Sorry I dont have a picture of it flat but this top view may help.

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Thanks, the top view especially is particularly helpful.

erugs said:

Hikes4fun - I hadn't known about the SOTO line. Have you (or anyone else here) tried the canister refueling system? http://www.sotooutdoors.com/od-trc.html

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Haven't tried it....yet...Oh Boy.. another toy

erugs said:

Hikes4fun - I hadn't known about the SOTO line. Have you (or anyone else here) tried the canister refueling system? http://www.sotooutdoors.com/od-trc.html

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Um...

That tool is for refilling their lantern (http://www.sotooutdoors.com/od-lrc.html) from a butane canister, not for refilling the butane canister itself.


I have read a discussion of refilling single-use propane canisters--they are not designed for refilling and may fail if reused. (The refillable tanks have a much heavier construction.) Presumably the same applies to single-use butane canisters.

Doug

I love the Reactor and have used it on a couple of bigger climbing trips (Mt. Rainier - Liberty Ridge, and Peak 11,300 in Alaska) with great success. The reactor now has a 2.5 liter pot as well (great for melting snow).

I purchased a Jetboil and the first time I went to use it the self starter was bent and would not light (I had a lighter) . The experience made me feel uncomfortable relying on it so I returned it and bought the Reactor.

Yes I agree with the starter issue- mine has never worked on the Jetboil.

Hampshire said:

I love the Reactor and have used it on a couple of bigger climbing trips (Mt. Rainier - Liberty Ridge, and Peak 11,300 in Alaska) with great success. The reactor now has a 2.5 liter pot as well (great for melting snow).

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Interesting….

When MSR announce the reactor they were marketing it as a canister solution to higher altitude cooking. I figured I’d wait until they had been on the market for a few months to get some real time usage reviews before I bought one.
Once the reviews started coming in, they indicated lackluster performance at altitude. As I recall the consensus at the time was they were of marginal benefit.

As I already had a jetboil and liquid fuel stove I decided not to pull the trigger on the reactor.

It looks like a revisit may be in order.

At what altitudes have you used it with success?

Craig,

I've used it on the summits of Rainier (14,411) and Peak 11,300. We had a little trouble in Rainier's crater with a near empty canister, however, a full canister did fine.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm going to look into the SOTO if I decide to get another stove. I owned the Rocket Pocket and found pots slipped around on it. When United Airlines lost our luggage, we replaced it with the next MSR model up, the Superfly, which has worked well and which we chose because it can accommodate different types of fuel canisters. As all we do is heat water rather than "cook" I was considering something different as a second source.

Not that I have money to spare, but I had a gift card to use and a lot of options were running through my head.