Saturday
Jan122008
Review: MSR Pocket Rocket
Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 10:49AM 
The petite MSR Pocket Rocket Backpacking Stove
has been my constant camping companion since I purchased it over two years ago. Why? It's got everything to satisfy this minimalist camper's gourmet needs.- Small and light - It's smaller than a flashlight, and lighter than your wallet
- Fast - Sets up in a manner of seconds and boils water in less than four minutes
- Clean and convenient fuel - Uses butane canister gas. No priming!
- Adjustable flame - From a rolling boil to a gentle simmer
Think this stove is only good for boiling water? Think again. A little practice will see you frying onion in no time.
If temperature control is your main concern, then this wee marvel isn't right for you. True: the flame is adjustable; however, even a low setting provides burning-hot heat from the center of its element (rather than spread out across its three prongs). The result is a grilled cheese that's burnt in the middle but soggy around the edges (I learned this the hard way). Unless you're boiling water or heating soup, food cooked on the pocket rocket needs to be kept in constant motion to prevent it from burning.
For the ultra-light backpacker or cycle tourer, the Pocket Rocket is the perfect size and weight. For car camping, it's a great addition to the campfire for cooking tea and porridge while the fire takes care of veggie sausages and toast. And at a fraction of the cost and size of fancier burners, the Pocket Rocket is hard to beat.
MSRP: $39.95
Weight: 3.2 oz
Size: 4.1 x 2.1 x 2 inches
More Information:
- Full specs from MSR Corp
- User reviews at REI.com
- More pictures of the Pocket Rocket in action
- Buy it on Amazon
Crossposted to spacekadet.org
Reader Comments (2)
Sauteing onions was hard work over such a narrow flame because you get hot spots on the thin camping pans. The first photo shows my solution which was to use a bit more oil than usual, okay in this case because that just makes the pasta sauce I was cooking better, and then tip the pan so I was almost slowly deep frying the onion.
Tim, you rock the tomato sauce. Your Camp Stove Marinara is so delicious, even better than some of your stove-top editions. Looking forward to the next arrabiata! =)