Bushwalk Australia

I just came across this post new stoves from MSR on a blog called Adventures in Stoving that I follow.

There are some interesting improvements to some old favourites like the Pocket Rocket, there is now a MicroRocket, the Whisperlite Universal which is a "hybrid" stove (MSR's words) that will burn both liquid fuel and gas. and an improved The Windpro II.

Tony

This is like the Petzl headtorches. The Tikka's just fine but they'll keep on bringing out tiny improvements and you wind up with a page full of micro-options. The Pocket is now the Micro. What Achilles Heel?

Totally agree vagrom. I've seen info on these stoves before and its just a bit of tinkering around the edges but nothing new. You can certainly see the influence of Kovea Titanium with the micro rocket

etrangere wrote:Totally agree vagrom. I've seen info on these stoves before and its just a bit of tinkering around the edges but nothing new. You can certainly see the influence of Kovea Titanium with the micro rocket

As Hikin' Jim has pointed out MSR have updated stoves that have not been changed for a very long time.

Kovea make the Pocket Rocket and as you have pointed out, I would say that it is making the Micro Rocket also, Kovea also make the MSR canisters but I am not sure of Kovea's involvement in the other two stoves.

I have to agree that there doesn't seem to be any significant changes there (change for the sake of change?). I certainly wouldn't be rushing out to swap my Pocket Rocket for the new version and, as Vagrom says above, what Achilles Heel?

As is well-known, the MSR Pocket Rocket is made for them by Kovea, so probably no surprises on the Kovea Titanium influence in MSR canister stove thinking. As to MSR tinkering with their WhisperLite, (they started with their Shellite-only Whisperlite and then added the multifuel WhisperLite Internationale later), other stove manaufacturers such as Primus, Trangia (with their Primus-built Multifuel X2), Kovea, Fire Maple & Bulin already have stoves in their line-up with the ability to burn both liquid fuels and LPG canisters with the same jet and the same fuel line. Although less common, there are also stoves that burn petroleum-based liquid fuels and alcohol (such as the legendary Optimus 111T), but there is a weight penalty. With the exception of Kovea, most of the high-end stove manufacturers only have about six or seven stoves in their line-up. I don't think that MSR will be getting too clever about that, even with a third stove in their WhisperLite 'range' and another Pocket Rocket model. I have both the MSR Pocket Rocket and Kovea Titanium in my stove 'collection' and any differences in their performance in the field is academic. Probably ditto for the Micro Rocket, I suspect.

rucksack

Tony, according to their website, the only MSR stove outsourced to Kovea for manufacture is their Pocket Rocket. All the other MSR stoves (liquid fuel and LPG) are cited as being made in the USA. As to the the Kovea liquid fuel stove line-up, they have two dual Shellite/LPG stoves and one Shellite-only stove, but no multifuel stoves. It may well be that a bit of Kovea's thinking has rubbed off on MSR as far as the dual liquid fuel/LPG capacity of their new WhisperLite Universal is concerned, but that is only guessing. It's not a new concept, as I mentioned above.

rucksack

vagrom wrote:This is like the Petzl headtorches. The Tikka's just fine but they'll keep on bringing out tiny improvements and you wind up with a page full of micro-options. The Pocket is now the Micro. What Achilles Heel?

They talk about the height if the stove. So I am guessing he is referring to wind performance as the Achilles heel? The new one should be a marginal improvement.

The best thing I see here is a easily available canister stand. I wonder how much it weighs?

Tony,

Do you think the MSR - Micro Rocket Stove - separate piezoelectric starter would light a Coleman X-treme PowerMax Stove? I like the idea for the lighter if it didn't get lost.

Your Norwegian Proverb is also the motto for the school my daughter sends her three girls to. The school is in Chicago, ILL - USA. They play outside every school day no matter what the weather is and it get very cold in Chicago.

Bill

gardenville wrote:Do you think the MSR - Micro Rocket Stove - separate piezoelectric starter would light a Coleman X-treme PowerMax Stove? I like the idea for the lighter if it didn't get lost.

I've been trying the separate piezoelectric ignition on a number of stoves. Generally, the more concentrated the gas, the better the starter works. Stoves with a burner head that disperses the gas more are more difficult to light. I went to 8038ft/2450m recently to test the ignition. The MicroRocket lit without hesitation. An Optimus Crux and a Soto MicroRegulator were much more difficult to light. I found that tilting the burner head to one side and lighting the downhill side made ignition possible. I did have to turn the gas up a bit. I've tried some of the same stoves where I live at 600ft/180m, and they were far easier to light.

Based on what I've experienced, I'd say that you can light an Xtreme stove, but it will be a bit tricky at altitude.

HJ

hikin_jim wrote:

gardenville wrote:Do you think the MSR - Micro Rocket Stove - separate piezoelectric starter would light a Coleman X-treme PowerMax Stove? I like the idea for the lighter if it didn't get lost.

I've been trying the separate piezoelectric ignition on a number of stoves. Generally, the more concentrated the gas, the better the starter works. Stoves with a burner head that disperses the gas more are more difficult to light. I went to 8038ft/2450m recently to test the ignition. The MicroRocket lit without hesitation. An Optimus Crux and a Soto MicroRegulator were much more difficult to light. I found that tilting the burner head to one side and lighting the downhill side made ignition possible. I did have to turn the gas up a bit. I've tried some of the same stoves where I live at 600ft/180m, and they were far easier to light.

Based on what I've experienced, I'd say that you can light an Xtreme stove, but it will be a bit tricky at altitude.

HJ

With the Kovea Camp 5 that I have just bought, I have found that I need to turn the gas up a little more than I am used to with matches to get the piezo-igniter to work nicely. Often I am taking 2 or 3 presses to get it to light - this could be user error though. I prefer the separate igniter, as it is not continuously getting cooked while the stove is running, and if it fails, you don't land up with a piece of ballast on your stove - you can just throw it away. The Kovea igniter looks pretty much the same as the MSR one, so there is a very high level of probability that the MSR igniter is made by Kovea. I would probably always keep a box of matches with me as backup, however.

Just ordered a couple of the windpro. I dont see a lot of new advantage other than the swiveling connector. The can stand looks flimsy, A stainless cookie cutter fits neatly around a cylinder and inverted can be used as a can stand or wok base... or cookie cutter..

vagrom wrote:The Pocket is now the Micro. What Achilles Heel?

The supports are allegedly too easily bent. I've bent mine a couple of times, but no dramas. I won't be buying a new one just to save 11grms.

hikin_jim wrote:I've been trying the separate piezoelectric ignition on a number of stoves. Generally, the more concentrated the gas, the better the starter works.

I don't have the separate piezoelectric ignition. The pocket rocket is easy to light, even with a flint. The piezoelectric ignition looks nice and light. How well does it work?

gmrza wrote:The Kovea igniter looks pretty much the same as the MSR one, so there is a very high level of probability that the MSR igniter is made by Kovea. I would probably always keep a box of matches with me as backup, however.

No question. They are one in the same. Well, one is orange and the other is red and no doubt the logo is different, but they're the same.

HJ

Nuts wrote:Just ordered a couple of the windpro. I dont see a lot of new advantage other than the swiveling connector. The can stand looks flimsy, A stainless cookie cutter fits neatly around a cylinder and inverted can be used as a can stand or wok base... or cookie cutter..

MSR just sent me a WindPro II for field trials for my blog. Really, it's the same as the original WindPro except as you say for the swivel and the little canister stand. I haven't tried the stand, but it looks fine. It's reasonably light and compact.

HJ

walkinTas wrote:

vagrom wrote:The Pocket is now the Micro. What Achilles Heel?

The supports are allegedly too easily bent. I've bent mine a couple of times, but no dramas. I won't be buying a new one just to save 11grms.

The reduction in weight is insignificant. More significant to my mind is the compactness. I can fit the new stove in a 550ml pot laying flat. I can't fit a PocketRocket in that same pot no matter which way I turn it. I don't know if you saw this report on my blog: The MicroRocket and Small Mugs/Pots -- What Fits? but it takes a quick look at the pot sizes that will work with a MicroRocket.

The pot supports are much stronger and far less likely to bend. They also are much more stable.

walkinTas wrote:

hikin_jim wrote:I've been trying the separate piezoelectric ignition on a number of stoves. Generally, the more concentrated the gas, the better the starter works.

I don't have the separate piezoelectric ignition. The pocket rocket is easy to light, even with a flint. The piezoelectric ignition looks nice and light. How well does it work?

The starter works quite well. It's very convenient. I've been using the starter on alcohol, gas, and Shellite stoves. I works quite well on all three. The piezo is 13g and packs very easily. I've tested it up to 2450m in elevation in mild winter weather. No issues.

HJ