A Windscreen For The MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe…

[bradmacmt]

Seems my brain goes in spurts of interest – lately it’s been stoves, pots and mugs. I got an MSR Pocket Rocket DLX a couple years ago and, while I like it, I haven’t found it especially wind-worthy. Certainly better than those stoves with completely exposed burners, but I wondered about additional wind protection. Years back I made a windscreen for a Snow Peak Giga Stove from a Snow Peak Ti bowl. It worked great, so I copied the original idea, but this time with a Ti plate from Amazon for $12.99. It’s an “iBasingo Titanium Pan Dish Plate” size Medium. 5-7/8″ x 1-1/8″. Seemed about right size wise. After modifications it weighs 1.83 oz.

The PR DLX design really lends itself to a design like this. The modified plate sits securely on the fold-out legs. It’s super stable. The 3-support pattern is not universal (ie the supports will only fit in their original slots – hence the directional arrow on the bottom). I traced the stove onto a piece of paper, cut it out for a pattern and transferred it to the plate bottom. A bit of judicious and careful Dremel work with some sanding was all that was needed.

Obviously some controlled testing is in order to determine its actual efficacy, but it seems like a workable design:

 

 

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

That looks great!  You may need to add some inlet ports near the burner head.  Do this test: fire up the burner and lower a pot (with water in it) onto the stove.  Listen for pitch changes.  If the sound level drops of, you may be starving the stove.  Good luck.

[bradmacmt]

That looks great! You may need to add some inlet ports near the burner head. Do this test: fire up the burner and lower a pot (with water in it) onto the stove. Listen for pitch changes. If the sound level drops of, you may be starving the stove. Good luck.

Thanks Jon! I did test it with a full pot (brought to boil) and the flame pitch was consistent so I think it may be a winner.

[Ian Schumann]

Hey, really helpful to find this design. Thanks for posting! I copied it verbatim :-)

Well, to be fair my machining quality was not nearly as good as yours. I hacked this up in about an hour so I was freehanding with a jigsaw and so forth. Cutting titanium … not exactly straightforward! But after a bit of sanding down the burrs, it should do the job nicely.

I ended up getting the “Tito” branded version of this same product, which was a bit cheaper (at the moment) than the current “iBasingo” brand. This project was cheap enough that I would consider doing this again in the “small” size to fit one of my titanium mugs.

Here are some photos, including a few showing how it fits with an S2S Alpha pot, 1.2L.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JtqRa1o77RxmeoYSA

 

[Ken Larson]

This one I have used and it is a KEEPER…

https://www.flatcatgear.com/shop/ocelot-pr2/

[bradmacmt]

This one I have used and it is a KEEPER…

I have a genII Ti windscreen that I’ve made that is 1oz and I think better than the flatcat…

I’ll post it soon.

[bradmacmt]

Hey, really helpful to find this design. Thanks for posting! I copied it verbatim :-)

Hey Ian, happy to help! Yours looks great.

[Paul S]

It seems to me that the jet has to be shielded from the wind too, not just the burner. Am I correct?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I do not believe that the jet needs to be wind protected, just the burner.  My 2 cents.

[Rex Sanders]

Here’s the unmangled link to that “iBasingo Titanium Pan Dish Plate”:

https://tinyurl.com/ydurxd59

Or search Amazon for B085S1JZGW.

Of course, it’s actually branded by Boundless Voyage Outdoors in China, who make a wide variety of titanium widgets.

BPL’s new software continues to do weird things with direct Amazon links.

— Rex

[Jim Morrison]

I use the aluminum from one of those disposable aluminum pans and make a simple cylinder with a substantial opening on one (downwind) side.  It is high enough to touch the pot, but plenty of air space because the diameter of the cylinder is larger than the pot.  This has three advantages.  One it can warm the canister slightly in winter to make the stove perform better. Two, it can easily be made larger or smaller (diameter) to provide more ventilation (low wind) or less (high wind).  Three, it is lighter, I think, than your arrangement, more compact and cheap.

[bradmacmt]

For anyone interested, a link to the MKII version:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/msr-pocket-rocket-dlx-windscreen-mark-ii-2/

[Sam Farrington]

Years ago found that Snow Peak marketed a bowl-shaped aluminum screen to go under the pot supports.  But it was on the heavy side, so sawed off the bottom of an old Ti pot and made a knock-off weighing less than an ounce.  Looking for the old thread, found others that were similar.  My post, with photos, is at (scroll down):  https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/45927/page/2/

This type of screen projects much less heat on the canister, so is safer to use.  And it takes up much less volume, is much lighter, and has almost no fiddle factor.  Given that the Ti stove is only around 2 oz, the whole assembly fits into the Ti pot used to boil water.

I have used it in winds with the back of the side entry tent facing the wind, and sitting in front of the tent under the vesitbule; so the wind is already much reduced at the stove, and a larger screen is not needed.  Makes for dry food prep and meals in heavy rain.  The wettest part of the operation is getting water to heat from the nearest source.

Don’t know how this approach might work with the MSR stove, but it might be worth a try.

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