I received an MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe and MSR Titan kettle for Christmas and finally got an extended test while on the Wonderland Trail recently. I had been wanting to see if I could lighten my cook kit load, and with the Pocket rocket (PR) plus the MSR titan kettle and a STS cup, I was saving 5 ounces over my go-to set up of the Windburner (which is all inclusive, pot, stove, cup).
In a few short weekend trips earlier this summer, I learned how much longer the PR takes to boil; it was really only a few minutes longer but seemed like an eternity. The Windburner is so fast it makes me impatient with a slower stove. But the PR worked great. It’s a bit less stable, so I needed the fuel can legs for safety on uneven surfaces like tundra, especially with a 4 ounce canister. I do like eating out of the wider kettle and it’s also easier to clean, important because I cook in the pot, not in bags.
The real test comparison was on a longer journey. We did 10 days hiking on the Wonderland Trail late July/early August. I started with an 8 ounce fuel canister. It was a surprise to me just how much more fuel I used with the PR setup than with my Windburner. Yes yes, I should have weighed the canister before and after to get exact measurements, but didn’t have a scale available to me. But at the end of 10 days, cooking both breakfast and dinner, there was little fuel left when using the Pocket rocket. With the Windburner on my PCT section trek last summer, the canister still had about half its fuel left at the end – same cooking style. I could have used only a 4 ounce canister with the Windburner (possibly running out one breakfast, which is fine). So the fuel alone could be a 6 ounce difference, eating up the savings of the lighter weight stove and pan.
Don’t tell me to cold soak, people. Yuk and yuk. I’ll do it if I run out, and for breakfast it’s not bad, although repeated days of soggy cold oatmeal are incredibly depressing to wake up to. But a hot beverage or cup of soup is sooooo restorative. I need my comforts.
Still undecided about which to use in the future. I’m leaning toward short trips, taking the lighter Pocket rocket, but sticking with the Windburner for multi day trips. I wish the Windburner pot were wider and shorter, but that might affect the fuel use as well. That to me would be ideal – a Windburner that had a different pot shape, but just as efficient and fast. And all included; it’s nice to have a cup too.
