MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Stove Review: Best Backpacking Stove

Let’s take a minute and talk about the MSR Pocket Rocket 2 About 8 years ago, I found a backpacking stove that I absolutely love! The MSR Pocket Rocket. It was light-weight, compact, efficient and it never once crapped out on me. This was my main stove I carried with me over the years as a backpacking guide in California. I even took it with me on all of my international travels as well. I’m not ashamed to save a few bucks and cook a cheap meal while traveling instead of eating out in order to stretch out my travel expenses.

I honestly had no plans on changing stoves because, well, why fix what ain’t broken, right? Then, came out with the MSR Pocket Rocket 2. I would have been content sticking with the original Pocket Rocket, but with a price of under $50, I had to see what this bad boy was all about! I carried it on my 153 day thru-hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, using it about 3 times a day. That was back in 2018 and I’m still using it today!

They’ve taken the best parts of the stove that has lasted me over 8 years and improved it in nearly every way. This is why the MSR Pocket Rocket 2 is absolutely the best backpacking stove on the market. It’s durability, design, and overall price make it a no-brainer.

For other stove comparisons, check out 10 Best Backpacking Stoves of 2020.

 

MSR Pocket Rocket 2

 

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MSR Pocket Rocket 2: Features & Performance

Weighing 2.5 ounces, the MSR Pocket Rocket 2 is a canister stove that provides you with the ability to simmer food, a useful capability if you want to do more than just boil water on your trips. The flame height is easy to regulate using the wire knob on the stove stem, which folds away when the stove is packed. Unlike the first generation, the Pocket Rocket 2 allows the serrated pot supports to fold in a more efficient way, allowing you to save even more space. The boil time for 1/2 Liter of water is approximately 3.5 minutes and very standard for a stove of this size and type.

Lighting the stove does require a separate ignition source, unlike some stoves which come with an auto-igniter built into the stove itself. Just carry a Bic lighter with you, and you’ll be good to go! In my personal opinion, it’s also a good idea to always have a backup ignition source with you, such as a  mini-ferro rod for emergencies, just incase you have any lighter malfunctions.

While MSR recommends using the Pocket Rocket 2 with MSR branded Iso-pro canister gas, it also works perfectly well with isobutane canisters from any manufacturer that provide a screw-on lindal valve, including the canisters from MSR, JetBoil, Primus, and Snow Peak that are commonly found in the States. That’s not always the case if you travel to Europe, where some gas canisters have a bayonet-style valve that is incompatible with the Pocket Rocket 2 and other stoves intended for the US market (This has happened to me before..).

I’d highly recommend you doing your research on the area you plan to travel before you carry it internationally, as planes and most boats won’t allow you to carry a compressed gas canister with you.

If you need a stove specifically for international travel, I’d recommend the MSR Whisperlite International Stove. It’s quite a bit more weight and about double the price, but it will give you piece of mind no matter where you are, and in some cases, that’s hard to beat!

 

 Technical specs

 

 

Safety Tips

As with just about anything, there’s a right way to do things, and a wrong way. For starters, never try to cook inside your tent, you’ll get side tracked and shit happens. If you absolutely have to cook under cover from rain or something, consider cooking under your vestibule while still having a few points unzipped to allow ventilation. Make sure you are cooking on a level surface, as the pot supports only allow the pot to sit on top, unattached. Once you’re done cooking, make sure you give the stove plenty of time to cool off before you attempt to pack it away!

This stove does have a mini-wind blocker on the stove head, but I still wouldn’t try to cook directly in the wind. You’ll learn little tricks over time when using this stove to keep it protected in the wind, but do not, I repeat, DO NOT, fully wrap it in a wind-screen. You’ve seen those little cuts of tin that you wrap around the outside of your stove.. If the heat has no where to escape, it will over heat your fuel, which is compressed gas, and you are going to have a major problem.

If you want a great wind protected stove, check out the MSR Windburner.

 

More Information

I hope you enjoyed this review on the MSR Pocket Rocket 2. If you have any further questions on this stove or any others out there, just drop me a line in the comment section below and I’ll get right to work! My goal here at TheEpicReviews is to gather and test all of the gear out there so I can make your next gear purchase a bit easier.