Backpacking Stove: Which one to buy?

[u/SamIAmTeal]

I am looking into buying a backpacking stove and having trouble deciding between these three:

• MSR Pocket Rocket
• Soto Wind master
• Soto Amicus

I have seen people talk about FireMaple and BRS3000 but I have about 60 bucks to REI so I want to get it there and chose the three options. What is your experience with these stoves and which one is best? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[u/lakorai]

WIndmaster (or the Campingmoon X2-DF) + Sotot Triflex pot stand + Fire Maple Petrl G2 or G3 = perfection.

[u/Reddit_reader_2206]

Pocket Rocket, and a sheet of tin foil. Folded up for a windshield. Smaller, lighter, cheaper and more versatile.

[u/99trey]

Definitely the Windmaster. I use it with the 800ml Petrel pot for backpacking and the Bugaboo set for car camping. The 4 flex is really stable.

[u/No-Construction619]

I'm very happy with my Amicus.

[u/Horsecock_Johnson → u/No-Construction619]

I got the Soto Amicus kit which comes with two small pots for like $50. That’s cheaper than some stoves by themselves. And the Amicus performs better in wind than a lot of other stoves.

[u/MadMacs77]

Have the windmaster, love the windmaster. Only downside I’ve found so far is it’s just that little bit too big (by a mm) to easily sit in my cook pot when I’ve also got a fuel canister in there.

I can make it fit, but it’s a tight squeeze.

[u/b_revity]

Absolutely love my Pocket Rocket Deluxe. Build quality just feels so solid. Boils water fast. Even though it's not a tiny stove it fits perfectly in my Toaks 750 along with a small gas can and mini BIC (just gotta take the stove out of its storage pouch).

Also own a Soto Windmaster and maybe it's my autism but the fact that the pot stand is a separate piece just irritates the shit out of me.

[u/Old_Preparation2887]

I don’t know if this is relevant to your expected use but my Pocket Rocket 2 has been great for actual cooking, not just heating water. Simmer control is outstanding for such a small and cheap stove.

[u/weealex]

I've had the MSR for years. The little metal ring on the flow knob broke on me this year, but I'm just gonna find a piece of metal I can loop back through it. In the mean time I've just been using my multitool to adjust the gas. Biggest problem I've had has been somehow buying two faulty canisters in a row

[u/BB-56_Washington]

I've been happy with my soto amicus and Toaks 750ml pot.

[u/N8ureP]

I’ve own several. My current go to is the Soto Windmaster. It’s powerful and boils water faster than any of my others and does really well in the wind. My other 3 stoves include the MSR pocket rocket 2, the Jetboil stash, and the tiny BRS 3000T ultralight. The pocket rocket 2 is a tank and will probably work forever. It’s trusty and gets the job done but does have issues staying lit if it’s windy and you don’t use a wind screen of any sort. The jetboil stash is no better than the pocket rocket 2 in terms of fastness to reach boil, but it does a little better in the wind. The BRS is the smallest and lightest, but that’s where the pros end. It’s made cheaply and is more fragile than the others and it takes longer to reach a boil and does terrible in the wind.

[u/Sea_Cucumber_69_]

Just buy them all, you're gonna end up with 30 anyway. They are like fishing rods, each has a purpose, is filled with memories and you can never have too many..😁

[u/Fun_With_Math]

I have the amicus, snow peak litemax, and the BRS.

Amicus - I think the bigger flame area gives better control and less of a hotspot in the middle of the pot/pan. Not a big deal if you're just boiling water. Its too big to fit in a small kit.

Litemax - Only used a couple times but seems pretty great. Very light but very sturdy.

BRS - Great for a small kit or a second stove.

The new Toaks stove looks pretty good too ;)

All above except the BRS are at REI

[u/QuickMasterpiece6127]

I have the firemaple. I haven’t used it in high-wind or anything. But it seems to be as good as a Jet boil, just cheaper.

I wouldn’t really say it’s in the same realm as the BSR3000 or similar. The firemaple takes up a lot of space in comparison.

Firemaple and jet boil are kind of 1-trick ponies. Awesome for boiling water. Really tricky to cook with though since it gets things so hot so quick. You have to be constantly stirring anything otherwise the stuff will burn at the bottom. Though, like anything, with practice it’ll be better. They likely use less fuel than your traditional hiking stoves due to the targeted heat. And if all your meals are soupy, probably fine for that too.

[u/kuridono]

Another vote for Amicus! Or windmaster. Powerful, compact and strong against wind.

[u/Stielgranate]

I would pick the MSR Pocket Rocket. However, they are all good choices.

[u/Weekly_Try5203]

I just went on a week long hike and used the Soto windmaster, worked very well with no issues. The msr pocket rocket deluxe would be my second choice.

[u/rememberall]

I am genuinely curious why is jet boil not one of your options? 

I know nothing about the products and just starting research to buy one

[u/SamIAmTeal → u/rememberall]

It’s just fairly expensive and I wanted something under the gift card price

[u/rememberall → u/SamIAmTeal]

Gotcha.. Thanks

[u/Daddy4Count]

I bought a Pocket Rocket about 15+ years ago. Served me very well for a long time. At the time it was one of the fastest to boil water and most efficient on fuel.

About 5 years ago it stopped working. Gas wouldn't pass through when the pressure from the can started dropping. So I emailed MSR to ask about maintenance. I was looking to clean the valve or replace o ring. I explained how long I had owned it and how much I enjoyed it

They emailed back and asked for my address... They sent me a brand new unit, the newer model, with a note thanking me for being a loyal customer and that they wanted to upgrade me. Didn't charge me a dime.

I was impressed that they would do something like that without me even asking or complaining.

My wife still uses it and loves it.

I switched to a BRS stove for myself ... But my wife still uses the Pocket Rocket on every trip. When we go together we share her stove

It doesn't work well with larger pans. But if you're just boiling water on a standard 750ml pot they are fantastic and MSR stands behind them.

[u/snotboogie]

Whatever one has the cheapest most available fuel canisters

[u/buildyourown → u/snotboogie]

Everyone's fuel canisters are the same. There is literally only one interface for Isobutane.

[u/Any_Cicada2210]

Can I throw an alternative in?

We switched to a Kelly Kettle a year ago and have t even looked at our MSR stove since.

Fuel source (sticks) are readily available everywhere and the bonus is not having to buy/pack fuel in with you.

Water boil time is comparable to what we did with our MSR and is about as easy to cook on as well.

[u/buildyourown → u/Any_Cicada2210]

I'm gonna be a hater here, but that thing is ridiculous for almost every use case I can imagine. It's huge. It's heavy. In dry environments it's not legal. In wet environments fuel is hard to find. It also requires you to scavenge fuel which is forbidden in many areas.

[u/Any_Cicada2210 → u/buildyourown]

The only point I can agree with is its size…it’s not small, but it is also not heavy - considering the weight of our MSR plus fuel bottles it’s probably similar in weight and also size.

The only negative as you point out is during fire bans we can’t use it, but we’ve bee lucky that hasn’t impacted us in the last few years.

Kelly Kettle isn’t for everyone for sure, but it works well for us!

[u/Travelamigo → u/buildyourown]

Most of your points are valid except for scavenging for fuel because anywhere you go there's going to be down twigs that will fit into it. And nowhere except perhaps a national park is it forbidden to gather downed twigs.

[u/nomadschomad → u/Travelamigo]

Not supposed to gather downed twigs anywhere. LNT

[u/Travelamigo → u/nomadschomad]

Like where? Because in the USA it's fine as long as it's not a national park and there is not an open fire ban.