MSR Reactor Stove - GearReview.com

Review MSR Reactor Stove
By Matt Smith

Have you ever been at camp, and the end of a long day waiting for your tea water to boil, or your pasta or rice to get to that al dente stage. And then you sit there in your down booties, with your belay parka pulled up tight as the wind swirls around...and it seems like the water is never going to boil? I can't count the number of times that has happened to me. Many stoves, the majority in fact, are designed to work pretty well with little wind on a full tank. But as you depart from those ideal conditions, boil times increase quickly. Yes, heat shields in their various forms do help, but don't come close to solving the problem. Then a few years ago Jetboil got the idea to integrate a heat exchanger with the pot essentially creating a system instead of just a stove and a pot. That was a quantum leap, but with some inherent weaknesses, including capacity.

Mountain Safety Research
Reactor Cook System

Similar to Jetboil only in concept, the MSR Reactor Stove is a complete system integrating the burner, heat exchanger, and a hard anodized aluminum pot into a single functional package. The Reactor creates infared radiant heat, and injects it right into the heat exchanger on the bottom of the pot. The heat exchanger nests directly on top of the burner with a contact seal such that no wind can suck the heat out. The radiant heat is channeled along the bottom and up the sides via a series of fins, where it is then slowly released up the side of the pot. What is so amazing to me, is that even with the stove valve all the way open, you can put your hands right close to the exhaust vents with little to no discomfort. The explanation, the vast majority of the heat from the burner is being absorbed by the pot (and your food) rather than just being channeled around your pot and escaping to the atmosphere.

Reactor System
Nested View

The Reactor System , without fuel is about 19 oz. Conveniently, a small or large fuel canister, the burner, and mini-camp towel can all nest easily within the 1.7 L pot. The lexan lid is held in place with a unique spring action lever that doubles as a handle. If all your are doing is boiling water, the Reactor is great for 3, but if you are going a little more gourmet on the trail and cooking your own noodles, rice, or dehydrated potatoes, it is more realistically suited to 2 people.

As far as performance goes, I was consistently able to boil 1 L of tap water in under 2 minutes (4300 ft., 50 degree ambient temps). I was happy to discover that you can cook non-instant rice on the Reactor with some caution. Otherwise you get burns on the bottom. A few more practice meals and rice was no problem. Now, the only concern I noticed is that the reactor can heat up extremely fast, particularly if you don't have water in it when you turn on the burner, so you really need to have your meal all ready to cook before you fire it up. Initially, I thought this rapid heating action was causing stress lines in the pot, but MSR informed me it is actually a result of the hard anodizing process. So there is no need to worry about the apparent cracks propagating, or any kind of flaking into your food (because the pot is solid, homogeneous aluminum, and not coated).

Mountain Safety Research
Radiant Heat Burner

Summary: The MSR Reactor Stove System is awesome. It is the perfect package to take for 2-3 people on a week long trip. The stove is functional enough to actually use it to cook, and not just boil water. It is a little pricey for a stove, but remember you are also getting an integrated heat exchanger and light weight hard anodized aluminum pot. Retail for the Reactor is $139.95, but you should be able to pick it up for about $125 if you watch the online sales.

For more information contact:
Mountain Safety Research
www.msrgear.com
4000 1st Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98134
(800) 531-9531
info@msrgear.com

Matt Smith Is a contributing editor at Gearreview.com and is a complete dork gear junkie. Check out his blog with his latest trip reports and product test updates.


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