MSR
MSR PocketRocket 2
- Weight: 8/10 How much it adds to your pack.
- Packed size: 8/10 How much room it takes in your rucksack.
- Boil speed (still air): 7/10 How fast the maker says it boils 1 litre in still air. Wind slows every stove: see Wind performance.
- Wind performance: 5/10 How well it keeps boiling in a breeze, as sold, without an extra windshield.
Solo or two-person three-season trips where boiling water is most of the cooking
- Fuel
- Gas
- Weight
- 73 g
- Boil 1 L, still air
- 3:30
- Windshield in the box
- No
Packed size 0.107 L, 7.9 x 4.1 x 3.3 cm Compare with a 2-litre bottle
Shorter than a 2-litre bottle and thinner than one. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
Cotswold Outdoor £37.95 In stock. Delivery £6.95.
View at shop: Cotswold OutdoorUltralight Outdoor Gear £37.99 In stock. Free delivery. List price £44.99.
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Weight
From maker's figures 8/10How much it adds to your pack. 8: Clearly better than most.
73 g (MSR minimum weight, without the hard case) sits in the 60-119 g band.
Packed size
From maker's figures 8/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 8: Clearly better than most.
MSR gives 3.3 x 4.1 x 7.9 cm packed: 3.3 x 4.1 x 7.9 = 107 cm3, about 0.11 L, in the 0.08-0.19 L band.
Boil speed (still air)
From maker's figures 7/10How fast the maker says it boils 1 litre in still air. Wind slows every stove: see Wind performance. 7: Better than most.
MSR says 3.5 minutes (210 s) for 1 litre with IsoPro, in the 190-229 s band.
Wind performance
From reviews 5/10How well it keeps boiling in a breeze, as sold, without an extra windshield. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Reviewers lean negative: OutdoorGearLab rates wind resistance 6.1 out of 10, counted as 3 (score / 2, a half rounds down), though it lists "susceptible to wind" as a drawback; SectionHiker (not very wind resistant, performance suffers noticeably in strong wind) scores it 2; CleverHiker lists 'not as wind-resistant as some' as a drawback (2); The Great Outdoors says the small windclip helps unless the breeze is strong (3). None timed it in the 3-6 km/h reference breeze. Scores 3, 3, 2, 2: average 2.5 out of 5, so 5 out of 10.
In short
Good for
- Solo or two-person three-season trips where boiling water is most of the cooking
- Weight-conscious walkers who still want to simmer real food
Strengths
- 73 g with a packed size of about 0.11 L (3.3 x 4.1 x 7.9 cm)
- MSR quotes 3.5 minutes for 1 litre, and OutdoorGearLab timed 0.5 litre at 2 min 22 s
- Simmers well for a stove with no regulator, according to four reviewers
- Folding pot supports are firmer than the old Pocket Rocket and hold quite big pots (The Great Outdoors); comes with a hard case
Weaknesses
- Not good in wind: OutdoorGearLab and SectionHiker both rate it susceptible, and the small windclip only helps in a light breeze
- No regulator, so power drops as the canister empties or gets cold; not for winter (not rated for -10 °C)
- No built-in igniter: carry a lighter
- OutdoorGearLab found it burns more fuel than most
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (5)
- MSR (Cascade Designs): PocketRocket 2 stove, tech specs
- The Great Outdoors (Chris Townsend): Review: MSR Pocket Rocket 2
- OutdoorGearLab: MSR PocketRocket 2 review (lab and field tested)
- CleverHiker: Best Backpacking Stoves of 2026 (MSR PocketRocket 2, best overall)
- SectionHiker: MSR Pocket Rocket 2 stove review (stove donated by MSR)