View Full Version : Pocketrocket or Gigapower?
Looking at getting a canister stove. Any good or bad dealing with the MSR pocketrocket or Snow peak Gigapower?(not sure what one I want to get)
Lone Wolf
03-07-2005, 17:37
I have a Pocket Rocket and like it just fine.
Footslogger
03-07-2005, 18:01
Looking at getting a canister stove. Any good or bad dealing with the MSR pocketrocket or Snow peak Gigapower?(not sure what one I want to get)===========================
Haven't checked in a while but I'm pretty sure the Giga is more pricey than the Pocket Rocket. From what I understand there are lots of hikers using the Gigapower unit and happy with it. I own the Pocket Rocket and am quite satisfied.
'Slogger
AT 2003
I used the Gigapower last summer on the GDT and liked it alot. I've been using it since then on weekend trips and still like it. I bought it in Canada and it was cheaper than the MSR stove up there. About the only problem I had was in the fall, after the stove had been sitting for a month or two, I found that some of the parts were quite stiff with internal rust or something. Some WD-40 cleared this up right away. I wouldn't spring for an auto-igniter or titanium anything. Incidently, the canisters should work with just about any model. In a highly unscientific (i.e, in the field) test of canisters, I found that:
SnowPeak canisters last the longest
MSR canisters last less long, but just by a little
Primus canisters are ****e and last about 1/3 less than the SnowPeak
The blue things are truly horrendous
NICKTHEGREEK
03-07-2005, 18:22
I'd prefer the giga over the MSR, because of the slightly lower profile, and I don't care for the MSR's pot supports. Prices for both are right at $40.00. There's alot of pretty good mini-burners out there in that price range and the Primus Alpine micro & Brunton Raptor deserve a look. For $20.00 more the Optimus Crux gives you a nicer flame pattern for dealing with larger pots. Be advised that both of your choices really need windscreens. The screen for the giga is pretty nice, costs about 9 bucks more I believe.
I've used both and prefer the Giga............
Both are good stoves, but I like the giga power stove better. It seems to have better stability. Also it has a higher heat output, it shoots out 10,000 btu's, while the pocket rocket is around 7,000 btu's.
Kerosene
03-07-2005, 19:15
The Giga is my stove of choice, although it needs some decent wind protection to be as effective as some of the other canister models, even with 10K BTUs.
tlbj6142
03-07-2005, 21:34
Check out the Coleman UL (not the "regular") model. It got top reviews on the recent www.backpackinglight.com canister stove review.
Here's a link... http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=9741-700&categoryid=24752
BTW, I own a pocket rocket. I'd go with something else that has better support. Just about every other canister stove on the market has better supports than the pocket rocket. But none of them come with that really cool triangular case.
i have a pocket rocket great stove,dont use it anymore:sun neo
Divining Rod
03-07-2005, 22:49
I've used a giga and it's been a good one.
Mountain Dew
03-08-2005, 02:38
GIGA for these reasons...
Giga has 10k BTU's and the PR has 7K BTU's
Giga has a longer bigger contraol knob
Giga has four pot support arms versus PR's three
Giga has a wider flame than the PR does
Giga packs smaller
Giga comes with an auto starter for 10 more $
Giga has a wind screen for 10 more $
BOTH are priced the same at Mountainsports.com ( $39.95) oh and they don't charge tax if you order them outside of Texas and if you buy more than $49 worth of equipement they ship everything for FREE ! OK , I work there so i had to plug it but hey what a deal !
NECKBONE
03-09-2005, 02:07
instead of the pocketrocket try the super fly. burn area is wider than the rocket.
RagingHampster
03-09-2005, 02:53
I use a MSR PR and wish I had of gotten a Giga (for the better pot supports).
Bmillonduhat
03-10-2005, 00:56
I gotta giga and couldn't be more pleased.
I took my pocket rocket on the trail in the summer of 2001. It lasted 44 days, using it once a day to boil about a cup or so of water for dinner. However on the days that I ate dinner in restaurants, I did not use the stove at all. I still had a little bit of fuel left over after 44 days. It was a hot summer, so maybe that made it last a little longer.
I am very happy with this stove. But I dont recommend it for winter use.
Note: You should only use small pots on this stove. I think a large pot would be unstable. But a small pot will have satisfactory stability.
(I used the 8 oz fuel canister)
Panzer
PS. Do not use a wind screne with this type of stove.
Mountain Dew
03-10-2005, 02:24
The super fly puts out a flame that is way to wide for a one person sized pot thus you'd lose efficiency. Oh and it costs more money.
Jack Tarlin
03-10-2005, 12:47
I own them both, am happy with both, and probably prefer the Giga, but they're very comparable.
For the weight-conscious, be aware that Giga has a titanium version of its stove for about $79.00 that weighs maybe an ounce and a half.
bulldog49
03-10-2005, 14:58
I also use the Giga and am very happy with it.
Mountain Dew
03-11-2005, 02:14
Actually the titanium giga only saves you 1/2 an ounce. Its weight is 3 ounces compared to the original giga's weight of 3.5 ounces.
Looking at getting a canister stove. Any good or bad dealing with the MSR pocketrocket or Snow peak Gigapower?(not sure what one I want to get)
i've used my MSR POCKET ROCKET for 3 years on the trail now....
nuff said! :D
MadAussieInLondon
03-11-2005, 07:15
i have the giga and i like how the flame outlets are out the side of the nozzle rather than out the top (as MSR-PR). it seems to better spread across the bottom of my pot that way.
i like the flame control handle, its much better than the PR one, it also folds up neater and its easier to get in/out of the lil case than the PR. the PR can be nasty to get in/out of its little case... (if you even take the case!)
i have the titanium giga and i like it.
jasonklass
01-02-2006, 19:28
I had a pocket rocket and it was pretty good, though I didn't like the supports. I now have the titanium Gigapower and think it's probably the perfect cannister stove. Mine came with the Piezo electronic ignition but I removed it since it's duplicitious: I carry a lighter anyway.
my Primus Titanium Stove is just a poor outcast these days...
Other than sounding like a afterburner on a fighter jet when I turn it up I really like it a lot..
:o
you can get one here :
http://www.coastlineadventures.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=00001&Product_Code=62-3274-83
holy crap that's expensive...
but I got mine for considerably less... wink wink ;)
but I got mine for considerably less... wink wink ;)
same here with my titanium giga. :D
For me the deciding factors were the auto-igniter on the Giga and -- more importantly -- the pot stand.
The MSR has slanted pot supports which were only holding my pot on the points. The Giga has flat supports which make much more contact with the bottom of the pot. I thought I was being nitpicky about this, so tried it out in the store and found it made a noticeable difference.
The Giga's insane Japanese instruction sheet is also pure hilarity. My favorite pictures are the baby crawling toward the stove and the guy huffing from the can, both in the circle with the line through it.
longshank
01-05-2006, 16:04
I've had my PR for 3 years as well, and it's never failed once.At least four or 5 times a year I'll take it out for around 3 weeks at time. Used it bushwhacking in three feet of snow for 1-1/2 weeks and it served me perfectly.
gravityman
01-05-2006, 16:41
The Gigapower really loses it when a wind is blowing... I made an inexpensive windscreen to help out. Backpackinglight.com did a great review of canister stoves. It's worth the membership for the article if you are thinking about buying a new canister stove...
Gravity
I had a PocketRocket and sold it because of the flimsy pot supports. I was tempted to buy the Gigapower ti, but found this in my search:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/vargo_jet_ti_stove.html
It's sold under different names in different places. The burner is the same as the pricy Primus ($120.) above. The pot supports don't have the extension.
It's sturdier than the MSR, lighter by .3 oz. and cheaper (and probably sturdier) than the Gigapower.
It isn't quite as fast a boiler as the MSR, but the flame pattern is better for real cooking.
Backpacker Mag did a totally unscientific test of ultralight cannisters by throwing them off a 50 foot cliff onto rocks below. The Vargo Jet Ti is the only one which was still useable.
Toolshed
01-11-2006, 15:43
I bought a PR 2 days ago. REI had the Pocket rockets marked down to $29.99 and with my $25 REI gift certificate from work, it was $5.00 for me. I prefer the savings over the Giga, which wasn't marked down.
I have some camping gaz canisters (blue) with the lindal valve but no screw threads. Does anyone know if there is an adaptor anywhere to make the screw on stoves fit these cans?
Thanks
Rick
I have the super fly and it has served me well. I bought it because of the ability to use just about anybodys canister. I have never used it in winter though.
I have the pocket rocket. Like it a lot. I also have the dragonfly — so i have one with huge pot supports and one with skinny. I was at first worried about the pot supports on the PR but after taking it out on its first trip i was no longer concerned. It is a good stove. I have yet to use the other one mentioned.
i've got a pocket rocket and like it alot for two people because of the better btu's but if i'm goin alone i just take the alchohol stove