MSR Superfly vs MSR Pocket Rocket

[Penscal]

Experince and recommendations requested.

Pros/Cons in following areas

1. Can both accept MSR 8 fl oz isopro fuel cannister.

2. Ability to keep fired up in heavy winds

3. Reliability.

4. Burn times.

5. Field mantenace.

Preciate it.

[dionalaniz]

Last year I went for a hike in the High Uintas and, doh!, I forgot the pump for my whisperlite and only discovered that fact when starting to cook dinner the first night out. So, the entire group (5 people) had to rely on the weanie little "Pocket Rocket" my cousin had brought and about which i had been making fun of during the entire drive up from austin.

I had to eat my words and the yummy hummus balls. it did very well, never clogged, simmered well and also cranked out a good flame, and the fact that it didn't have to be primed was pretty cool. We had just one canister with us and it cooked a hearty dinner for all 5 of us every night for 6 nights. I'd probably take it on my AT hike except for 2 things:

1. pretty darn unstable. VERY easy to tip the pot over and lose dinner.

2. I'm worried about getting new canisters all the time instead of just refilling my canister w/ white gas.

[Penscal]

dionalaniz, any substitute stove suggestions in light wt area

[dionalaniz]

The whisperlite and the Pocket Rocket are the only stoves i've ever used. However, for my upcoming AT thru-hike I purchased the new MSR simmerlite stove. It's very light and supposedly has good stability and is capable of simmering (unlike the whisperlite). However, I've yet to use my new simmerlite yet so I can't give a first hand account yet. Summers here in austin are 90-100 degrees. Not going camping in that! I plan to try it out in october.

[Saluki Dave]

I can't give you direct comment since I use the Primus Techno Trail (very similar), but I can say I'm very satisfied with weight and performance. I'd echo the post above about obtainign cannisters. I have a feeling alcohol or white gas would be easier to resupply, but that's only a factor if you're planning on a long trip. As to stability, it does tend to have a bit of a high CG, but tiy can get some really nifty plastic folding legs that solve that problem. All in all, convenient, fast and fairly lightweight. Go for it.

[steve hiker]

I'm considering it over the Pocket Rocket because of the wider flame. Does this make any difference in boil time?

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea.....Pocket Rocket. I used one a few years ago for a bunch o'miles on the AT. It worked great, plus the cannisters were carried by just about all the outfitters. Go here to get tech specs............. http://www.mountainsafetyresearch.co...et_rocket.asp/ + all there stoves are at this site with specs. Check it out........KZ@

[Doc]

I have used the pocket rocket for about two months on the trail. Love it. I get about 10 days on a canister heating water for tea and stuff in the AM and Lipton type in the PM. My approach is to also carry a small canister as well, not MSR as their small can weighs as much as their large one. This is basically one of my backup plans, but the small canister has more of a balance problem. Just be careful. My final backup is to carry 1-2 Esbit tablets that weigh nothing and can get me through at least one meal if all else fails. Keep in mind I'm the kind of guy who wears a belt and suspenders. Getting new canisters hasn't been a problem, but this summer I plan to include one in some of my maildrops, sending them USPS ground marking the package ORM-D whatever that means. Basically it tells the PO that there is butane inside.

Past stoves have been Svea,Whisperlight,Esbit and most others and the Pocket Rocket seems to be the best for me so far.

Doc

[Icicle]

We looked at the Pocket Rocket, but went for the Optimus Crux instead. We found that it was more stable than the Pocket Rocket. It is more expensive, but as we plan to use it a lot, it was worth the price. We have already used it on the West Highland Way in Scotland and even on a rocky beach it was stable.

This thread has answered my question I had about the availability of canisters of butane. That was my main concern as it seems alot of folks go the alcohol stove route.