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Feature: February 2007 MSR Reactor by MSR (Mountain Safety Research) |
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MSR’s literature
for the Reactor camp stove makes the claim that it will boil a liter
of water in three minutes, but that wasn’t quite right—we
got a rolling boil in 2:45. That seemed pretty fast, especially for
a watched pot, so we timed boiling a liter on another canister camp
stove we had on hand: 7:45. The Reactor even outpaced a kitchen range,
which took 6:20 from a cold start and 4:50 with preheated, glowing
element.
The Reactor has two
unusual features. The burner head has a diameter of about three
inches, and the combustion of the fuel takes place in a grainy-looking
disk covered by a heavy wire screen. There is no visible flame,
only the glow of the burner head. The bottom of the pot looks like
the front end of a jet engine. It has radial vanes that are rimmed
by a cowling that routes the hot gases for the stove around the
bottom of the pot. The transmission of the heat into the pot is
very effective: You could hold your hands an inch away from the
pot and not get burned. |
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 The pot has a folding
handle and a clear plastic lid. The butane/propane cartridges and
the burner head fit inside the pot. A small square of pack towel
supplied with the stove keeps things from rattling around.The stove and the pot are designed to work as a unit, and there’s nothing to support any other cookware over the burner, so you won’t be doing any sautÈing over it. But for the fast-and-light crowd, just boil up some water in the Reactor, simmer a dehydrated meal in a thermos and dinner is served. MSR Reactor, $139.95 MSR (Mountain Safety Research) 206-505-9500 or 800-531-9531 info@msrgear.com www.msrgear.com |
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