When the Jetboil integrated pot/stove system came out a few years ago I was surprised that another company actually beat MSR to a new stove technology. Well it wasn't really a new technology it was a wind screen and stove built together that had a pot that fit snugly on top. This system could boil water very quickly since the whole thing was integrated.

Well MSR had enough of that and have come out with an even better system, especially in the wind. I had an opportunity to use this stove at the side of a lake when the ambient temperature was about 11°C. This stove system is unbelievable as long as what you want to do is boil 1.7L of water, although it does simmer in case you need to make soup. If you want to do anything else, look elsewhere.

The Reactor lights like most any other stove except you cant really tell where the flame will be since it looks like a catalytic heater, you just turn on the gas and tough the match to the top of the dome. I have heard that production models will have a push button ignition like the Jetboil. This stove adds a little coolness as the element begins to glow an MSR logo appears briefly as it heats up to a bright red with no flames visible. Once you put the pot on don't go far, your liter of water will boil in 2.8 minutes. What is amazing is that the wind and cold have little effect on the stove and it was easily outperforming the MSR Dragonfly's that we were also testing.

The pot for the stove has a diffuser built into the bottom that is about an inch thick which helps get all of the heat into the pot. The stove and canister store in the pot which has a nifty lever to hold the lid closed. It looks like it could be used as a pressure cooker but the folks at MSR say no.

Probably the most revolutionary thing about this stove is that it can burn more fuel out of a single canister than any other stove in the world. Grab all your old canisters and hook them up, this thing can boil 22 liters of water per full 220g canister. It can boil the last liter of water in 3.5 minutes!

Bottom line this stove is incredible if you want to pay a lot for a heavy stove. If you need to make stuff hot in the cold (down to -15°C) or wind than this system will have you eating sooner than any other.