MSR Fuel Bottles

Advantages: Robust and light
Disadvantages: Availability and the screw lid can become stiff

...In times gone by, I used to work in a shop that sold a lot of camping equipment. It was only a matter of time before the camping bug bit me. Having the advantage of reports of equipment used by customers gave me the opportunity to make sure I had the best kit for what I needed. Often I would cycle, so that would mean space and weight would play a major part in making sure that my camping experiences could be as pleasurable as possible. Part of the camping experience is cooking food outdoors, apart from having an open fire (something that most campsites do not like or allow), you will need something to cook food on. Now that leaves three main choices Solid Fuel - Normally either a fuel block that you light or a gel in a can. Bottled Gas - This is usually Butane gas stored in a pressurised container. Liquid Fuels - Normally... Read review

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Advantages: Will burn well just about any fuel you can find to use, good at altitude.
Disadvantages: Not as good looking a stove as others in the series! Keep a spares kit.

...! When in a strange and far away country, out of fuel, with little to burn available; This is the stove that turns up trumps with every potential back country fuel you shall meet!!! It can burn just about the full range except nuclear!! Mine even burned pure alcohol, aviation fuel, petrol and more, with minimal adjustments. Lots of small parts though, that do tend to go missing, in the wilds,when you clean it!! So always keep with you the MSR XGK spare parts/maintanance kit to hand for any emergencies!!!! One stove of mine is an original XGK, and the other stove is the better later XGKII improved model. The currently available model is basically the manufacturers up to date XGKII. This is as good as it gets, really!... Read review

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Advantages: Powerful, easy to use, good run time
Disadvantages: Can be unstable

...To some, bigger is better. If however, you have to fit your tent, sleeping bag, clothing, food and cooking equipment into one small bag, then bigger can be a pain. It's here that stoves like the MSR PocketRocket come in. The stove packs down into a small plastic container, 4" by 2" without the gas canister and weighs in at a mere 85 grammes. As this is without fuel, you'll need to find space in your pack somewhere for a gas canister, coming in at around 3" by 1.5" and costing about £3 on top of the £30 for the stove itself. Having bought the stove plus a couple of gas canisters, the only thing to do was try it out. Steadfastly ignoring the warnings not to try it out indoors, I attached a canister and stood back. All I can say is, they don't call this the PocketRocket for nothing. Inside, the stove boils water in no time... Read review

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