My wife and I use the MSR Reactor, and also the MSR Windburner frequently. I've found that, with a delft hand, we can cook everything from Oatmeal, to sausage and pasta, in either the Reactor, or the Windburner, and both work perfectly! One thing I learned, very early on, is that, once you have the Reactor working, DO NOT LEAVE IT!! This stove can, and will boil out the water, and melt the bottom of the pot, vaporizing the lid, if left unattended!! Don't ask me how I know this!! The Reactor blows the Jet Boil products off the map, without even breathing hard, in the tests I've done. AND, as you have proved here, it is far more fuel efficient, too!! I absolutely recommend the MSR Reactor, it is an OUTSTANDING backpacking stove, in all seasons!! Take care, and God Bless! - Doc

A fair number of commenters seem to be missing the point of this stove system. The Reactor is not designed to be a normal stove for cooking in. You aren't going to throw this in your backpack for a nice calm camping trip or a long through hike. It's heavy, bulky, and doesn't simmer worth a damn. The Reactor was designed for one job and that was to melt large quantities of snow into drinking water, in any conditions, as fast as possible. When you need to melt snow for water your stove is literally one of your most critical survival tools. You can use the Reactor in a blizzard on a totally exposed mountain slope and still make water. This is something that pretty much no other stove system can do. It's quite popular in winter mountaineering and a pretty regular sight in cold weather climbing excursions. And yes you can use gas cartridges in winter. There are cozies and moulder strip options as well as little tricks like putting the canister in a bowl with a bit of water. As long as the canister is in water the fuel within will continue to evaporate regardless of how cold the ambient air is.

This is my choice above the tree line and in thuff condition’s. With the high fuel efficiency I can leave a fuel canister at home, and save weight. Last trip it was 24 sec/m wind, and it worked great, also with no additional windscreen. An additional great thing about this stove, is that it works by IR, and is great as a heat source in the tent

Impressive. A great mountaineer cook system. I love the no rattle feature.

Cool stove; we have high winds and cold temps in our mountains. This stove would be ideal. Thanks Doc for another informative video.

I bought the first one that came to my hiking store when it first came out and it has performed flawlessly like all MSR products

owned a reactor when they first came out, they were much less money back then. it can simmer just like a whisperlite can simmer but you have to be patient with the fuel adjustment. it is very windproof, i've used mine without a windscreen in conditions that easily would have blown out every other stove without a windscreen but yes, it is a relatively heavy burner assembly when compared to other canister stoves. personally i use mine with the 2.5 liter pot which is much better for distributing the heat that the burner can produce. is it overpriced? depends on you and if you're willing to pay more for something made here in the usa, which is always going to be more expensive than something made in china.

The MSR Reactor is the best burner system I’ve ever used. It’s freaking awesome. I love it 👍🏻👍🏻🇳🇴

I think the it is very efficient in boiling the water . I like how you remind us to hit the like button at the end of the video. That's a lot better then most KZfaq videos where they remind us at the beginning. Great video as always Ernie ! Take care and stay safe my friend !!

That burner looks a lot like my old propane catalytic heater.

Well worth the money used it in Colorado archery elk hunting at 8500 ft worked great in one week making food for four people went through one small can of fuel . Fast lit in wind couldn't beat it . I recommend it to everyone that needs a small camp stove .

Hey Ernie! Well looks nice, then again so does my Coleman stove and it’s a little less expensive to purchase! GOOD NEWS MY GEN 2 Titanium FIREBOX X -BOX STOVE ARRIVED TODAY!!!! Couldn’t wait! Fired it up and BOILED WATER in my Toaks 750 ml pot!

Nice video. Paul Messner did a video on initial cost and fuel cost. Bottom line is when you rarely use it, cheaper stoves are more economic (lower TCO), when you use it frequently and do some serious cooking with it, systems like the MSR Reactor can have a lower TCO. It would not get enough use out of it. So it is not worth it for me.

I find a wrap around windscreen works with a standard burner and it also stops the wind cooling the pot too.

Maybe some cold weather testing this winter? I'm curious how this and other stoves perform in sub-freezing temps and just how cold it can be and have them still work. Maybe regulated vs unregulated?

It’s totally worth it. If you live in Colorado you’d agree.

I actually purchased a Reactor shortly after it was introduced. But I lost it in a house fire before I ever had a chance to even light it. Along with a huge number of other personal possessions lost Allstate did not pay to replace it even though it was insured, so I didn't buy another one. My biggest objection to it is weight...as a hard core ultra lighter something that heavy is an anathema. On the other hand, I'm not going to buy or carry something that can't get the job done regardless of weight or cost. If you go afield in winter in many parts of the US, a stove with these capabilities can not only make your trip much less miserable, but it might save your life. The only competition I have seen for the Reactor is actually another MSR multi-fuel stove. Good luck in the bush!

Wow. That is a fantastic design. Just wonder if it's worth the weight. When you get a chance to do the comparison can you include the stash?

Amazing performance. Higher performance = higher price. Thanks for spending the money so we can decide to or not to.

All heat waves are moving in the infrared, even from stars, lightbulbs, or a simple match. So I wouldn't be too concerned. People are often very fickle and stubborn regarding descriptions. Nice stove and great channel

That's amazingly fast. I'm glad I'm never in so.much of a rush as to need that speed tbh. *Lights Trangia - waits 12 minutes*

Great review. Can you buy just the burner?

I love it

those aren't steam holes, Ernie, they are pasta water drain holes! Great video

Wow!!! Bernie, that burner is like, 4 times larger yhan any other out there on the market . Fuel hog or what? Merry Christmas to you and your family. Cheers And god bless from B.C. Canada

Boils fast and great in the wind I have 1.0l 1.7l and the 2.5l? The biggest one lol they all kick a in the wind and in boil times

You should try the kovea Alpime master, 1l boil time of arround 2:20

What do you think of this or the windburner vs the Soto wind master?

But, will it work at -18 C, (0 F)? My gas Coleman Peak, And Svea 123 both did!

how does it simmer ?

So, windburner vs reactor. Why get the windburner vs the reactor? And does the reactor simmer well?

enjoyed the video, kinda random intro transition lol

It seems that the reactor is being removed from shelve or not replenished. I got mine 2 years ago and have nothing but praise for it. If you want the “best” boiler stove get it before you can’t.

Neat stove, but too heavy and expensive for my needs. Evernew titanium DX alcohol stove for me.

Is a ( cup ) a SI unit ? Cups are different sizes. Great review 👍

Why is there a bigger square in the wire mesh

I go weak in the knees for just about anything titanium, so I’m interested.

Its a lot of money for a disposable canister stove, I realise its designed for melting snow and making water hot very quickly so it seems to do that very well, so those of you on the hot water ration packs its perfect if there is a group of you. It should have come with a piezo lighter as far as i am concerned for the money, thats just mean not adding that in. could have easily been incorporated into the valve area, its not exactly on the light side so they are not worrying about weight. I wonder whatever happened to the original capillary based stove they were supposed to be making for the us army, seems to fallen by the wayside since they couldn't get the capillary side working... Its a shame as it had a lot of research put into it. They need to revisit it now as this was nearly 20 years ago. Remember all your tests are based on your elevation, 5 to 10 ,000 feet up it does make a difference.... I am a fan of jetboils so dont get me wrong, this one was made for a certain type of market only. Great for a group, scouts or ramblers association , 2 people not the right sort of stove... i have a couple of ali express stoves a lot smaller than this, beauty is they can be refilled from a lighter fuel can, they are designed for coffee pots but work great on a small kettle or saucepan, I use them for making a brew when im out an about, keep it in the car in a box with the pan etc, just take the milk and water fresh for a nice hot cuppa tea.... es.aliexpress.com/item/32899198704.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.bad6252fBtJY4w&algo_pvid=5885f771-fe65-482f-866e-dfddcf7a2caa&algo_exp_id=5885f771-fe65-482f-866e-dfddcf7a2caa-48&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2265789114925%22%7D

That is one impressive $100 stove system! As nice as it is, it's not worth $250 under any circumstance!

And I bet a lot of that extra 30 seconds is simply from the fan cooling the actual vessel!!!

lol. how much?!

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Beautiful engineering aside, that level of tech is only useful in extreme, rarely encountered, large-group events. For most other cases (like average solo/duo hiking), an alcohol stove with a foil screen is more appropriate, being lighter, and smaller. Plus the time to get your cup of coffee is roughly the same since the boiling time is used to do the prep work. (An old DofE/Scout hack).

Sigg is military quality, Coleman is since the africa campaign, Optimus is! All other.....?

At a recommended price of £190 in the UK, with some retailers selling for around £180, the MSR stove is just about the most expensive (grossly overpriced) burner on the market, especially as it is very old technology, converted to canister gas. My family had a paraffin (kerosene) room heater back in the 50's that worked on a similar principal. OR. Put it another way to save five minutes or so boiling 2 cups of water you are paying £160 more for the stove and more for the fuel than a Trangia and doubt it will fare too well in the cold of winter. Still if you have money to burn this stove will do it for you very quickly. Not for me though.

250 bucks? Naw, too rich for my blood. I have a Whisperlite Intl, Pocket Rocket, and Super Fly. Don't need another stove.

Not worth the money when you can get a bulin pot and pretty much any stove and you have the same thing

Nope

It's crap