I got Pocket Rocket 2 for Christmas this year. Their website claims this stove will bowl a liter of water in 3.5 minutes. No asterisk/fine print on that claim that I can see.

The other day I tested mine -- albeit in very cold conditions -- and it took more like 8 minutes to boil just 1/2 liter. Is that normal for these cold conditions? The water itself was also frigid to begin with.

I have the same stove. It seems very susceptible to any wind which really slows down boiling time. Most of the time I can find a spot to boil water and I budget about 5 minutes to get a full rolling boil.

The stove has worked great for me, except for the wind. It also doesn't simmer very well but for my solo trips, I eat for fuel and boiling works fine. For finer-tuned cooking, I prefer the MSR dragonfly.

Good luck working through it and getting it dialed in.

I get pretty close to the advertised time in the summer and when out of the wind.

I have this stove and carry an DIY aluminum wind screen. Made it from an aluminum lasagna/cake pan.

Adventures in Stoving blog contains a wealth of information although it hasn't been active in several years.

Yes, all stoves/fuels and boil times/fuel usage are affected by a variety of factors just like your home heating system. I think the standard test for the boil time is under fairly benign conditions like room temperature (or summer). I don't know the temperature and conditions under which you used yours nor the precise time it took and amount of fuel used.

Stoves are more or less affected by wind, temperature, fuel source, etc. In the case of canister stoves, various fuel blends work better under colder conditions. Some remote canister stoves can use it inverted in liquid feed mode to improve that.

The important thing is to determine its performance under the conditions you use it. Over the course of years I've determined a fairly accurate average usage for my trips. I use a format from the blog to determine how much fuel to bring on my trips.

Thanks everyone for the help. It was around 0 degrees with wind on my first test, the I took it in the garage out of the wind (still plenty of ventilation) and that shaved maybe a minute off. Ultimately I know I won’t be using it in these kind of conditions so I’ll have to wait to form a practical opinion this spring. Pretty nifty piece of kit either way, I admit :)

For winter camping, a lot of people use liquid fuel (white gas) stoves. They tend to be heavier and bulkier than canister stoves but work in winter and often have excellent simmer control. However, for summer and simpler cooking, canister stoves are more popular.

Also, when using windscreens with canister stoves, be careful to not let the fuel canister itself get too hot. They can explode if heated too much. A wind screen for a canister stove should block the wind around the stove but allow ventilation around the canister.

I used my Pocket Rocket for my emergency back-up stove, never as my primary. It is highly effected by wind (even a small breeze).

Northwoodsman: "I used my Pocket Rocket for my emergency back-up stove, never as my primary. It is highly effected by wind (even a small breeze)."

Yeah, my wife threw this in my stocking. Very thoughtful but I probably would not have purchased it on my own. I have other stoves for camp cooking but I can see myself tossing this in the daypack or my fishing boat to make coffee during lunch. Or for bikepacking where space is at a real premium

gildedgopher, it's perfect for that. I always through the Pocket Rocket and a small fuel canister in my day pack for day trips.

Not ideal temps for a canister stove unless you can convert to liquid feed, but I like my JetBoil and it works fine for 3-season use through Sept. in the BW. When using a windscreen don't enclose the canister, just shield the half facing the wind. Lots of good info in the blog about increasing efficiency and determing fuel usage and needs.

I use a pocket rocket style butane stove exclusively when solo camping. I’m not sure a stove like this is ideal for boiling a liter of water unless you really need too. My use for it is boiling water in my coffee cup or whipping up breakfast for one.

A few pointers after 15 years of use:

Always keep the flame as low as reasonably possible to conserve fuel. Don’t blast it on high or heat efficiency is lost.

Use a heat/wind shield to maximize the BTU’s onto the pot.



This cheap little heat deflector is the single most important accessory to increase heat efficiency. They are plentiful on Ebay.

There are Chinese knock-offs on Ebay of a Pocket Rocket style stove for less then $10. I received one for a present once and it is obviously made in a factory that produces the expensive name-brand butane stoves. It is a very nice little stove.

Yeah the tiny top of the canister burners need some special care to cook quickly. Even under good conditions my Pocket Rocket original took 2 minutes to boil 16 oz. of 70 degree water.
Smaller diameter pots to match the small burner flame and a windscreen as posted by tumblehome help a lot. Take care to not overheat the canister!
Such is why I drag out the liquid gas burners for cold weather. A Dragonfly or Optimus Nova shine in cold conditions.

butthead

If it was 0 degrees out I'm surprised you got it to boil at all.

Upright Isopro/canister stoves work very poorly in cold temps as not all of the gas will vaporize effectively at those temps and you'll get very low output. It might be OK at first as the propane burns off, but then the output will continue to drop and probably go out at some point leaving the butane in the canister.

If you want to use that stove in cold temps you'll have to keep the canister warm somehow (put it in warm water, tape and chem warmer to it, etc).

If you're using it in normal temps and have a good wind block you should get some very good boil times on it. Also as butthead stated the style of pot you use will make a big difference. If you find a pot with a heat exchanger you'll get some really good boil times. :)

I often use a pocket rocket 2, to cook for two people in the spring or fall. I have no trouble boiling 1.5 liters of water (6.5 cups) of water in a gsi dualist 2 pot. That pot is a tall design. I don’t use a windscreen, but I do locate the stove behind rocks etc. if it’s windy. This doesn’t take excessively long. I might be able to improve the time with a windscreen. However, I am not willing to tightly wrap my canister inside a full length windscreen to be sure that I don’t overheat the canister. Partially, enclosing it would be OK, or one could get or make a windscreen that mounts above the canister leaving the canister itself exposed but shielding just the stove and pot.

I keep the wind screen off the canister. I made a hook for it to attach to the top of my cup when it’s wrapped around it. It probably nearly cuts the boil time in by a third.

tumblehome: "I keep the wind screen off the canister. I made a hook for it to attach to the top of my cup when it’s wrapped around it. It probably nearly cuts the boil time in by a third."

Cool concept! Willing to share a pic, tumblehome?

i did some boil test , the last winter. that is about the standard boil time across the test of iso stoves/ msr whisper lights/svea123. it varies a bit depending on burner width and pot width and pot material. alcohol stoves are more. this was inside with tap water. wet gas is heavier but economical, iso is lighter weight but alot more expensive. maybe if you were going solo or had to cover long distances fast, iso makes sense. but it comes at a cost. i try to keep the flame as low as possible as i can with any stove. extended run time is more important than speed.
i look at iso as a back up stove.
im figuring you can get 8-10 cooks on a small iso can, if you keep meals really simple. better for making coffee or tea , than actual coooking.

"i did some boil test , the last winter. that is about the standard boil time across the test of iso stoves/ msr whisper lights/svea123. it varies a bit depending on burner width and pot width and pot material. alcohol stoves are more. this was inside with tap water."

Have done the same with my own collection. Find that boil times for 16 oz. is near the same across the variety of liquid and gaseous fuels used, alcohol and solid fuel being in a separate much slower category. 2-3 minutes is generally the better time. Even inside and in good conditions the use of a windscreen makes a significant difference, I'd guess at 25-50% shorter time with a screen.
You can overdo unbalanced burner size to pot size that breaks consistent times. A small burner and a 6 inch diameter pot take noticeably longer boil times.
Old paddle partner Beavers used a PocketRocket with a very good screen DIY,

butthead

YetiJedi: "

tumblehome: "I keep the wind screen off the canister. I made a hook for it to attach to the top of my cup when it’s wrapped around it. It probably nearly cuts the boil time in by a third."

Cool concept! Willing to share a pic, tumblehome?"

I don’t have a picture but I simply wrap the wind screen around my coffee cup and use a piece of wire bent over the top of the cup to keep it from falling down. The other end of the wire is slipped into a small hole in the wind screen.

I put another piece of tin over the top of the cup and it really speeds up the boiling process and saves fuel.
Tom