DB,

I am happy to provide the chuckle.  I would like to think it was because I wrote something witty, but I fear you and everyone else are laughing at a fool who spent $64 for a damn frying pan.  I am not very proud of that myself.  Its not my fault, I was a victim of late night gear binging.  Typically happens about 4 months out from the next trip.  I can usually salve it with a new pair of wool sox or maybe another floaty cord to keep my glasses from sinking, but this time my occasional addiction got in my pocket a bit deeper.

Regards,

MossBack

MossBack wrote on May 18^th, 2016 at 4:38am:


Thanks for the chuckle. (I needed it tonight.)

That said, this is exactly the sort of info I love to see here! 

So here goes.  More than you ever wanted to know about  MSR Windboilers.

I finally weakened and bought one, so what follows here are mostly just impressions and opinions.

I have previously owned a JetBoil Flash circa 2012, so that is my only other experience.

I think the MSR is generally better workmanship and the radiator assemble was more complex with some impressive plasma or laser welding for better heat transfer.
The MSR marketing team took every liberty in describing features.  The tiny little Pack Towel is paper thin and about 3” square.  Its only apparent purpose is to keep the fuel cell from making contact with the inside of the pot.  They describe the sleeve as “insulated” but it only consists of the nylon fabric with a piece of oval slotted plastic giving it a .075” dead air space. No actual insulation like the JetBoil sleeve that sags horribly when hot.  The MSR does have a ridged plastic piece under the handle loop to keep knuckles away from the hot pot and it works very well and snaps firmly into place. 

I cannot speak about the fuel efficiency of the Reactor burner, but I would guess it is better.  I do believe their claims of being windproof  as long as the pot is in place and the burner is on high.  Hitting it with a compressed air hose to simulate wind on Bayley Bay, I could not blow it out unless the burner was throttled down.   If it does go out, it cannot be relit without removing the pot first.

The down side to the windproof  feature means you cannot see the flame to operate on low power if you are trying to warm or simmer something.  Sound is also not a great indicator.  You can sort of gage it by valve position, but I would guess that changes with air temps and how full the fuel cell is?

If you hear the burner sputtering on a minimum setting, it is on the brink of going out and any breath of wind will finish it.  Just enough flame to keep the burner covered works well.  At that position the time to boil 0.5 liters of water goes up to 9 minutes in zero wind.  On high setting it is only 2:20 minutes.  I am guessing that minimal setting will work reasonably well with simmering in the pot or the frying pan accessory.  I also ordered the pan but have not yet received it.  It does not lock onto the burner like the pot does, but can be easily lifter off to inspect the flame size.  Getting a visual on flame size is impossible, except in dim lighting.  They actually put a glow wire on the burner so you can tell if it is lit or not in the daylight.  Back to the frying pan …………it is ridiculously priced at $64 .

Bringing this full circle, now that your coffee or meal is hot, keeping it that way becomes a problem.  The so called insulated sleeve is too hot to hold comfortably with boiling water and the magic radiator on the bottom is now doing a thermal nosebleed and giving up heat to the wind.   My only firm suggestion here in this whole diatribe applies to any similar system with a 1 liter pot.  I bought an Optimus Heat Pouch  made to be used to keep  freeze dried foil pouches hot.  It is also the perfect size to slide the 1 liter pot into, sleeve and all.  It also has a nice pocket to slide your hand into to hold it.  It makes a huge difference in how long it takes the pot to go cold.

Thanks for listening.  Apologies for being so long winded.

Thanks again to everyone who offered suggestions  to my questions.

Regards,

MossBack

I crush the canisters all the time to save room.  They are easy enough to pierce with a P38 or the can opener on your Swiss Army knife - just pierce the side, not the bottom, as if you were opening a can.  Once out of fuel, there is no pressure left.  I take a narrow rock and dent all around the circumference, which provides the relief to allow the crush to start, then drop a heavy rock on it several times.  Really quite easy.

I use about 4 230 gram canisters on a 10 day for 4 people with the way I cook, with my MRS WindPro.  Coffee/tea every morning, about half cooked breakfasts, no cook lunches and all cook dinners.  I'll use one more if we're catching a lot of waldos.

pd 

"I dislike the steel fuel cells due to weight and being nearly un-crushable, so a stove that is stingy on fuel and suffering some freeze dried and no-cook food would help.  Any suggestions for brands of palatable freeze dried or other light, quick fixed food would also be appreciated."

I get 6 days of use out of one of the 100 gram canisters with my jetboil when solo.  I have several, 2 of the "regular", and 2 of the "Sol" which was discontinued.  I got 6 days use out of the 230 gram canister, using it for 2 people.  I don't let the stove run any longer than needed to boil water, and immediately shut it down once the water has boiled.  if you aren't getting something close to that, maybe your Jetboil isn't working right?

The bigger cannisters are cheaper per gram, either the 230 or 450 gram cannisters.  when empty, at home I punch a hole in the can with a nail and throw them in the recyclables.  never have tried to crush one.

Mossback, Try the larger fuel canister. They won't nest into the mug but last a lot longer. I still carry a small fuel canister nested as a back up.

I think some of the newer designed mugs will let you nest a large fuel canister too. They look more like a pot than a mug and they make a coffee press for them too.

MossBack wrote on May 11^th, 2016 at 4:41am:




Mossback,

Well, let's start with breakfast.

DentonDoc turned me on to OvaEasy Eggs (see: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) ).  He also steered me to Nido milk powder (see: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) ), which I add to the eggs and to lots of other stuff. 

These are the ONLY "eggs" my paddling parties willingly consume.  Packets of unused eggs from other brands were building up in my food barrel over the course of several years.  It got to be a bit of a joke.  I suppose even those things have a shelf life which I might be pushing the edges on a bit.  Anyway, since I wanted at least a few of my paddling party members to survive for next year's trip, I dumped all that crap and went with Wayne's (DD's) eggs... which always get eaten.

Live and learn (emphasis on  the "live" part)....

I'm also a fan of Cache Lake camping foods (see: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) ).  I guess I like their breads and their creamy fish chowder the best but some of their other stuff is above-average, too.

I've been tempted to try out what these guys offer, too: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) .  The problem is, my food intake ration is 2X.  in other words, if the label says "2 servings", I figure there might just be enough to satisfy 1 (being me)... and that's iffy.  When you look at offerings in this light, some products get to be quite pricey. 

I guess that's part of why I keep going back to Cache Lake stuff.  Their serving sizes are closer to being right for me and the pricing is pretty good.

Those are my initial thoughts, anyway.

Jimbo   

Thanks for everyone's input.  A bit of why I asked..... I normally travel with a group of 3 friends.  We pack somewhat heavy and are typically slow to break camp and get moving, but we always eat well.  I was given a gift of a basic Jetboil system and wrote it off as useless gear that you cannot cook with.  In reality it works extremely well for cranking out coffee for 4 guys.  Very fast to boil but empties fuel cells quickly and even worse in a stiff wind. This Fall I am taking a solo trip and will attempt to pack as light as possible on gear, food and fuel and try to cover as much water as possible.  Something I have never done before and doubt I will be any good at.  I dislike the steel fuel cells due to weight and being nearly un-crushable, so a stove that is stingy on fuel and suffering some freeze dried and no-cook food would help.  Any suggestions for brands of palatable freeze dried or other light, quick fixed food would also be appreciated.

Regards,

MossBack

Haven't heard of anyone who has tried that stove, but it looks interesting enough.

I am going with a two-stove system this year: I have the original JetBoil for morning coffee (using a JetBoil French Press) and oatmeal/side dishes that require boiled water.

For soups/baked goods/anything requiring simmering, I have an MSR WindPro II which I just bought. Am excited to give it a spin.

Mossback, Jetboil keeps offering upgraded models. If you haven't looked at the newer models check them out too. I have the original and it lacked much of any simmer control. The newer ones are better at simmering, even though I don't do much but boil up water to dump in a bag, I got one none the less.

One thing I do like and have done is use their pots and pans, kind of spendy, but they work nice. Since they work with a pot support that raises the bottom off the flame a bit it helps with controlling the heat. Great for frying fish cause full on you still don't over heat the oil.

That said I much prefer leaving the extra pots behind and just use the nice compact stove for coffee and boiling water. Fish can be done in the fire with some foil.