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Hot coffee at sunrise and a warm dinner after a long day change how a trip feels. The MSR PocketRocket 2 makes both easy without adding real weight to your pack. It is a canister stove that folds small enough to hide inside a mug, it screws onto a fuel canister in seconds, and it boils water fast. For hikers, campers and anyone who wants a hot drink outdoors, it is one of the simplest upgrades you can make.
Who makes it
The PocketRocket 2 is made by MSR, the outdoor brand behind a range of backpacking stoves including the WindBurner systems. MSR is part of Cascade Designs, and it runs a warranty and repair shop in Seattle. The brand says it still hears from customers using MSR stoves from the 1980s, which tells you how it thinks about durability.
What the PocketRocket 2 is
MSR calls the PocketRocket 2 the next generation of its iconic original PocketRocket, smaller and lighter than before. It is an upright canister stove: you thread it onto the top of a fuel canister, open the valve, light it and set your pot on the folding supports.
The supports fold down against the body for packing. MSR says this creates an exceptionally tiny packed size, small enough to fit inside its Titan Cup 450 milliliter mug, and that the supports accommodate a wider range of pots than the original. A WindClip windshield around the burner helps it keep a solid flame in a breeze.
- Boil time: 1 liter of water in about 3.5 minutes
- Flame: precise control from torch to simmer
- Weight: 2.6 ounces (73 grams), 3.7 ounces packaged
- Packed size: about 1.3 by 1.6 by 3.1 inches
- Burn time: about 60 minutes per 8 ounce canister of MSR IsoPro fuel
- Water boiled: about 16 liters per 227 gram canister
- Wind protection: WindClip windshield
- Origin: made in South Korea
Why it is cool
The size is almost silly. At 2.6 ounces, the stove is barely noticeable in your pack, which is exactly how MSR describes it. Because it folds small enough to live inside a mug, it does not even take up its own space. Many people simply leave it packed in their cook pot with a lighter, ready for the next trip.
The speed matters on a cold morning. A boil time of about three and a half minutes for a full liter means coffee, oatmeal or a freeze dried meal is ready before you have finished packing your sleeping bag. And because the flame adjusts down to a simmer, it can actually cook, not just boil. You can warm a sauce or fry an egg without scorching everything.
It is also efficient. MSR says one 8 ounce IsoPro canister gives about an hour of burn time. For a solo weekend of coffee and dinners, a small canister often covers it.
And it is simple. There is no pump, no priming and no fuel line. Thread, turn, light. That simplicity is a big reason the PocketRocket has become a default choice for many backpackers.
Who should buy it
Buy the PocketRocket 2 if you backpack, bikepack or paddle and want a light stove that boils fast, or if you want a tiny stove for day hikes, picnics and car camping coffee. It is a great first stove and an easy backup stove.
Look elsewhere if you camp in very cold temperatures for long periods, cook elaborate meals for groups, or travel where canister fuel is hard to find. An upright stove is also more affected by wind than an integrated system, so a sheltered spot helps. If you want a complete solo setup in one purchase, look at the PocketRocket 2 Mini Stove Kit, which bundles the stove with cookware.
PocketRocket 2 at MSR
MSR PocketRocket 2 ultralight backpacking stove
MSR PocketRocket 2 Mini Stove Kit
Building a camp kitchen? Read our camp coffee gear guide, pack a Morakniv Companion for food prep, carry a Kinto Travel Tumbler for coffee on the move and stay warm with the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket. More picks live in our buying guides hub.
