The New MSR MicroRocket -- Trail Report #2

It was a beautiful day in the Los Angeles area yesterday, so I decided to go on a hike. I journeyed up Angeles Crest Highway to the Waterman Mountain area.

The day was clear and the views were stupendous.


Of course, I took a few stoves along. Indeed, one of my main objectives for this hike was to test the new MSR MicroRocket stove at a relatively high elevation (8038'/2450m).

So, won't you please join me for The New MSR MicroRocket -- Trail Report #2?

HJ

As usual, great report - thanks.

Hikin Jim, I have to admit that you have put up some interesting reads. Been enjoying myself going through them and I like the trip report format in particular.

Although I would not consider myself a gear head, I myself have a number of stoves with one of them being a PocketRocket. I sense with you, that like me, if you want to simmer with the thing, it really isn't that much of a problem in general. Even at 8000 feet. Why on this last trip I took, my 19 year old partner (with 6 backpack trips under his belt) was simmering his Knorr pasta sides in a titanium pot without burning them using his PR. Probably the 2 big ticket complaints are the high CO output (cooking in the tent) and the storage of the stove head. Shape and size wise, it is just awkward and I am a little afraid of breaking the thing so it goes in my Ti pot with the kitchen rag. Do a trout frying comparison and you will REALLY get my interest 'cause I never take my PR out when I plan to eat trout. I just don't "cook" over those cannister style stoves myself.

Having gone through all your Microrocket reviews, you do have me convinced that the microrocket is a solid improvement over the PR (which is a decent stove in itself). Great stuff! Keep it up.

sK

Hi, Glenn,

You're welcome.

HJ

Hi, SK,

Thanks. No good trout fishing areas close to hand here, but I've been thinking of seeing if I can cook a decent omelet. I figure if I can cook a nice, fluffy omelet, then I ought to be able to cook trout, make pancakes, etc.

HJ

Thank you very much for the nice well done report. I can't wait for these to hit shelves so I can pick me up one

HJ...good call on the omelet! If you can do one folded and all on a backpacking stove, I'd be impressed ... period. Those are hard enough to do at home. Very sensitive to the heat distribution and the pan. Could be a very good test of heat control and tasty too

Excellent report. I don't remember ever being able to see Catalina from the mountain. There was always a lot of smog that covered it up. Sometimes you can't even see it from the beach.

BackCountryGear.com already has them on the site...


HJ

That was an exceptionally clear day indeed. Seeing Catalina isn't all that common. Seeing it clearly even less so. Seeing both Catalina and San Clemente is just plain unheard of.

HJ

Exactly.

HJ

When condition are just right, I can see Santa Barbara Island and Santa Catalina from the hills above my house, but it only happens about five days a year - usually in the winter time.

Yes, almost exclusively in the winter. And this was one of those truly rare days. Just gorgeous.

HJ

Did someone say "omelet?"


Courtesy of an MSR MicroRocket this morning. I've got a full report on my blog: MSR MicroRocket -- Cooking Report

HJ

Another great report. I particularly appreciated the insight about real cooking: it's the pan, not the stove, that really determines the outcome. The stove's contribution is adjustability, but even a winner in that category won't produce good results on poor cookware. It's something that those of us who just boil water easily forget.

Lets hear it for cooking real food on the trail. I can cook pancakes to perfection in my titanium skillet, over a campfire or a stove, it just takes practice and you have to keep the pan moving to keep the heat distributed well, generally I would be holding the pan in the air above the heat and watching intently to control the cooking.

It would be much easier with an aluminum skillet with a thick bottom.

Boiling water requires much less heat adjustment than cooking and stoves that only put out full on cannot be used for cooking pancakes or eggs.
Jim

I'll gladly eat "real" food on the trail - if it's cooked by someone else. To me (and this is personal preference, not a judgment on anyone else's preference), anything more than boil-and-dump is just too much like a chore, and therefore detracts from the simple enjoyment that is the goal of my trips. I'd rather spend the time sitting, with a blank mind, listening to the wind blow through the trees, watch the clouds move around, or just stare. But that's just me - everyone else needs to do what they enjoy, too.

And if someone else will wash the dishes!

Gotta love it! Got tears in my eyes from laughing. Great job; that omelet looks mighty good to me. How did I miss this post earlier?

So about that trip HJ...you're doing the cooking and bringing that Belgique brand annodized 10" skillet, right?

Hey, you catch me a mess of trout and I just might. Trout, pan fried in butter, baby! YES!! That pan got 5oz lighter just thinking about those trout.

HJ

I agree completely, Glenn. When I go car camping with the fam, I have a kitchen set up that would make a chuck wagon cook jealous and cooking is one of my planned activities. But when I go backpacking, my only activities are hiking and viewing the wilderness--everything else is only done out of necessity.

Different strokes for... different trips.

Some trips I'm out to cover miles, bag peaks, etc. Some trips are just to get out. I have different objectives depending on the trip and may adopt radically different cooking styles depending on who is coming, etc.

HJ

It's amazing how trout seem to make everything not so heavy!

Except me.

HJ