Is that a rocket in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

I got it! Yay! Yet another frivilous purchase! I decided for a while that I wanted a nice ultralight backpacking stove. Make no mistake I absolutly love my Optimus Nova but when I go backpacking especially when I try to go UL it is a bit too heavy and complicated to go along, especially since we are only trying to boil water usually. For those who care I should be getting a brand new Nova soon as there was a little issue with the bottom bolt shearing off and they are replacing the whole unit under warranty. I was humming and hawwing the past few weeks, and looking for good light stoves online. One kept popping up. The MSR Pocket Rocket. I looked on ebay and everything and was actually about to make a purchase, untill I realised that once I factor in the shipping and conversion rate, I could get one here in Barrie for maybe at the most $5 more, and atleast I would have one right now. So I hopped into the van and made my way to Coast Mountain Sports in the Georgian Mall. It seemed at the moment that they only had one left and it was the display model. I was going to take it as it looked to be in great condition (it was fired once but nothing more) and they were going to offer 10% off. I was ready to pay when they realised they couldnt find the case! Uh Oh. when they went through the store in an effort to find a case for my 10% off stove they found a brand new one. I was a little dissapointed that I ended up paying full price but what can you do. When I got home and opened the package I decided to snap a little pic. This is an impressive little unit, it packs into the little red triangular prism, and the legs just extend out from the main burner, very little in the way of moving parts. This sucker is extrodinarily light! 3oz. All you need is some Isobutane, a match, and some 3/4" copper pipe to braze. This thing is a blowtorch and clearly earns it's title as the Pocket Rocket! Its rated at high output for roughly 9000btu/hr. This little jet boiled a cup of water in about a minute outside on my front porch. Wowzers! I love this little thing. I can not wait to see how this puppy performes on the trail. One thing about it is unfortunatly it does only burn the isobutane cartriges, and as these are pressurised and contain fuel they are not allowed on aircraft. There are ways to get around the fuel issue when travelling (purchasing some when at destination, mailing some ahead, etc.) but it seems easier to tough out the extra weight and take the nova along empty and at the very worst case scenario fill it with gasoline or deisel. Another place my Nova tops out is in the winter, as it cools down the cartridge will loose pressure. That is why white gas stoves are the very best for cold weather use. My PR will never replace my Nova completely, that was never the purpose of its creation, but there are many times I will pick up my PR over my Nova, and there are just as many times that I will pick up my Nova over my PR. I will keep all informed once this little baby gets some trail time. Cheers.