Walking Equipment and Accessories

MSR Switch Stove | Review

A versatile all-in-one stove system that blends Jetboil-style convenience with MSR’s signature flexibility and performance.

MSR have made a very concerted effort to switch things up here and make something a bit different to everyone else, and in the stoves world, that’s no easy thing to achieve. MSR already have personal cooking systems on the market in the form of their popular MSR Windburner and MSR Reactor systems, but these have a bit of a drawback in that you’re limited with the types of cookware you can use with them. This Switch system gets around this problem.

The Top Line

A personal stove system designed for backpackers, bikepackers and van lifers, this is a burner, pot, cup, stand and straining lid all wrapped up into one neat package that weighs just 390g. But what’s different about this is that it delivers a kind of all-in-one Jetboil-like system that can also work with various other pots and pans too – be that a frying pan, skillet, kettle or larger or smaller pots.

To see how it compares to other stoves on the market, it’s worth taking a look at our guide to the best camping stoves for backpackers.

The MSR Switch’s unusual pot support, as demonstrated by our tester, Jazz. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

Burner Design

The burner here is unlike anything else on the market. It has a circular, lipped frame that you can place MSR’s 600ml pot on top of. The burner’s arms are also flippable, so you can flip them up above or below the circular frame, allowing you to use different pots and pans with the burner. The MSR Windburner and MSR Reactor, which have been out for some years now, use radiant burners and can only be used with compatible heat exchanger MSR pots. With the MSR Switch, on the other hand, you’re not limited to MSR products.

The burner also has a piezo spark ignition, a built in pressure regulator for fuel efficiency in cold conditions and higher altitudes, and there’s flame control that allow you to use the Switch for simmering up to flash frying.

Pot Design

Then there’s the design of the pot that the MSR Switch comes with. It has an unusual, rounded base. MSR say this improves cooking times and allows the base of the pot to be heated more evenly. My assumption here is that this efficiency is produced by the burner’s flame being allowed to naturally follow the pot surface upwards, instead of being concentrated on the centre of the pot. Despite appearances, the Switch doesn’t have a heat exchanger, though the circular frame should serve to improve fuel efficiency as it forms a sort of mini windshield for the burner’s flame.

Buy The MSR Switch: £135 at Ellis-Brigham.com

An MSR stove with Primus gas. Sorry MSR - it's all we had with us!

The pot is made from a hard-anodised aluminium. Its stated max capacity is 600 ml but, filled to the brim, the capacity is actually 900ml. MSR are obviously playing things safe there. Most dehydrated meal pouches require around 500 ml, so I’d say this stove is ideal for one person and you can stretch it to cater for two people if necessary.

The pot has a cork case that can be removed easily. I found this does a good job of protecting your hands from getting burnt while handling the pot. There are also protective silicone covers on the pot handles which do the job they need to as well.

Extras

The MSR Switch also comes with a 500 ml plastic cup, a cloth, a pot lid that has a pour spout and strainer and there’s a nifty pot stand. A lot of canister stands can be very fiddly and difficult to use with certain canisters but this one works nicely.

Packed Size

The system all packs neatly together to the size of a Nalgene bottle. You can also fit a 100g gas canister inside it. The cloth is comes with is useful for preventing the burner from rattling inside the pot while you’re walking or running. All in all, the Switch weighs 389g, so about the same as a can of soup or bag of pasta. It’s marginally lighter than the Primus Lite+ and MSR Windburner and marginally heavier than the Jetboil Flash. My favourite stove system is the Jetboil Stash, and that’s a fair bit lighter at 240g, though it’s quite basic in what it offers.

How Fast Can It Boil Water?

MSR say that the Switch can boil 0.5-litres in 2 minutes 30 seconds. I’ve tested the boiling speed in three different scenarios, each time with a half full gas canister (non-MSR) and 600 ml litres of water.

Scenario 1 was in my kitchen in a 17 degree celsius room. It took bang on 3 minutes to reach a rolling boil.

Scenario 2 was in my garden in a light wind and a temperature of 10 degrees celsius. It took 3 minutes 20 seconds to reach a rolling boil.

Scenario 3 was in my tent porch with a strong wind blowing over the tent – a real life scenario, in other words. The temperature during this test was 8 degrees. In this situation, it took 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

These times, while not the fastest, in my eyes are pretty good. My times are obviously different to MSR’s stated time as I was boiling 600ml and not 500ml. I also expect the time to be faster if I was using a full MSR canister.

Simmering

I’ve been really impressed with the simmering performance of the MSR Switch. One of my go-to trail meals is Batchelors Pasta n’ Sauce, which can be tricky to cook properly as it needs a steady boil and has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pot. With the Switch, though, I had no issues. It handled the meal perfectly, with no sticking or scorching. Cleaning up afterward was just as easy. The rounded base of the pot means there are no awkward corners where food can get trapped, making it quick and simple to wash out.

Verdict

My main concern with the MSR Switch is that the circular frame does feel a little flimsy, so you wouldn’t really want to venture out just with the burner and no pan to store it inside for protection (if, say, you were out just with a skillet or frying pan). Like most other personal cooking systems, it’s also very tall, so even with the canister legs on, there is a risk this will topple on uneven surfaces and in strong winds. Also, I’d recommend always carrying a lighter or matches with this as piezo ignitors can break – I haven’t had any issues with the Switch’s ignitor thus far, however.

Overall, it’s a very convenient and efficient stove system and I think it’s quite fairly priced given the quality of the materials. It’s served me well on backpacking trips and I like how versatile it is. While I’ve mainly been using it for boiling water, I’ve also loved using it with the little Primus griddle pan that I own – the two combined create an excellent steak!

Buy The MSR Switch: £135 at Ellis-Brigham.com