MSR
PocketRocket 2
The MSR PocketRocket 2 takes the top spot in our Backpacking Stoves list for 2026. Cheap, tiny, reliable canister burner at 2.6 oz. The default 'first stove' for backpackers — nothing simpler works this well. A backpacking stove is chosen by fuel type first, brand second. Canister burners are the default — lightest, cleanest, simplest — but they lose efficiency below freezing and can't be repaired in the field. Liquid-fuel stoves win in real cold and on international travel where canister supply is a coin flip. Bottom line: For 90% of three-season US backpacking, the PocketRocket 2 is still the honest answer. Upgrade to a Jetboil MiniMo or MSR WindBurner when you want boil-in-cup efficiency in wind, and switch to the WhisperLite International when you're going somewhere cold, foreign, or both.