I’ve been a JetBoil fan since they became available in 2001. When camping, my cooking philosophy is “just get it done’, nothing complex, usually something I’ve pre-made or something out of a packet (I actually like MREs, usually warmed on the manifold). And being English, I mandate several tea-breaks throughout the day, so really I just need a fast and efficient way of boiling water. That covers about 90% of my cooking requirements.

One of my more lightly-used JetBoils failed recently (a JetBoil PCS – Personal Cooking System). The seam attaching the inner part to the outer part (which interfaces with the burner) broke away. I noticed that it was spot welded and the newer JetBoils have an updated design – so they clearly know about this issue. I took it back to REI to get it replaced and while in the stove section I had a longer look at the MSR Reactor, clearly their answer to the very successful JetBoil. It’s of a similar design, slightly wider and the burner interface section has a number of fins which gives the pot a larger surface area and speeds up heating. The burner itself is very large, in terms of area (but quite compact), and is quite quiet in operation.

On a recent camping trip in Utah, I had the opportunity to give the stove a decent field-test. Of course, I boiled water for tea and washing, I boiled milk for porridge (Mornflake Lyle’s Golden Syrup flavour – imported from the UK), which is rather messy, I made soup, warmed some pre-cooked steak and cooked-up some pasta. I noted the following pros and cons.

Pros:
1. It’s extremely fast, I boil a lot of water so this is a huge win for me. Subjectively, it takes around 1/3 less time to boil water versus the JetBoil. This is due to the more powerful burner and larger surface area on the burner interface.
2. It packs small, and as it’s wider than a JetBoil, you can pack a 220g (7.8oz) gas cylinder inside it, whereas the JetBoil can only contain a 110g (3.9oz) cylinder internally (so I always packed an additional large 450g (15.9oz) cylinder).
3. It comes with a small packing cloth which stops the insides getting scratched when the burner unit is packed inside (yes, you could easily make this yourself, but it’s a nice thought to provide one).
4. The whole unit it the typical good quality you’d expect from MSR.
5. It’s wider than the JetBoil, and that makes it easier to clean.

Cons:
1. It’s more expensive than the JetBoil ($160 vs $100 using REI prices in April 2010).
2. Simmering is difficult, if not impossible. The burner is so powerful it seems to have only two settings, off and “supernova”!
3. No piezo ignition! It’s a pain to use matches or a lighter.
4. Bigger burner means it goes through gas faster, though as you can pack a larger cylinder internally it may not be an issue.
5. It is slightly larger than the JetBoil, the diameter is larger but it is shorter.
6. It has a fold-out handle, the JetBoil is insulated so you can simply pick it up with your bare hands even when hot.
7. As the diameter of the pot is wider than the JetBoil, it is slightly more difficult to pour into narrow containers.

In summary, I like the Reactor, I doubt anything on the market can boil water as fast. However, until it adds both piezo ignition and a way to simmer I still recommend the JetBoil (especially as the Reactor currently demands a $60 premium).

Specs:

• Model Number: GHHW5170
• Resolution: 5 megapixel (2592×1944) photo, 512×384 video
• Sensor: CMOS
• Video Format: MJPEG, 30 fps, saved as .AVI file
• Optics: glass lens, f/2.8 aperture, with ultra-wide 170º angle of view
• Modes: video, standard photo, photo every 2 or 5 secs, 3x photo burst sequence, self timer, upside down photo/video flip
• Exposure Control: auto
• White Balance: auto
• Self Timer: 10 seconds
• Microphone: built-in with adjustable recording/input level
• Audio Format: 8kHz, mono
• Memory: 16 MB internal, expandable to 2GB with SD card (not included), expandable to 4GB with SDHC card (not included) via free software download from GoPro website—available soon
• Capacity: 56 minutes video (incl. audio) or 1,945 photos with optional 2GB SD card. 1hr 52min video (incl. audio) with optional 4GB SDHC card—available soon
• Power: 2x AAA batteries (not included), lithium batteries highly recommended. 3hrs. video recording with lithium, 2hrs. with NiMH
• TV Out (with RCA cable): NTSC or PAL
• PC Connection: USB + RCA combo cable
• PC Compatibility: Windows ME, 2000, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.2 and later
• Waterproof: rated to 100 feet/30 meters
• Dimensions: 1.75″ x 2.30″ x 1.25″/4.45cm x 5.84cm x 3.18cm (H x W x D)
• Weight: 4.9 oz/139 g

I took it our for a test run today, I was snowboarding in Breckenridge. In summary, it’s an acceptable camera as long as you’re just after snapshots, or need a camera to go somewhere hazardous where you wouldn’t take your D-SLR, for example. I had to explain what it was and how it worked to about ten people today. GoPro should hang-out at the resorts, I think they’d sell a boatload. 

Pros:

• It’s cheap
• It’s small and lightweight
• It seems robust
• It takes a lot of images
• Once started, you can forget about it
• The images are acceptable for web use

Cons:

• The images are only acceptable for web use
• The sharpness of the lens isn’t great
• There’s no way to compensate for exposure (or, at least, I’ve not found a way)
• In video mode, the camera is hunting for the correct exposure continuously, which is very distracting to watch
• I find the interface a little non-intuitive, and it’s a pain to remember if it’s on or off

Here’s an example video I shot. Checkout the exposure which is all over the place. To be fair, most cameras have a problem exposing correctly for snow, but I though the hunting was a bit too much. 

GoPro Hero Helmet Camera Test from Nick Taylor on Vimeo.

I also uploaded some test images to flickr. Here are some of them (click on the image through to flickr). 

This image shows the detail around the clouds but also shows the underexposure because of the bright snow.

Here’s the same image, tweaked in Aperture to correct the exposure.

This next image shows the color definition (unretouched). It’s also a good example of how the lens falls off in sharpness at the edges, best viewed on the original image. 

Another example of the falloff in image clarity at the edges (best seen on the original image).

Finally, here’s another unretouched image showing how wide the 170 degreee lens is – the bar is the edge of the chairlift. 

Don’t Let Lee Drive! A Desert Driveby. from Nick Taylor on Vimeo.

It looks like just the app I’ve been needing for our live-travels blog over at exerro.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBiBJ_0EHGA]

If this works, you should be able to see what happens when I let my best friend Lee drive my 110…