A system stove no longer means being stuck with one pot. The MSR Switch Stove System boils fast in its own 1.0L pot, then flips out a set of pot supports to take whatever cookware you already own.
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Cascade Designs gifted the MSR Switch Stove for review. All opinions are my own.
- Bold time
- Weight
- Fuel Efficientcy
- Ease of Use
My Verdict
A lightweight system stove that doesn’t tie you to one pot. It boils quickly, the simmer control is very finely tuned, and at 392g for the complete kit it’s about as light as integrated systems get. At £139.99 you’re paying a premium for ultralight kit and the build quality of a well-established brand. If you’re trying to make your kit lighter and lighter, I’d say it’s worth it.
Pros
Cons
Where to Buy
MSR Switch Stove System
My Verdict: “A lightweight system stove that doesn’t tie you to one pot. It boils quickly, the simmer control is very finely tuned, and at 392g for the complete kit it’s about as light as integrated systems get.”
The MSR Switch Stove sits between their PocketRocket burners and its fully sealed WindBurner system. MSR bills it as “the most versatile, high-performance system stove in its class”. The design: a 117g burner with a pressure regulator and piezo ignitor, a 1.0L hard-anodised pot with a rounded, hemispherical base, and a ring stand with three flip-out supports for other pans. It comes in one size, the 1.0L system I tested.
Full Specifications
Price: £139.99 RRP (widely available between £97 – £119)
Weight (complete system): 392g
Weight (stove only): 117g
Pot Capacity: 1.0 litre
Boil Time: 2 minutes 30 seconds per 0.5 litres
Burn Time: approx. 84.5 minutes per 227g canister
Water Boiled Per Canister: 14.8 litres per 227g canister
Packed Size: 10.6 × 11.3 × 18cm
Max Cookware Diameter: 20.3cm (8in)
Ignition: Built-in piezo
Fuel: Threaded isobutane-propane canisters (sold separately)
Warranty: 3-year limited
Hard-anodised aluminium 1.0L pot with hemispherical base / strainer lid with drinking spout / removable cork cozy / folding handles / ring stand with flip-out pot supports / pressure regulator / plastic nesting bowl / canister stand / PackTowl cleaning cloth / 0.6L max-fill and two-cup markings / not compatible with heat-exchanger cookware
How I Tested It
To kick off our trip to Scotland, we headed to Ben Nevis. The path up had been heaving and grey the whole way, then to our luck, the clouds broke at the top and peeled back off the ridges to reveal the most incredible veiw for us as we sat down to brew a well-deserved cup of coffee. There was a chill in the air as I got the MSR Switch Stove lit and water boiling within a couple of minutes for a hot drink at 1,345m.
Over the following week, my brother-in-law Adam and I paddled the Great Glen Canoe Trail from Fort William to Inverness over the end of the summer holidays. We were sharing a boat, so we packed as a team rather than individually to save doubling up on kit and carrying extra weight. The Switch was our only stove.
It went on every day: coffee and breakfast pouches in the morning, a lunch stop most days, and both our evening meals. The weather was kind – cool, stable and only ever a light breeze – which is great for paddling, but unfortunately means I can’t tell you how it copes in strong winds.
How Fast Does the MSR Switch Stove System Boil?
Quickly. MSR claims it boils 500ml in 2 minutes 30 seconds, and that tallied with my experience – I never found myself standing over it waiting.
The day that proved it was our first on Loch Ness. Strong winds were forecast for the end of the week, so we had to finish the trip in two days instead of three, which left eight hours of paddling out of Fort Augustus. We broke it into two-hour stages, stopping each time for a coffee and snacks, then a hot lunch at Foyers before the final push. Boil a pot of water, fold the sachets in half to fit them in, and let the simmering water around them do the rest. Both of us had hot meals within about 10 minutes, and we’d often use the water left in the pot for a hot drink afterwards. So pretty efficient all-round.
The rounded base helps speed things up. MSR says the patent-pending hemispherical bottom “heats faster and more evenly than a traditional flat-bottom pot” – the curve puts more of the pot in the flame and spreads heat up the sides.
Where I was more impressed was once it came to the boil. The simmer control is very finely tuned – just the right amount of simmer without the water boiling over – thanks to the pressure regulator as well as the valve. The Jetboil Flash is faster on paper, but the Switch is the better stove for anything beyond a rolling boil.
How Much Does the MSR Switch Stove Weigh?
MSR puts the complete system at 392g, with the stove itself at 117g. For me, that’s the headline. It’s very light for a system that also takes your own pans – the WindBurner is around 465g and plenty of budget systems are over 600g.
Packed, it’s a very similar size to a one-litre Nalgene bottle, and there’s still room inside for a small 100g gas canister. We were cooking for two over a week, so we carried a larger canister separately instead.
For anyone who’s weight-conscious and wants to count every gram, there’s room to go lighter. The cork cozy comes off – it’s there for grip and to protect your hands, but you can leave it at home – and the plastic bowl can stay behind too. It’s not a luxury I normally take as I usually just eat straight from the pot.
Is the MSR Switch Stove Fuel Efficient?
Yes, for this type of stove. MSR claims 14.8 litres of water boiled per 227g canister, or around 84.5 minutes of burn time. That’s a strong figure for a system without a heat exchanger.
I didn’t measure every boil, but our one 440g canister did two people for the whole week – breakfasts, lunches, dinners and a lot of brews – and we finished with about a third left. From my experience, that squares with MSR’s figure.
The regulator helps here too. As a canister empties and cools, its pressure drops and unregulated stoves start to sputter. MSR says the regulator “provides good fuel efficiency, even in cold conditions and higher altitudes”. I can’t comment on sub-zero use, but I found the flame stayed consistent all week and at altitude whilst atop Ben Nevis. Heat-exchanger systems like the WindBurner will probably use less gas in wind – something a calm week didn’t let me test. More on gas in my guide to camping stove fuel types.
Is the MSR Switch Stove Easy to Use?
Mostly, yes. The first job, before anything else, is to make sure you take the plastic bowl off the bottom. I’ve read quite a few reviews online from people who, in a pre-coffee haze or cooking in the dark, forgot and melted the bowl to the bottom of their stove. I made sure that wasn’t me.
Then empty the pot and stretch the elasticated canister stand over your gas. It’s a really ingenious little stand that holds on really tight. It’s made for 110g and 230g canisters, and with our larger 440g can it did feel like a bit of a stretch, but it did work. Screw on the stove, sit the pot on the ring and you’re boiling. No fiddly lining up of grooves – it just sits there and stays in place.
The piezo lit first time, every time, bar once. I’d filled the pot by scooping water straight out of the loch, and water ran down the outside, under the rounded base and dripped onto the top of the burner. That was enough to stop the piezo lighting it. Kept dry, it’s worked fine every time since, so if necessary, wipe the underside before you put it on.
The folding handles have a silicone-feeling coating against the heat, and inside there’s a 0.6L max-fill line and a handy two-cup line for making a hot drink for yourself and a friend. Packing away is a wipe-down with the included cloth, then everything nests back inside the pot.
The lid is the only niggle I have with the system. It’s clever – one side has a drinking spout, the other a strainer for draining pasta or rice – but when it’s hot it’s a bit fiddly to get on and off, so most of the time I just rested it on top. It’s also fairly opaque, so it’s quite difficult to see how the water’s doing without lifting it.
Can You Use Your Own Pots With the MSR Switch Stove?
Yes, and this is what sets it apart from most system stoves. Three supports flip out from the ring and take cookware up to 20.3cm across, according to MSR.
I only used them once, for porridge in a mess tin – to save myself the need to scrub the inside of the pot. It sat stable enough, and I like knowing I’m not stuck just boiling water.
A few buyers report that the rounded base scorches food when you cook directly in the pot. We only used ours to boil water, so I can’t say either way yet.
Alternatives to the MSR Switch Stove
I’ve used the Fire Maple Polaris, and at around £75 it’s the cheaper option, with a pressure regulator and a fast 110-second boil. At 622g, though, the Switch is a serious upgrade in weight and in the quality of the whole kit.
For outright speed, the Jetboil Flash claims 100 seconds per 500ml at a similar weight, but it’s built around its own cup. The MSR WindBurner (around £178) is the pick for exposed, windy camps, at the cost of weight and simmer control.
If you already own a pot and just want the lightest burner possible, the MSR PocketRocket 2 is 73g and under £45. I haven’t used those three, so that’s on specs alone – there are more in my roundup of the best camping stoves.
Should You Buy the MSR Switch Stove System?
If you’re serious about your trips and want to keep weight to a minimum, I’d say yes. It’s for backpackers who want system-stove speed without giving up the option to cook in a pan, and who value the trust and reliability of a well-established brand.
You are going to pay a premium for that, though. If it’s your first stove and you don’t have money to splash, the Polaris or a PocketRocket 2 with a basic pot costs far less. And if you mostly camp somewhere wild and windy, the WindBurner is the safer bet.
At £139.99 it’s far from the cheapest, but I’d buy it again at full price. I like making my kit lighter and lighter, and on that front the Switch delivers. It even drew some envious looks from others in camp. Just remember to take the bowl off first.
More stove and camp kitchen reviews are in the camp cooking section.
Where to Buy
MSR Switch Stove System
My Verdict: “A lightweight system stove that doesn’t tie you to one pot. It boils quickly, the simmer control is very finely tuned, and at 392g for the complete kit it’s about as light as integrated systems get.”
Related Guides & Reviews
The resources below cover the basics, common questions, and related kit to help you get more out of your time outdoors.
- Fire Maple Star X2 Cooking System Review
- Fire Maple Hornet Ⅱ Titanium Gas Stove Review
- Best Camping Cookware Sets
Steve Cleverdon
Adventure-driven outdoor gear reviewer and paddleboarder, Steve has spent 20 years exploring rivers, coastlines, and trails across Britain and abroad, sharing what he’s learned along the way. Learn more about Steve or get in touch.
