A while ago it looked like liquid fuel stoves might send classic canister stoves the way of pagers, MySpace and disposable cameras – the kind of thing you’d no longer see often, and when you did, you’d more often than not be in touching distance of a fixie-riding hipster.

The trump card that liquid fuel stoves long held over gas canister stoves was their ability to perform in low temperatures, whereas gas canisters tended to fall flat when the mercury dropped.

But then MSR developed the Reactor, and the tide seemed to turn back in favour of gas.

“It’s an ingenious but incredibly simple piece of kit.”

With its inbuilt pressure regulator, the MSR Reactor presented a gas canister option that had the low temperature performance of a liquid burning stove system, but without its heavy weight.

It’s been around for a number of years now, and it makes our Winter Outdoor 100 based on the fact that it’s still one of the best options on the market.

As well as being able to function in colder temperatures, the Reactor system also excels when exposed to wind thanks to its built-in heat exchanger. In fact, it’s able to work almost just as well in exposed conditions as it will when it’s calm.