Jetboil Personal Cooking System

[Zeno Martin]

Likes:
Easy to use.
Well thought out.
Takes up little space.
Fast boil.
Resistant to wind (more than other canister stoves).
Efficient use of fuel.

Dislikes:
Piezo stopped working almost instantly.
Heavy?

Despite it being much heavier than my MSR pocket rocked the “likes” far outweigh the weight savings.

[Carol Corbridge]

Agree with previous review. I’d give it a 4 due to (2) piezo failures so far on mine. Had it about 2 months.
Way easy.
Way fast.

[Joel Bowman]

This stove is, in my opinion, the only canister style stove to own anymore. At a total weight (including cooking cup) of 15.25 ounces, this is no lightweight but you have to look beneath the surface on this one.

The extra weight is worth it to me and is somewhat offset by it’s outstanding fuel efficiency and the fact that you do not need a separate pot for most uses. A 1 liter pot will weigh at least 4 oz so you have to add that to the weight of another system. As far as efficiency it is about 1/3 more efficient than most other cannister stoves. It will boil an amazing 11 liters per 100 grams of fuel. Most other popular models (MSR, Optimus, etc) are around 7 liters per 100g.

So here is my semi-scientific apples to apples comparison between the MSR Pocket Rocket and the JetBoil. Assuming you would need to boil 20 liters of water on a trip, you would use about 2.5 more ounces in fuel with the MSR. Add this to the 8.2oz weight of stove and Titan Kettle to get 10.7oz. Your weight premium is now only 4.55oz. Well worth it in my book!

Don’t get me wrong, if I were doing a solo thru hike of the AT, I would likely NOT choose this or any other canister stove due to weight and ease of getting fuel. I would opt for a wood burning or alcohol stove. Where I do use it is on moderate to long solo or group weekenders.

It is very efficient and extremely stable in the high wind and I have not found a faster backpacking stove to set up &/or boil water. Problems have already been noted on the piezo (lighting unit) so I wont comment on that. This is rather minor in my book as a match will light it just fine.

Though I have not used them, the optional pot stabalizer and coffee press seem very functional and well thought out. The companion cup is also handy for a group outing. I love having the coozie around my pot but will advise to have extras on hand for the inevitable replacement.

All in all, i give it a 5 for what it is. Obviously, I wish it were 5 ounces lighter but other than that, this is a great stove.

[Bryan Redd]

I’ve had my JetBoil since March 2004. Have used it on 6 backpacking trips (2-7 days) and many day flyfishing trips where I want a quick warm meal and/or beverage. Perhaps I’ve been lucky, but so far my ignitor has not failed once.

Wish it were a bit lighter, but for my uses it is the best option on the market.

[Richard Nisley]

My piezo failed after a couple of days. It took one second to fix it by bending down the ignitor rod to make a slightly smaller gap (1/8″ smaller). I then used it in Alaska for 1 1/2 months twice a day in rainy / windy weather and it never failed to light.

[John Pickron]

It’s got several features built-in that other setups just don’t have.

1) windscreen built into the cup
2) ignitor-mine has yet to fail
3) insulated mug w/ pour spout lid
4) measuring cup/secondary dish
5) Fast, yes muy rapido…

The setup is really easy. All you do is remove the stove from the cup with the fuel cannister and lock the cup to the stove, turn on the flow press igniter button.

Con’s–cooking in a cup isn’t that great if you like to have skillet creations. The regular pan/pot metal add-on works fine–but jetboil creates an incredible “hot-spot” so you better keep that pan moving if you’re cooking a piece of meat. Weight

[Robert Miller]

Well I am a Canadian and I love my JetBoil. It works well both summer and winter. However if you are going to use it in the winter you must make sure that the canister gas is rated for zero (0F) MSR canisters have that rating. The JetBoil does not work worth a damn below that temperature unless you have a heater for the canister.

My biggest complaint however is the lid. The lid will crack if you try to take it off when it is at (0F).

So now when it is cold, I do not put the lid or bottom on until I get back home where it is warm.

[Jeffery Cowen]

Only thing I would ever consider replacing this with is a home made alchohol stove. That’s it, and the only reason I would make that decision is wieght, and ease of fuel, BUT convenience wise, jetboil can’t be beat. I have the Companion Cup, and the stabalizers as well as a couple canisters of fuel for almost all outings. Bam, barely over 2lbs at worst. Maybe a bit heavy, but well worth it.

Unless you are hopelessly psyco about pack weight you can still carry the Jetbiol, plenty of fuel (on thru hikes just ship extra fuel with your food), a companion cup, and stabalizer kit and keep your essential pack weight under 12 lbs.

I now carry an average of about 22lbs for a 3 day outing. This includes a pillow, clothes, food, Backpack, First Aid kit, Sleeping Bag, Hennessy Hammock, Jetboil stove, Titanium fork and spoon, water filter, and water.

That’s a Major improvement over the days when I easily carried over 40lbs worth of gear.

[Richard Lyon]

Unless I plan on catching fish the Jetboil is perfect for me – compact, reliable, and quick. The original rig is for boiling only and has a 500 ml/2 cup capacity, which limits its use to one person. But for coffee, tea, freeze-dried meals on solo hikes (or in the ski area parking lot) it's unbeatable. Jetboil offers a converter so that it can be used with a skillet, but this lacks the efficiencies of boiling given by the combination of cup and heat exchanger. The converter parts weigh only two ounces and (like the optional French press) fit inside the cup when the unit is stored. Great system! Jetboil has announced a new GCS (group cooking system) with a larger cooking vessel/heat exchanger that can be used for boiling or frying. But if I use that, how will I be able to use the French press for my needed morning caffeine?
UPDATE October 2007: Jetboil's new accessories make the PCS even better. The frying pan brings heat exchanger efficiency to skillet cooking and it can be stored with the spatula and a plastic bowl easily; together these weigh hardly anything. Nothing beats this combination for solo backcountry fishing trips.

[Andrew Skurka]

It is pretty well documented that the Jetboil has limited utility in colder conditions, assuming you have not kept the canister in your underwear all day in order to keep it warm (See Ryan’s recent tests on stove performance in cold weather — white gas and liquid fuel stoves outperform the Jetboil’s effectiveness for snow melting by a long ways). You’d be part of the frozen landscape by the time the Jetboil had melted enough snow for your freeze-dried dinner.

So, if Jetboil is to be a superior stove, it must outperform other stoves designed for 3-season conditions. DOES IT?

An entire SUL alchol stove set-up (with a 24 oz beer can pot) can weigh almost HALF of what a Jetboil fuel CANISTER weighs EMPTY. A mere ultralight setup (with a Ti pot) still weighs about the same as just the cannister!

The Jetboil may be convenient and a fuel miser, but I figure that I would need to boil about 43 LITERS OF WATER before the Jetboil’s superior fuel efficiency would make up for its inferior weight relative to my own cooking system.

43 liters of water…When I am out I boil 1-2 cups per night, which means I would need to be out for at least 86 nights without resupply before I would ever reach this break-even point. By that point, a white gas stove might be more efficient than both stoves, so even after 43 L it still might not be the lightest stove.

The (presumed) fast boil time of the Jetboil does not weaken my argument: there are about 3-4 minutes between the the times required for a Jetboil to boil a half liter of water and an average performing alcohol stove to boil a half liter of water. In those 3-4 minutes I can be stretching out, starting a journal entry, looking over my maps for tomorrow’s hiking, etc. — the minutes are completely irrelevant.

The Jetboil will never be found in my pack.

[Frank P.]

I purchased the Jetboil very recently and went on an overnight trip on the CT section of the AT. It was around the 30s for the whole trip and I could not have been more pleased with it’s performance. Given, I did not take it on any big expedition, but when you can get your water out of a partially frozen creek (you should be able to do atleast this in most locals even in the Winter) it is perfect. When I needed a hot drink to warm my body, it cooked it up right then. And let me tell you, when it’s cold and you have nothing better to do then stare at your drink praying for it to get hot, those few minutes saved are worth its weight in anything. Haven’t been more impressed with a campstove as far as I can remember.

[Scott Peterson]

I have had a Jetboil for about 3 years. It has never once failed in any way…and generally takes a beating. As far as operating in the wind…I have not done it, but I am pretty certain you could operate the thing in 50 mile-an-hour winds!

Until recently, I was not too sensitive to weight. Now that I am, I recognize that the Jetboil is a luxury item on a summer-jaunt. At 22.2 ounces total for the kit and fuel, it is heavy. So when I go on a 4 day Summer fishing hike, I will take the 3.6 ounce Beer-can Esbit stove and take in more sights with less stress. But if I were going to generally damp or rainy conditions, where I might need to cook in my tent…it’s back to the Jetboil. Also, If my pack had to go into “checked baggage” on a flight or endure some other rough josteling, I would count on the Jetboil to survive before any super ultra-light aluminum can contraption. As for snow camping, I gave that up after a couple tries when I was in my teens…so it is a non-factor for me.

I am surprised that the number of positive posts for this item, as well as a general recognition that all hikers do not base all equipment decisions solely on weight to performance ratios did not influence the one negative poster…who probably has logged more miles than most of us. I sense with the ultra-light backpacking “culture” that certain folks begin to feel that their truths (which are highly personal and valid) are the only truths. A big turn-off with Ray J.’s book was when he went on about the lack of efficiency with walking poles. Obviously not open-minded to the fact that saving a fall during a creek crossing…or getting an upper body workout can be more important than efficiency ratios to A LOT of people!!!

[Douglas Frick]

The good points are: fast, fuel-efficient, easy, simple, and reliable boiling water. You can hold it in your hand while you boil water, if finding a place to set up a hot stove is a problem in your environment. I haven’t tried cooking in the JetBoil since I usually just boil water, but it appears that it simmers well. The drawbacks are that the stove is heavier than necessary and that it may have problems below freezing due to the upright butane canister.

I rated the JetBoil a 4 because it could have been made lighter without compromising the design. I won’t fault it for not being an all-temperature performer when most (all?) upright canister stoves suffer from the same problem. If you want a lighter stove, make your own alcohol burner; if you want a winter stove, get a liquid-feed stove. But for a canister water-boiler, this is a pretty good solution.

Edit: This stove worked well in winter conditions at +20F for cooking and melting snow at 11,000 ft. I pre-warmed the canister next to my body and held it in my hands while in use (I didn’t have a place to set it down). It started and ran reliably on a half-used canister, although the flame was a bit uneven compared to summer use.

[Doug Evans]

Ok – So it weighs more than a couple of cat food cans. I’d also never take it for use in an igloo.

Mine has been bulletproof. Quick, easy, and multiple days of heavy use on one canister. What’s not to like?

We take it along for 3-4 day trips, and ‘cook’ for 3. Two hots a day, plus coffee, etc all in record time, with ease, inside the tent during torrents of rain.

I love it, and will happily call my self a ‘light’ backpacker.

Add – Just did a night on a peak that hit 22F with measured 34Mph winds – Cooked dinner outside, breakfast the next morning in the tent. Did sleep with one canister though – Once again, it performed flawlessly.

[T. Sedlak]

Very reliable, compact and easy to use. I’ve calculated that you can boil 2 cups of water up to 20 times using a typical 100g canister ($3-4).

A very clever design makes it very efficient in tranferring heat. Also, the fuel cannister, pot stabilizer and other accessories all store in the cup!

Con: The cup is relatively heavy. A major advance would be the availability of a titanium cup that holds everything.

[jeff walker]

My input on the jetboil is strictly by my usage with it.
•I can boil 2 cups of water at full power in 2 minutes 28 seconds.
•It does what it is intended to do. Boil water efficiently.
•It utilizes less fuel than my White gas stove, thus meaning less to carry.
•When it is tipped over in my pack, it does not leak smelly fuel,
•It weighs less than my current application needing spare fuel bottle.
• I was looking for something more efficient than my current application and not an ultralight stove as I currently have one of these as well.
•Built in cooking pot
•It is a very smart concept as some of the stoves are more gimmicky and redundant. Oh yea, It uses the same style cartridge I require to fill my lantern. Bonus there as well.
Price should be lower on the GCS pot but, I am alone anyway so PCS is perfect.
I also at times utilize an aluminum can stove, they are not in the same category by any means.
I like it.

[Nate White]

pros:::even thou i have been backpacking a few times with the jetboil. i really like, easy on fuel, east to start and end. boil time is like no time. great idea of everything to go into the cup.

i use the cup, not the pots of it. makes it easy to heat up drinks and soups. easy to clean.

cons:::the cups does make it a oain in the butt, b/c you cant really do anything fried, baked, etc. if you let the stove go for a little bit, it starts to sweat really bad on the bottle.

[Joe Kuster]

As always, it depends on your need. If you find other stoves finicky and would like a complete cooking system that just "works", it's possible you'll like the JB.

For trips where the weight isn't super imporant it's convenience is what keeps people packing it. It's got a lot of smart features overall.

The cook pot lid and base cover snap together for a sippy cup. It's got built in measurements in the base as well as in the pot. The pot stand makes it stable enough for wide pans (good for cooking trout) and the system is very compact. While the company probably frowns on it, you can walk around with it in your hands while it's warming up your water. The entire system is very durable as well as it can handle some fair abuse. They even have an official hanging kit, which is great for tent cooking (with proper ventilation) or for climbing use.

If you are using it for car camping, day hiking, climbing, kayaking and such, I agree with everything good already said above.

If I'm worried about packing light above all else and have plenty of time to cook then it's not that ideal at all. While it's compact, it comes in at tripple the weight of my other systems.

Yes, it sucks in cold weather. Don't take it to high altitude either because it sucks there too.

It is however really, really convenient for quick hot chocolate or hot lunches while climbing etc.

As far as weight – I don't get it, people keep trying to compare the jetboil to alcohol stoves but keep completely avoiding the topic of convenience. That *IS* important for a lot of us. The fact that's an itegrated system that you can hold in your hand while it's warming up your water it's really, really nice.

I think Jetboil needs to do some changes but as far as the general use for 1 or maybe two people, I like it. It isn't for groups, but as far as I'm aware, they aren't trying for that market.

Things I'd like to see improved:

*lighten it up with titanium where appropriate as an ultralight edition (they can have both on the market)

*Come up with a more robust Piezo starter or remove it all together!

*Make the pot stand / stabilizer standard.

[Vlad Putin]

I have been using this as my primary cannister stove and I like it for several reasons. It is unique in the following respects:

1) You dont need to set up a wind brake around it. The way the stove is designed, it will burn effectively even if there is wind. I know, as I tested it in windy conditions and it worked fine.

That sets it apart from other cannister stoves.

2) It will boil 2 cups of water EXTREMELY fast! Four minutes…five at the max. And I am talking a rolling, extremely vigorious boil like youd get on your burner on your home range. Not a simmer, not a mild boil…this stove makes water very hot.

In this regard, it is good for killing any biological organisms in backcountry water. You can pour water into the thing, boil it vigorously for a full minute and be confident EVERYTHING will be dead in that water.

3) It has a nice aesthetic design…the stove looks cool.

The only thing about it I dont like is the pietzo lighter failed on me and it didnt take very long. Be prepared with your own matches or spark striker…I have used “LightMyFire” spark maker to light it.

Hardcore ultra-lighters will probably avoid this stove, as it is heavier than some other cannister stoves if you use a titanium burner and a titanium mug or pot. However, lightweight backpackers who are willing to carry a little extra weight will probably like this stove and enjoy the reliability and non hassles of this stove.

Again, the built in wind screen is cool.

Vlad

[Ryan Welde]

I have been out snow shoeing for the last 3 days in temps from +8-+15 F The stove really struggles to melt snow and boil water. I have been keeping the canister in my parka, and that helps for a little while, but then it starts to spit and sputter. This makes for a long food break that I don’t need.

[Andy Goodell]

I’ve had this since it first came available, and love that everything packs together nicely. The bonus of a cup with a lid is great also.

However, this stove stands so tall on one minicanister with all the weight very high up. It is extremely susceptible to falling over in wind, or the tiniest bump. The stabalizers are a must. My piezo failed after 2 canisters worth, so I just ripped it out and use a lighter. The pot is also too tall for it’s width, and it extremely difficult to get a hand in the bottom to clean it. The small canisters are expensive, and overall the stove system is very expensive.

[James Pitts]

What's with people that review gear they have never owned nor tested in the field? This is a mystery to me.

Anyway, on to the Jetboil.

I bought this because… I had an REI dividend and there was nothing at REI that I wanted. Seriously, it was that lame of a purchase. I figured what the heck, I might find a place for it.

Well, I did. The thing isn't ultralight but it's ultra-convenient. I use it at scouting events and other "backpacing heavy" outings. It's a huge hit on family dayhikes. We can all stop and I can crank out hot drinks (cider generally) for all very, very quickly.

Don't listen to people that complain about crummy cold weather performance. It's a canister stove… they don't work well in the cold. That said, the Jetboil marketing people (who are, after all, marketing people) claim it's a fast snow melter. I found it was useless as a snow melter and this was only in part due to the cold weather performance issues of butane.

I never cook in the mug. I only use it to boil water. That seems to be what it excels at.

It really is a miser with fuel. I took my first small canister of Snow Peak fuel all over, constantly scared it would run out. It kept going and going and going… in fact I think it's still in my closet. I read somewhere that it could easily keep a hiker with boiled water for 8 days on a small fuel canister. I can believe it.

I feel a little guilty reviewing something I only use on a rare occasion and then not for backpacking… light anyway. Hey, it is what it is.

Hey, Hike your own Hike!

[John Haley]

I'd been using the JB for almost a year but especially grew to love it on my recent Long Trail thru hike. While others were attempting to get their stoves lit and operating correctly, I was done cooking or making coffee and already eating.

The only drawback is that it's a bit heavy, but the weight does include the pot, which being insulated is really handy.

Although I just purchased a FeatherFire alcohol stove for UL/SUL ventures, the JetBoil will probably remain my go-to stove.

[Glenn Roberts]

There's a lot to like about this stove. It sips fuel, boils fast, and is well thought out. The cup that protects the base of the pot during transport doubles (triples?) as a measuring cup and a small bowl for fixing oatmeal – leaving the pot for making tea; it's also a serviceable mug for evening cocoa or cider. However, because I can't use the cup as a second pot, I often end up having to drink the beverage before the food has rehydrated. The spoon is designed to fit the corners of the pot; it then collapses to store handily on the side of the pot. The pot cozy makes handling hot pots a breeze.

However, it is heavy – twice as heavy as the Snow Peak Mini-Solo/Gigapower combo I usually prefer. A titanium Jetboil pot would be a really nice idea, though.

The Jetboil's built-in windscreen/heat exhanger does gain it a great advantage in fuel efficiency – meaning I need only one fuel cylinder instead of two on a trip longer than a week.

The unadorned Jetboil is a little tippier than I'd like, but the Jetboil stabilizer kit (less than an ounce) solves that problem.

One caution: the aluminum pot does a very good job of retaining heat: the unprotected rim of the pot will scorch your lips unless you put the plastic lid back on and drink through the pour spout. (Don't ask how I know that.)

The Jetboil PCS is also harder to keep clean. The neoprene absorbs spilled liquid (like sauces or cocoa), and there are lots of nooks and crannies in the plastic lid and the collapsible spoon. Not a big deal on a weekend trip, but it can become somewhat grubby after 4 or 5 days. (For that matter, so do I.) I've learned to make the small extra effort it takes to clean it thoroughly and, every few days, rinse out the neoprene cozy.

Not a bad system, but the weight and cleanliness issues often made it my second choice for a trip, until one cold night I realized something: I eating hot food. Not warm food, like I was used to, but actually hot food. Normally, by the time my freeze-dried meal rehydrates in a titanium pot, it's still warm, but not hot. With the pot cozy, the food rehydrated and stayed hot. This fact cancelled out the heavy weight, in my logic, and made this my first choice for nearly all trips.

Overall, it's like someone watched how I cook on the trail, then designed a stove for me.

[Albert K.]

Likes:

1. Small/easy to pack
2. Goes from pack to boiling water with amazing speed and ease
3. Fuel efficient
4. Bullet Proof (mine has been anyway)
5. Weather-proof – rain and wind have no impact on operation.

Dislikes
1. Weight – at 15.1 oz. on my scale, there are clearly lighter options. That it's doubles as a cup and bowl, and has a 2nd cup helps a little here.

This stove fits my hiking style nicely. I don't get out as much as I'd like to and consequently, I like to maximize my time in the woods (i.e. hike as long as possible, eat, go to bed, get up and strike out again). The speed of the JB (measured in from pack to producing boiling water) gives me a huge advantage over other stoves I've tried.

It's easy enough to use that even a first year boy scout can fire it up without a problem.

It's fast enough to be able to service two people.

That said, if spending time cooking isn't an issue for you, you're a weekend hiker, or you're going in the winter, this may not be your best option.

[Author]

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