Jetboil Zip Hacks

Curt: Nice mods! Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't taken the Jetboil plunge yet (other than their larger pots for family trips) so your post is very timely for me.

If you're not concerned about CO, then are there other potential problems with cranking it to a higher heat output? You've tossed the cosy, so it eliminates that concern. Is that plastic between the burner and canister? If so, it has some temp limit, so maybe don't crank it high on a hot summer day. On a cool morning or evening, I'd worry less about it.

I really like the Ziploc lid – so very off-the-shelf! I've found they are brittle around 0F, more so at -10F. Down to freezing them seem fine. On the high end, they do okay in my dishwasher even on "sanitize" (180F). Maybe I'll sacrifice one into boiling water to confirm it can handle 212F.

Did the first "permanent" mod to the Zip. Very simple addition of a wire adjustment knob. Even without the 1/2 ounce savings of using the Gnat, this one is worth it just for convenience. No problem adjusting anymore – even with gloves. I shaved it down a little with a rotary tool, but it's not really necessary. Certainly there won't be an weight savings.

I have been on the fence over which one to buy. I checked all of them out in the store and I actually like the cup/cozy on the zip better even though it is heavier. I'm not super anal about an ounce unlike many. I'll carry the extra if it is sturdier or more functional.

What has concerned me more was I wanted the regulated version so that I can get the kind of efficiency from the bottom of the canister. For many of my trips one small canister is just barely enough fuel so I end up carrying either two small or one large. That is a significant amount of weight that could be left home assuming the Zip can boil as much water with a canister as the Sol.

Is that the case? How does it function when the canister is nearly empty? I'm like you… don't care if it takes a little extra time to boil but I do care how many boils I get from the small canister.

Curt, your photo shows the new wire knob ready for operation. Does it fold away correctly?

On the Gnat, it folds upward to get out of the way the best.

–B.G.–

@Kevin – According to Will and Janet's testing, it didn't make a huge impact at all. Can't remember the exact numbers, but it was something like 1 or 2 pints out of 45 or more per canister. For double the price, that's a pretty minimal improvement, and likely only happens with colder temp usage anyway.

@Bob – Sorry for the slow reply. We've been without power or 'net for 4 days here in the Northwest. All came back this morning at 3 a.m., so catching up. Incidentally, I used the JetBoil a TON as we were cooking entirely on camping stoves during the outage. The bail does fold away nicely. You have to open the valve a quarter turn, but you have to do that on many stoves to fold it away. Pic attached if you want to see it. It stows in the JetBoil pot with a canister still quite nicely. It might not if you take the stand, regular pot adapter and everything that came with it, but I don't and it works just fine for me.

So, with those shortcomings, I decided to tinker a bit. First up was the lid. The Snowpeak 700 and GSI Minimalist lids fit perfectly. They’re heavier than the stock, however, so they’re out. On a whim, I stuck a Ziploc lid on top. The groove lines up perfectly with the lip. Weighs a fraction of the original, too. It doesn’t lock on, but I actually found the stock one too tight and it required too much force to pry off to check on the boil. Solution found.

Hey, Curt,

Nice hacks, bro. Especially the lid. Now that is one sweet hack. lol. And very nearly in my price range.

I don’t see any red flags here. If you’re using the Gnat’s valve (I think that’s what you’re doing), then yeah, don’t over tighten and maybe don’t turn it up to 100% open. Even if you did open up the valve fully, as long as there’s water in the pot, the pot itself should be OK. Some of the surrounding stuff that is plastic could be affected, but keep an eye on things and I think you’d be fine.

The two really serious things to be on the look out for would be a) any indication of gas leaking around the valve and b) excessive canister warming.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

Jetboil Zip vs. Sol efficiency is going to be about the same. I have a PCS and now a Sol.

The unregulated models- PCS, Flash, and Zip will heat slower in colder weather because they are flowing less gas. The insulated cozy and lid will prevent high amounts of heat loss as the water is more slowly heating.

Updated with new tests….

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?bo=watch&forum_thread_id=59535

It doesn't look like it in the picture but you know they make a titanium pot for this right? It is expensive however. I replaced my pot from the original PCS system from years ago with the titanium one and saved a bit of weight. Unfortunately I don't use the jetboil anymore so that darned expensive titanium pot is worthless to me now.

With the higher output burner, you could have a risk of overheating the heat exchanger fins and melting them.

To add to the hacks, I just made a lid out of aluminum flashing for a Flash that I bought new for $45 but have never used. I know, the Flash isn't light, but I bought it before BPL entered my life, and before the Sol existed. Anyway, the lid could be made for any version.

The lid is held on with a couple of bent tabs on the sides, and it can slide back and forth a bit while still being held on by the tabs. On this version I made a curved cutout so that the lid yields a smaller opening when slid back (if you wanted to drink from it), but covers the opening of the pot completely when slid forward a little. By pointing the residual curvature of the flashing down, the lids makes a tight enough seal on the pot when the sides are held down by the tabs. The lid stores inside the pot with the burner. I don't have a 100g canister, so I can't say if one will still fit inside the pot with the lid inside, but I think it might as the lid is so thin, except for the bent tabs.

The lid is .18oz, vs. 1.00 for the stock lid. I've read that the lids with the Sols are lighter.