Having hard time justifying the weight of a jetboil

[mik matra]

I have a Jetboil and know that it is far from a UL cooking item but I use it for a mug and bowl as well. See my food prep is very simple, I take foods that just needs boiled water added and 'viola'….food is ready. I chose the jetboil as it is extremely efficient at boiling water, very good wind resistant, has a convenient neoprene shell that stops your hand getting burned and that I can use it for my mug and bowl as well.

Thoughts anyone???

[Randy Martin]

Alcohol stoves are lighter weight but unless you are doing a long thru hike I love the convenience and efficiency of a jetboil. You don't say which model you have since I know the lightest models are around 10oz

[mik matra]

the .8L aluminium one. I took out all the bits I do not need and am at bare minimum weight of 329g (11.6 ounces).

[M B]

If you like it, thats all that matters.

[Jeffs Eleven]

Sometimes convenience out weighs weight.

That is a jacked up sentence

[Chris Finley]

There is a Jetboil Sol Ti available now at 9.9oz. You can find the titanium pot separately. It's a pricy way to drop about 2.4oz. They appear to be compilable, but I haven't confirmed this.

stove/pot set:
http://www.rei.com/product/813621/jetboil-sol-titanium-stove

pot only:
http://www.rei.com/product/813624/jetboil-sol-titanium-companion-cup-08-liter

edit: BPL has a review here too:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/sotm11_jetboil_sol_advanced_review.html

[Steven McAllister]

Depending on your hike, you may need to pack extra canisters as well.
They are hard to find at most resupply points on long distance trails.

I know the reason I switched to alcohol was that I was able to find fuel alcohol at almost every resupply point. So I only needed to bring the bare minimum amount of fuel.

I actually don't find a Jetboil that much easier to use than an alcohol stove/pot combo. It does take a couple minutes longer to boil water, but since I tend to cook while on break, time is not an issue with me.

[Ben C]

Its cheap, easy, and fun to try a simple alky setup. I don't find it to be a hassle at all.

[Brad Rogers]

I know people love the jet boil but I never quite got it. That isn't to say it doesn't have its place. It might work best on long trips without resupply or larger groups. I have a gigapower but haven't used it in a few years. If you do decide to give alcohol a try, I recomend the Caldera Cone. I LOVE mine. Of course if it works for you and you like it then don't worry about it, but I had used alcohol stoves long ago and found them fiddly and they used a lot of fuel. Then I tried the Caldera, it is truely an amazing stove.

[Randy Martin]

Not sure what's not to get about a Jetboil, it's a convenience/performance vs weight tradeoff.

it boils much faster, no priming the stove and no measuring of fuel. If you are car camping or taking a short trip (e.g. less concerned of weight) I use the JetBoil. For long thru hikes where weight and fuel re-supply matters go with Alcohol. Alcohol stoves are so cheap it's not like you have to decide one or the other.

[James holden]

if you suddenly replaced our jetboil with a lighter stove … would you feel the difference in yr pack … will it allow you to go stronger and longer and do crazier things ?

what % of your total weight is the difference between the jetboil and something else?

if you like it and its not stopping you from doing what you want … thats all that matters

;)

[Hiking Malto]

When you find yourself trying to justify gear weight then it is far past the time to close up the spreadsheets and hit a trail.

[Hamish McHamish]

I have always used a Snowpeak Gigapower with the little Snowpeak 0.6L solo pot. I was super psyched when I first learned of the cat stove so I made one. It took so long to boil that I figured the extra ounces of alcohol offset the extra ounces of the Gigapower. Not 1-for-1, but the net difference just wasn't super duper enough for me to ditch the convenience of the Gigapower. And they both suffer in cold weather so I think I'm headed towards a remote canister setup anyway.

Maybe I did something wrong with the alky setup.

[jscott]

I'm a boil-only chef as well. I've found that using a good windscreen allows my little canister stove to go for a very long time. I use the smallest canister (I forget if they're 4 or 6 oz.s) with my pocket rocket and cook for six days easy, breakfast and dinner. But it all depends on that wind screen! With a small titanium pot, this set up has to be lighter than a jetboil. (My windscreen weighs about 2 oz.s.)

[mik matra]

Bradford,

What does your Caldera Cone set up weigh? I mean the cone your pot….every that you need to make water boil? Oh and what size is the pot used for these Cones?

Many thanks.

Mik.

[Brad Rogers]

My pot is evernew 550ml pot and lid is 2.6oz. The Caldera Cone, stove, fuel bottle, and measuring cup is 2oz. I can boil 12oz of water with 15ml of fuel.

I find other alchy stoves use an ounce of fuel and are very slow, but the Caldera Cone is so much better.

[michael levi]

If im going to be using a canister stove, I WILL find the lightest one imaginable.

[Nick Gatel]

"When you find yourself trying to justify gear weight then it is far past the time to close up the spreadsheets and hit a trail."

+1. Greg hit it on the nail.

[mik matra]

So your stove AND pot/lid tally is 4.6 ounce (130grams)???? That's a third of the jet boil. I can't see your system being so much less efficient that the fuel needed would outweigh the Jetboil set up!!! Where do I buy?

[mik matra]

"When you find yourself trying to justify gear weight then it is far past the time to close up the spreadsheets and hit a trail."

+1. Greg hit it on the nail.

Hahahaa I do agree but this is what I do in between every trip. It was only this year I got my pack to a resonable weight so every trip I come home from there has been a slight change or alteration to what I am taking the next time!!

[Steven McAllister]

Re: "It took so long to boil that I figured the extra ounces of alcohol offset the extra ounces of the Gigapower"

I have tried many alky stoves in adverse conditions. I also find problems with many designs, especially the cat stove.
Some are much better than others.

I know Zelph's(and others) newer models have evolved to be more ideal.
I settled on the Zelph Super Stove because:
1) Works better in the cold
2) Works better in wind
3) Most efficient
4) No spill design(very important)
5) More durable(but a little heavier)

[Jacob Smith]

My Jetboil Ti Sol is mandatory winter gear for me. The rest of my gear is so cut down and rides the safety edge that access to hot water and food quickly makes up for the major weight gain over my other cooking stoves and pots. I'm still under 10 pounds pack weight for winter before food and water, so I have no problem lugging the beast around with me.

For 3 season I use a Qiwiz wood stove or an alcohol stove. I'm a boil water cook though, so outside of roasting the occasional trout on a green stick, all I'm trying to achieve is hot water for cooking.

[Brad Rogers]

I just weighed everything and it is 4.65oz. The pot is an Evernew ECA266 which is 2.6oz. It has become quite hard to find since the Tsunami (as with all Evernew pots).

The Caldera Cone and stove came from Anti Gravity Gear, but I think you can now buy direct from Trail Designs. I don't use the fuel bottle that came with the stove, for shorter trips, I use a clear travel bottle (for shampoo???) I bought at Target and it happens to nest perfectly with a measuring cup I have. For week long trips I use a 6oz mini water bottle.

I can boil 12oz of water with 15mL of fuel, which is about half an ounce I think, even in cold (and by cold, I mean down to ~15*F, not Arctic conditions). It is faster than most people think it is and on many trips it is as fast as most peoples canister stoves. It probably isn't as fast as canister stoves in the garage, but the least little bit of wind kills their performance.

IMO – Jetboils really only make sense on long trips without resupply or for large groups. They really are efficient stoves, they are just not real light for what they do so you need to boil a lot of water on a trip to make the weight worth it. That isn't saying that there is anything wrong with carrying one, I hike with a few people that really like them.

There are two problems with the Caldera Cones however that you should know about.

First is they are bulky and somewhat hard to transport. The "Caddy" that comes with the stove is heavier than the stove itself and I have never used it on a trip myself. I either roll it with my sleeping pad (CC Foam) or I use my pot to protect the bottom half, and a cut off Gatoraide bottle (that doubles as a measuring cup) to protect the top half (it weighs 0.8oz).

This can be solved with some pots (wider pots like the 900mL Evernews) with the Sidewinder. The sidewidner rolls up and fits inside the pot, which eliminates the issue of protecting the cone.

Second is for the most part they can only be used with one pot as they are sized for the pot. If you use multiple pots (say a small mug for solo trips and a larger pot for group trips, you would need two cones.

[Yes 1000]

Couple of weeks ago, I went on my first winter camping and carried BatchStovez Alcohol stove to test it out in winter conditions. I also had my backup Canister stove from ebay ($8 stove) and a 4 season JetBoil canister.

Result was after spending 20-30 mins and 2-3 ounces of Alcohol the stove didn't really work in 24-27F cold.

Others in my group were chowing away their mountain house meal while I still struggled to get my stove going. I went back to my tent got the Canister stove and in 5 mins was hydrating my meals.

[Brad Fisher]

I use both a Caldera Cone/850ml and jetboil. All depends on the trip and conditions.

Group when sharing gear
– Always the Jetboil
– Fast and easy
– With a group of coffee drinkers and meals just more efficient

Solo or with group not sharing gear:
Cold weather:(below freezing)
– Always the jetboil for speed
– I like coffee and hot breakfast, so in cold conditions I don't like to wait

Above freezing:
– Alky stove
– My calder cone is two pieces and fits easily into my 850ml(both snow peak mini and MLD), so easy storage

However as many have said stick with what you like.

[Author]

Posts