Just wondering if there any comments on this system? It is super for heating water very rapidly! Oats, parched rice or peas, excellent for this as well as coffee,etc. However, it is reeally hard to cook on a skillet with this … hot spot under burner, hard to avoid. I am wondering what others think about this system.
Bob.
Have one, with same comments
It works well for what it is. I just bought the 1.5L por and have yet to try it, but I have no plans on skillet frying. I plan on using it for one-pot meals in the BWCA next month.
Jim
If you’re a minamalist,
It’s the best thing since. . . well . . . you know.
For backpacker style meals, noodle dishes, oat meal, coffe and tea, it can’t be beat.
It is thrifty on fuel and packs up into a small package.
I rely on the Lipton/Knorr noodle dishes a lot when I’m out. Just bring the water to a boil, pour the noodles, allow boiling to resume. Turn it off, put on the lid. Wait 50% longer than the directed cooking time(about 10 to 12 minutes, and viola it’s dinner timeThe foam koozie and lid retain enough heat to cook passivly. This saves a lot of fuel.
It is designed as a "hot water stove"
So cooking on a skillet is not that great; you should you look at a different type of stove if skillet cooking that is your style, such as units with fine simmer controls w/ separate fuel bootles. The Jetboil is a great, quick & compact unit, however I find that is not as “windproof” as the manufacturer promotes.
the jet boil is heavy
in my opinion compaired to something like a Alcohol stove. check out www.minibulldesigns.com for some great options.
The jet boil is great for paddling though… I guess the backpacker in me spoke first.
to use a skillet try putting a small amount of water in your pot and placing the pan on top of it. it will still heat the pan but not create a burn spot… just a thought.
Tommy
competition
I’ve liked the Jetboil the couple of times I’ve used one. The new MSR Reactor did well against the Jetboil in a recent review I read, so I’ll be interested to see one of those.
Jetboil
Really, this is a first class product. If you are a coffee fanatico (or , more importantly, live with one), the french press system works great and makes it worthwhile for that alone. I was worried about the fuel freezing up in very cold temps, but my son-in-law uses his ice fishing on Lake Superior with no issues. However, he is probably using a shelter, so the wind issue is one I can’t speak to. There is an adapter that allows “regular” pans to be used, and it works just fine that way. Be sure to use the stabilizer provided, as the fuel can base is a little small (and smaller than the standard size can.) However, DO use the Jetboil brand cans, because they fit in the cup as part of the packing system. That compact arrangement is what makes the Jetboil such a homerun for me. As another post noted, backpackers may consider it a little heavy (and only a little) but for paddlers this thing is great. I’m sure there will be knockoffs quickly, but we love ours right now.
MSR Reactor
I think the reactor is the obvious competitor for MSR to the JetBoil, however I think it is quite a bit more than the $60 you can find the Jetboil system on sale for… I also have an MSR Whisperlite Int but since I mostly boil water, the JetBoil pretty much wins hands down for convenience in 3-seasons and most 4-season applications.
Hard to beat the weight (or cost) of an alcohol stove if you are patient enough.
Jay
4-season…
Tricks for four season use include the usual insulating the isobutane canister with some kind of cozy, or storing it inside your jacket or some kind of heated space. Use the Jetboil “4-season mix” which adds more propane to the mixture or you could even rig up a metal heat conductor from the burner that will transmit the heat from the flame to the fuel canister… I’ve heard about this being done.
Jay
oh my
I hope you have good health insurance. Using any kind of heat shield is a deadly mistake with a canister stove.
Have Their Place…
Just this week, our old style Colemans were frying freshly caught fish while the Jet Boils were delegated to heating water for the instant mashed potatoes.
If I had only one stove I would take the old Coleman anytime…
Storage…
Not talking about using it, but keeping it warm until you need it. I will sleep with the Jetboil all the time, stick it in the footbed of my sleeping bag in winter… haven’t died yet!
Jay
On Day 15…
…of Jonathan Walpole’s 2006 solo trip from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy he reported:
Mon July 03: Location : 51 08.060N 127 41.253W
Burnett Bay, just south of Cape Caution
Mile long white sand beach. Having a fantastic time.
Approximately 30nm to Port Hardy. Late start tomorrow
to avoid paddlin against current. May be camp on
small island on Queen Charlotte Strait.
Still on the first small canister of fuel… the
Jet Boil stoves are great.
That works for me.
The Jetboil is stove of choice for me
on overnite canoe trips. I am a soup, noodles and rice eater and all day coffee drinker. It nests into a plastic ammo box along with all the food, utencils, condiments and coffee I consume on a two or three day trip. No issue with wind or cold for me this past winter with temps in upper 20’s, low 30’s. One problem I ran into, the fuel canister has leaked down after disassembly of the unit. After just a few meals I noticed my fuel was about “out of gas”. I could hear the fuel escaping. So, I carry a spare canister. I’m going to pick up a coffee press today for the upcoming Ozark Rendezvous.
how do you use the "coffee press"
on these jetboil systems? I cant find any instructions on the web.
thx,
Jonathan Walpole and…
… his wife Kirtie used the Jetboil for ~all~ their meals on that trip, according to Shawna and Leon (who do a terrific slide show on the expedition, BTW.)
–David.
I’ve looked at these,
and they do look great, along with all the other packing stoves, but I just can’t seem to justify buying any of them. If I want to cook, I haul the coleman, with it’s ease of use (no priming or preheating) and its simmering ability, and if I want to go light, I do mostly non-hot meals, with the pocket-size, tablet burning folding Esbit stove for tea, instant oatmeal, and instant soup.
if I had a broken jaw
and could eat only liquid foods
without a doubt, jetboil would be my camp stove of preference
How to use the French Press on a JetBoil
It is pretty easy: Boil the water for your coffee and then put ground coffee into the hot water (stirring a little helps). Shut off the heat, snap on the cover and let it brew. The press itself comes with a small put-together rod that you screw into the press filter and then fit the filter into the top of the JetBoil pot. After your coffee has brewed long enough (and it may take a couple of attempts to find the correct amount of time/coffee to brew to your taste) you press the filter down to the bottom of the pot with the rod, trapping the grounds at the bottom of the pot. You are now ready to pour out that hot brown juice! It is definitely better/safer to use a separate cup. You might also prefer to get some of those disposable (and easily composted) paper filters because, like many French Press screens, this one doesn’t do a perfect job of filtering out all the grounds. But their system does work well to get a hot cup of good coffee.
yep, way to heavy
and it takes up quite a bit of room compared to an alcohol stove…as far as effiency it pales compared to an alcohol stove and a Caldera Cone combo–2 cups at 54F to roiling boil in 5 min’s with 15ml of Everclear…but the Jetboil looks fancy eh!