Jet set

If you like to camp and don't prefer to cook with the camp fire, you probably either already have a stove, or are looking into one. If you don't like a big, bulky propane jobby, or backpack like I do, you want something like a pocket stove. The Jetboil line of stoves has been gaining in popularity over the last few years, and I recently found out why.

Stove all packed up.

I read up a good bit on Jetboil, and found that they had become pretty popular with the troops overseas. They even have a little section on their website dedicated to shots sent in from the men and women of our Armed Forces posing with their stoves. Pretty cool story. That part got my attention. I had started looking into replacing the little $7 stove I have, I don't even remember the brand or name. It is a little fold out pocket stove that uses fuel tabs to slowly, and I mean slowly, heat up a pan or mug you place on top of the stove. It can take something like 5 to seven minutes to boil one cup of water, so heating up a pan of stew or trying to make coffee with this this is an exercise in patience. It is small and light though, and pretty much fool proof. I started looking into stoves by MSR, things like the Pocket Rocket, etc. They looked pretty promising, had lots of fuel choices, pretty wind resistant, and were compatible with just about any kind of cookware out there. This is when I stumbled on Jetboil, and started digging.

I managed to have a conversation with a camper I have spoken to before a little, and get his take on an older model Jetboil that he uses. I asked a few questions, but got the impression pretty quick that he was a die hard fan for life. It made sense. The stove comes with large aluminum cook cup, which is an integral part to the whole thing. Their idea centers around boiling water, although you can do so much more with this thing. The whole modular system is really thought out and compact, giving you a good cooking system in the size of a thermos or large mug. The flux ring at the base of all their cookware, including the cook cup that comes with the stove speeds up the whole cooking and boiling process, and helps with wind deflection. Alot. As for the fuel mileage, it runs a good long while on one of the small 100g cans, which pack up perfectly into the stove. I think this is a combination of good design for how much fuel the burner uses, and good design for how fast it heats food and water up using the available heat. I took several good trips on just one can of fuel, both cooking and cleaning dishes with the hot water.

Unpacked.

Starting from the bottom up, you have an integrated tripod base that clamps on to the fuel can to keep the stove more stable. The fuel cans spin on and off the stove real easily, and hardly any gas escapes at all during this, somehow. My old propane stoves from back in the day threatened to blow up the neighborhood when attaching and removing bottles. On top of the fuel can you have the actual stove itself, and then the cook cup locks onto this with a twist, for a very stable unit when all assembled. Alternatively, some models come with a pot holder ring that secures on the same way as the cooking cup, but has 4 wings that hold up a pan or pot, and works really well. I use a Jetboil Flash personally, which has a built-in igniter for even easier lighting. The fuel valve is pretty simple, and works well although during break in has a tendency to slowly turn itself down, so you have to watch the stove a bit. This is not a big deal, as it only takes a minute or two max to either boil water, or cook an entire can of beef stew in an aluminum pan from a mess kit. This joker is fast as hell. I have to remind myself to keep stirring when cooking to keep from burning food. The Flash model also has a little colored indicator strip built into the protective cover around the cook cup. This lets you know when you hit a certain temp, I forget what it is at the moment, but I'm sure it matters. Probably safe boiling water temp, which would be handy I reckon if you are using the stove to purify drinking water.

Assembled and ready to cook.

I've used my little stove to heat up soups and stews, sometimes some pretty thick stuff, make coffee in a jiffy, and even boil water a good bit for dish cleaning and for freeze dried meals. I wish the freeze dried meals cooked as quick with the boiling water as the stove cooks food. Guess you can't have everything. The Jetboil website also has tons of user submitted recipes, some of which are pretty damn creative. It's a really cool resource to be able to see what all you can accomplish with the little thing. Anyway, If you are looking for a great compact little cook system that is super versatile, give Jetboil a look.

-Owen

Pot/pan ring installed.

Components as packed.