jetboil on a thru-hike?

[sarahgirl]

Forgive me if this is already a thread somewhere, but there are hundreds of pages to the gear topic and I have dial-up (we don't have access to dsl yet in the sticks).

Here goes: I've used the jetboil and love it. I don't know how it would hold up long distance. I like how it packs into itself, but it is kind of bulky. I will probably be using it to boil water only. Has anyone out there used a jetboil on long-distance hikes and how did you like it? Pros & cons.

(I'm also looking at the pocket rocket)

Thanks!

[zoidfu]

There are lighter options out there but it's fine. A friend of mine has had one for a couple of years and it's never failed him.

You'll have to account for the fuel cans, though. I'm not sure how available they are along the AT but you could always use maildrops.

[buckwheat]

Pros:

Boiling water in 2.5 minutes (hot as the Sun ... you'll be eating while others are heating)
No worries about wind
Can't spill or adulterate the fuel
Difficult to damage inside your pack (hobo stoves can be accidently crushed)
Compact design collapses fuel, cooking container and stove into about the space of a nalgene
Fuel options (can use Jetboil fuel, or competitors fuel)
Can simmer as well as boil

Cons
Heavier than a "coke can stove"
Not suited to use over an open flame
Hot as the Sun (can burn food if not monitored)

Those are the biggies. The tradeoff with a Jetboil is weight-to-convenience.

[Frick Frack]

We used one on our sobo and it worked fine. If you are only boiling water its great but when we started cooking it wasn't so great (I wish we had our Pocket Rocket) because that pot stabilizer is garbage. Finding fuel canisters would be no problem. Half way at Harper's Ferry it died on us (it was the "o" ring in the stove unit...we had used the stove many times before our thru) but the outfitters took great care of us and fixed it.

[garlic08]

I haven't used one but saw many of them when they first came out. Everyone who had one loved it and no one I saw had a single problem with it.

[Summit]

Only problem I've had with mine in over two years is the peizio (sp?) lighter, and I lost the bottom cup. I called their customer service and ordered a replacement cup at a very reasonable $5 and when I mentioned the lighter quit working, they sent me a whole new unit free along with the cup. Was simple to install. T'was a very good customer service experience.

[Frick Frack]

Only problem I've had with mine in over two years is the peizio (sp?) lighter, and I lost the bottom cup. I called their customer service and ordered a replacement cup at a very reasonable $5 and when I mentioned the lighter quit working, they sent me a whole new unit free along with the cup. Was simple to install. T'was a very good customer service experience.

Good point....don't rely on the igniter and be sure to have a lighter handy. I have gone through three piezo-igniters. I just use a lighter now w/o even trying the igniter. And, yes, JetBoil customer service is excellent.

[BlackRock]

I've got both a Pocket Rocket and a Jetboil. I've had the Pocket Rocket for maybe 6 years and the Jetboil for the last three. While the Rocket is simple and small you still have to carry something to cook in and fuel. So for me the pack size was never that much smaller just not as organized and simple as the Jetboil.

Another thing to note is that unless you get a heat shield for the Rocket you'll be wasting alot of fuel. I used to take 2-3 cannisters for longer trips and would go through two or three sometimes but now with my Jetboil I'll work off a single fuel with me and my buddy for three days or more.

I cook alot in my Jetboil, it just takes some playing around to get it right but you can definitely simmer and warm in it. Mostly I just boil water for dried camp food and for that it works great. We've also used it when we ran out of iodine tabs once. We were in for four days and lost a bottle of tabs and had to boil water for two and a half days. Three cans of fuel and we boiled up all our food and probably 30+ Liters of water with fuel to spare (It was hot, what can I say ).

My recommendation is that if your going to get a manufactured stove then get the Jetboil. It's simple and robust, lightweight and has some nice accessories like the french press. I've never had the stabalizer legs and never needed them. The small fuel canisters last me about four to six days on my own or more in the summer, less in the winter and I used them to boil a few cups of water in the evening for dinner and another few cups in the morning for coffee and maybe some instant oatmeal.

[Mags]

Good point....don't rely on the igniter and be sure to have a lighter handy. I have gone through three piezo-igniters. I just use a lighter now w/o even trying the igniter. And, yes, JetBoil customer service is excellent.

To be fair to Jet Boil, it seems to be a problem with the pi's in general. My friend has a Snopeak Giga, and the same thing happened. Another friend with a jetboil had the same issue.

As others said, carry a lighter.

[BlackRock]

Clean the tip of your Piezo once every couple years with a wire brush and you shouldn't have a problem unless you actually break it off. Mine has been working strong since the day I got it with no problems and I've never had to use a lighter.

Then again I also carry a lighter so if it did ever fail I'd be covered but I wouldn't buy the stove and expect the Piezo to die on me.

[Frick Frack]

To be fair to Jet Boil, it seems to be a problem with the pi's in general.

I did not mean to seem down on JetBoil...I love ours and highly recommend it to anyone whose needs it would fill. The company was fantastic to deal with when we had a problem and took care of it immediately. Those pi's on the other hand......

[Summit]

Good point....don't rely on the igniter and be sure to have a lighter handy. I have gone through three piezo-igniters. I just use a lighter now w/o even trying the igniter. And, yes, JetBoil customer service is excellent.

Me too! It's kinda hard to light it with the igniter without it going "boom" a bit, and using a lighter is easy and saves the hair on my hands and arms!

[4eyedbuzzard]

Here's the biggest cons I can think of on canister stoves in general: If you're like me you 1) don't definitely don't want to run out of fuel, and 2) you may be too frugal(cheap) to just dump a partially used canister in a hiker box or in the garbage. So at times, and especially on a long distance hike, you would wind up carrying two canisters, one that is being used and on its way to empty, and a full one, and you wind up carrying the dead weight and volume of the second canister(approx 4 oz.) The 3rd con against the jetboil system is that most other manufacturers canisters except Snow Peak won't nest in the PCS size pot, so if no Jetpower fuel is available, you'll be stuck carrying the somewhat larger diameter canisters outside the PCS pot. The 4th issue is if you only carry the jetpoil pot(s), which with it's heat exchanger is what makes it so efficient, you likely wouldn't want to use it over a wood fire to save fuel. This wouldn't be the case with other cannister stoves or if using alcohol or white gas.

Now, all that said, it's a really well engineered, fuel efficient, fast, convenient, and reliable piece of gear. That's a lot of plusses. I have one and love the speed and convenience--and especially for making coffee. Making a hot cup of coffee anywhere while taking a short break in literally under 5 minutes is a huge plus IMO. For a long distance hike I think I'd go with my alcohol stove and Ti pot in order to take advantage of cooking over wood as well, but given alcohol's lesser heat output by weight the savings isn't huge. Sgt. Rock here at WB did a pretty exhaustive weight/heating analysis of different fuels and stoves at one time if I remember correctly (you may be able to search for it or perhaps he'll post a link if he reads this), and we're ultimately talking about saving maybe 1/2 a pound here.

Allright, that wound up longer than I expected when I started...

[Mags]

Well since we are discussing pros and cons of various stoves..

http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.ph...omparison.html

There is no right or wrong for the stove that works for you. Some like the lightness of alcohol, some like the convenience and speed of canister stoves and so on.

In the end, it is a just a stove. Franconia Ridge probably is stunning whether you use a Jetboil or an old soda can.

[DAJA]

I also have had difficulty with the ignitor on my jetboil... So one evening I was sitting around and decided to give it a good overhaul to see if I could address the problem... After a great deal of fussing and experimenting, I realized that the tip of the ignitor was too far from the metal contact (base of pot support) and therefore was not arching to create ignition. So I gently bent the tip downward, closer to the base of the stove... Have never had a problem since. I've even eliminated the exlposion that Summit mentioned...

It's worth a try...

[DAJA]

I should add I love my jetboil and haven't used my pocket rocket or tangia alcohol stoves since... It is bulky, but it's reliability, simplicity and efficiency outweight the size..

[CowHead]

did anyone get the recall notice on the jetboil mine works find but I guess there or cases of fuel leaks?

[middle to middle]

Do not get between me and my Jetboil at breakfast, or dinner time. Or when I need Caffene. Or when I want hot drink on cold day. Best to just to avoid any negative comments too. I take care of my jetboil and my jet boil takes care of me. My starter works fine just fine.

[Summit]

The 3rd con against the jetboil system is that other manufacturers canisters won't nest in the PCS size pot, so if no Jetpower fuel is available, you'll be stuck carrying the somewhat larger diameter canisters outside the PCS pot.

True, but the workaround for that is pack something else in that space. When I carry the large 220 gr canister, I pack the PCS with my coffee supplies.

BTW, boiling approx. twice a day (first one for coffee I over-fill the two cup line), I get right at 7-8 days out of the 110 gr and at least two weeks out of the 220 gr. I cut off the fuel as soon as I reach a boil. So let's call that 15 and 30 2-cup boils respectively and conservatively, possibly a couple more, for the two canister sizes. Based on how much you cook, you can figure your 'canister mileage.'

BTW, when they sent me my replacement igniter, they said the red-button ones were known to be high failure, and the one they sent me has a black button. Haven't even used it yet on the trail, just tested it after install. Will put it to use here in a couple of weeks.

[jimqpublic]

The SnowPeak GigaPower 110 gram canisters will fit just fine inside the Jetboil. They're cheaper and have 10% more fuel than the Jetpower canisters.

I keep the canister attached to the stove. From packed to assembled, filled with water, and lit takes less than 30 seconds.