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Trailjockey
02-20-2004, 03:09
Has anybody had any expirience with the Jetboil cooking system.
I saw it at EMS and was curious.
Claims to boil two cups of water in 90 sec. and can boil up to 12litres on one canister of propane/isobutane.
Cook system weighs 14oz. and canister is 7oz(3.5 is fuel).
Not exactly an ultralight system but thinking it might be worth the sacrafice for the fast cooking and the potetial for low fuel consumption, plus the added ability to travel further without resupply.
While cold weather hiking I need roughly 16-18oz of alcahol for my Brasslite to get through 5-6 days.(I don`t care to much for cold chow and I like my coffee, morning and evenings) Sometimes when it`s really cold you need to do, do-overs. So if you add things up, pot+stove+fuel, your just about in the neighborhood as far as weight goes. Though I am thinking that you may need the pot with Jetboil system.(?)
Any thoughts? :-?

tribes
02-20-2004, 07:34
At 14 oz for the just the cooking system without fuel it sounds heavy and I think their are better options out there that are half the weight. If you are set on the canister models, then check out the array of ultralight canister stoves weighing a third or a quarter of 14 oz. I use am alcohol stove but that is my preference. Someone once talked to me about the speed to boiling water. He said "What's the difference if it takes five minutes or 3 minutes? You have nothing but time out here." :rolleyes:

deeddawg
02-20-2004, 10:59
The JetBoil system looks pretty cool, but I won't be buying one.

Compare the cannister options:

JetBoil (14oz) plus ~110g cannister (7oz) -- total 21oz.

Ti pot (4oz) plus ~220g cannister (12.5oz) plus 3oz stove -- total 19.5oz

Even if the JetBoil is truly TWICE as efficient as a conventional stove, you're still ahead in terms of weight. And for cost, the Markill/Vaude Hotrod is ~$40 and the Evernew 0.9l Ti pot is ~$40, so total cost is about the same.

There are a couple other downsides to the JetBoil system IMHO:

(1) If something should happen to your fuel, whether a matter of spilling half your alcohol or a leaky cannister valve, you can easily use your pot on a small fire to heat water/food if necessary. I suppose you could do this with the JB system, but I suspect it may cause some damage.

(2) If you ever use anything other than the JetBoil system, you still need a pot anyway, so it would seem even less cost-effective.

It's still a really cool idea. :)

-- Lew

PS: regarding leaky valves -- I've never seen a cannister valve leak, but I have seen a leaky valve on a green Coleman propane cannister. Slow leak, but enough to empty the cannister over the course of a day. I also met a couple in GSMNP who had had an accident with their white-gas stove the first day out on a nine day trip and lost about half their fuel -- so they improvised by doing some of their cooking over a fire.

Jaybird
02-20-2004, 11:51
Has anybody had any expirience with the Jetboil cooking system?...................Claims to boil two cups of water in 90 sec. and can boil up to 12litres on one canister of propane/isobutane.

Cook system weighs 14oz. and canister is 7oz(3.5 is fuel).
Not exactly an ultralight system ..................................


sounds like JET FUEL PROPELLED! hehehehehehehe :D


too heavy for me! (lightweight hiker-wanna be )

i'm with TRIBES..."whats the big rush to boil water?"...take your time.... enjoy the experience......


see ya'll UP the trail!

Trailjockey
02-20-2004, 14:51
:-? I`m still giving it some thought. As far as time is concerned, I don`t have enough. I`m rather limited and have to squeeze my hikes in during scheduled vacations. You see, along with all the trappings of life, I have a job that I like to believe needs me. When retirerment comes I`ll have plenty of time. Until then it`s, jet out of camp in the mornings, maybe take time for something warm at lunch,(depending on distance traveled, weather and location)and then zoom into camp, set up, then relax. The nights are long and there`s plenty of time to chill-out. 5am. start all over.
When in a group I`m usually the last to get back on the trail. Thuoght this Jetboil system might save some time.
I haven`t heard of any problems with canister stoves. Spilage would be a concern more with gas or Colman fuel. I know alcahol does little to no damage when spilled and I`d probably return to using it in warmer times of the year. It`s the quickness of setup, boil time and btu output on 3.5 oz of fuel that has attracted me. Weight wise, I`m not an ultralighter. I`m more of a light weight. Personally I`m closer to a cruiser weight. :D
In warmer weather I can lower my cook system weight quite a bit by returning to alcahol. It`s the extra alcahol weight I carry in winter months that would seem to cancel out the added weight of the Jetboil system.
This is just an option I`m looking into. Nothing is set in stone yet.
Thought maybe somebody already put one to the test.