View Full Version : jetboil
MadAussieInLondon
12-09-2004, 17:06
i just found a new stove i wanna try out..
http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Intro
anyone used a jetboil? sounds too good to be true. 80% fuel efficiency...
stickat04
12-09-2004, 17:52
I used pepsi can stove for 535 miles in 04 a friend gave me her jetboil when she left the trail (because I was always using it to cook). I used the jet boil for another 400 miles until I got off. I just got one for Christmas for my 05 attempt.
Its is heavier then alcohol stove but the quick set up and boiling time make the extra weight worth it to me.
stick
I have never used one. However, the reports I have gotten from SOBO's coming thru seem to all be good. the most amazing thing is the fuel economy. I know of two people who made it over 1500 mile on one fuel bottle, and we had one guy stay who made it the whole way on a single bottle. He said he cooked once a day around 5 days a week.
JoeHiker
12-09-2004, 18:23
Their website says that the canister is good to boil up to 12 litres of water. How could anyone could use it 5 days a week for 1500 miles and only go through one canister?
http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Specs
The Solemates
12-09-2004, 18:24
yea really...
magic_game03
12-09-2004, 18:43
don't be so doubtful, maybe you have not looked at the equation hard enough. 1500 miles on a single canister? easy, sinfully easy. open your mind....to something other than what is offered at the commerical level.
JoeHiker
12-09-2004, 18:59
I'm certainly willing to listen to someone who can lay it out for me. But unfortunately the math doesn't look to good. It says that 1500 miles, even averaging 20 miles a day (optimistic) still means 75 days of hiking. At 5 out of every 7 days, that means 54 days of cooking. 12 litres over 54 days works out to 0.224 litres -- about 7 ounces of water per day. Less than a cup of water.
Take that average down to a more likely 15 miles a day and we get 71 days of cooking = 0.168 litres per day = about 5 ounces.
What do you cook with 5 ounces of water per day? Half a cup of tea?
magic_game03
12-09-2004, 23:29
ok johiker, let me lay it out for you. some summer hikers hike the entire trail w/o a stove or pot, so I know you can walk the entire thing if they carried an empty fuel can. second you didn't even consider what they were cooking, you don't even need boiling water for raimen noodles or hot coco so you cant say exactly how long the hiker burned fuel for. you went through that entire equation and never mentioned fuel weight or burn weight, how can you even talk about how much water you can heat if you dont mention how much fuel it takes to burn the water(which makes me think your a novice/ and where did you come up with 12 liters? is that some kind of magical number?) third, I've done 700 miles in semi winter hiking on a single canister burning at least twice a day, 7 days a week! So I think it can be done. and of course that's just my opinion, your intitled to yours
I :)
Pencil Pusher
12-10-2004, 02:52
Heh heh, they've got a little overly dramatic video on that JetBoil website. A guy freaks out over the typical priming ritual of a Whisperlite and tosses the whole setup in the river:rolleyes: It looks like it would accept the Primus cannisters as well, so perhaps the dude going on extended cooks is using a bigger cartridge? If not, the JetBoil cartridge has 100 grams of fuel. Magicgame, the 12 liters comes from JetBoil's own website.
stickat04
12-10-2004, 03:39
It can use the bigger canisters. I had a small canister longest i remember it lasting three weeks cooking only dinners.
i just found a new stove i wanna try out..
http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Intro
anyone used a jetboil? sounds too good to be true. 80% fuel efficiency...
Yo MadAussie:
buy you a POCKET ROCKET & be done with this madness!
heheheheheehhee! :D
Kerosene
12-10-2004, 10:40
I looked over a JetBoil in the store last winter and did a little on-line research. I also ran into a field reviewer, Joe Flamingo, at Muskrat Ridge Shelter just north of the GA/NC border.
Fuel efficiency is definitely impressive, especially if it's cooler and breezy. You do have to live with the 1 liter insulated high-standing cup, but it's nice to hold. My biggest complaint was that it was very difficult to remove to cup from the stove, although Joe said he had "snapped off a few pins" that didn't seem to affect performance but made it easier to remove. Perhaps JetBoil has addressed by now.
I would recommend the JetBoil for committed canister users who will be out for more than 2 weeks. Less than that and you'll be paying a weight penalty and probably not using all the fuel. This system could cut canister re-supplies in half with more than enough capacity to get you between the furthest major resupply points.
JoeHiker
12-10-2004, 11:03
ok johiker, let me lay it out for you. some summer hikers hike the entire trail w/o a stove or pot, so I know you can walk the entire thing if they carried an empty fuel can.That's nice but irrelevant. We're not talking about how long someone can go without fuel. We're talking about someone who claimed to cook 5 times a week over a 1500 mile journey.
second you didn't even consider what they were cooking, you don't even need boiling water for raimen noodles or hot coco so you cant say exactly how long the hiker burned fuel for. you went through that entire equation and never mentioned fuel weight or burn weight, how can you even talk about how much water you can heat if you dont mention how much fuel it takes to burn the waterSince we don't know what the man was cooking, it's a bit hard to judge that, wouldn't you say? No doubt if he heated up 10 ounces of water to just lukewarm he could use the same fuel it would take to boil 5. But be realistic. What percentage of thru-hikers actually do that?
(which makes me think your a novice/ and where did you come up with 12 liters? is that some kind of magical number?) Only if you consider it magical to actually read a post before responding to it. The 12 liters is quoted from the company's own website as I said earlier. I even provided a link. Since they actually make the product, it seemed somewhat relevant.
third, I've done 700 miles in semi winter hiking on a single canister burning at least twice a day, 7 days a week! So I think it can be done. I have no doubt it can be done if you push the envelope far enough. It's just not very likely. I think the guy was exaggerating just a tad.
and of course that's just my opinion, your intitled to yours Thanks for your permission.
Rain Man
12-10-2004, 11:33
If this is the same stove/pot combination I've seen at REI and a couple of other stores,... it seems HEAVY!!!!
Right? Wrong?
Rain Man
.
MadAussieInLondon
12-10-2004, 12:16
Yo MadAussie:
buy you a POCKET ROCKET & be done with this madness!
heheheheheehhee! :D
am still very happy with my original handmade brasslite :banana
but 80% fuel efficiency sound very appealing.
Kerosene
12-10-2004, 13:25
If this is the same stove/pot combination I've seen at REI and a couple of other stores,... it seems HEAVY!!!!The JetBoil website quotes a 15 ounce total weight, although I'm not convinced that that number includes the weight of the canister (which is 7 oz by itself for their 100g canister). My setup includes a SnowPeak GigaPower @ 3.5 oz, 1.5L titanium pot @ 5.5 oz, aluminum foil potlid/windscreen @ 1 oz, and a 100g canister @ 7 oz. for a total of 17 ounces. I'm pretty sure that the comparable JetBoil total weight would be 22 ounces.
I do not know what he was cooking. He waas using a 8oz cannister. I also thought it seemed as if he was streaching it a little. I talked to Winton @ Neel's Gap and he has been hearing the same stories as me. I do not know.
grrickar
12-10-2004, 14:00
I like the concept behind the JetBoil, and almost bought one. My beef with the setup is that you only can use that tall cylindrical pot/cup they sell. For boiling water (which I understand is it's primary purpose) it would be sufficient, but there is no way you could cook anything (at least not easily) in that tall, narrow pot.
I went with a Optimus Crux at ~3.1oz, and a Snow Peak Ti 1400 pot at 5.5oz. The Snow Peak 1400 will hold any size isobutane canister, so I can use the 1400 for long trips with one big cylinder, or for shorter trips take my Snow Peak Multi cookset with smaller pots and pans and a small cylinder, which would be good for solo use.
I found that the Snow Peak multi set was great for just me, but cooking for two I found even the largest pot in the set to be a bit too small. It would hold everything, but not a lot of room between whatever was in the pot and the top, so it could boilover easily and bumps usually meant spills.
I haven't used the JetBoil myself, but it sure seems to me that the wonderfully effiecient heat exchanger on the bottom of the cup that absorbs all of that heat from the burner's flame will be equally as efficient at radiating the heat back out of the cup once the heat source is removed.
Any theoretical or real life comments ?
MadAussieInLondon
12-11-2004, 05:58
aah i didnt realise the cup was so narrow that you couldnt cook in it...
kinda defeats most of the purpose no? :cool:
hmm. ohwell.. id like to see one in real life. wonder if you can disengage
the cup from the stove for cooking and what the fuel efficiency would be if i put my msr titan kettle on it instead......
I looked at the jetboil at REI and it looked like it was designed well. I did not buy due to the price and I have a brasslite that I use. One day I saw one on e-bay and I placed a bid and won. I got it new for $56.00. Great price as compared to REI. I took it on a weekend trip about a month ago. I rarely cook but boil water. I have to admit that it is as described, it will boil water quicker that any stove I have ever used and it packs well. A little heavy but very and I mean very fuel stingy. I liked the fact that the pot is insulated and it keeps water very warm for a long time. I think it would be a great stove for a week hike but longer I will go back to my alcohol stove.
I would recommed this stove for people that hike weekends and short week trips. The pizo ignitor sucks so you better carry a lighter. You can cook noodles and other items easily, the pot is narrow and tall but not a real problem. The pot releases easily from the stove and the plastic cup that stores on the bottom has graduated marks and doubles as a bowl. The snap on lid can be used to drink from the pot and that did work well. The people at Jet Boil did their homework and did it well.
SGT Rock
12-11-2004, 12:59
Seems to me the start weight is so much higher than my current alcohol set up that there isn't a good reson to switch - and then since the weight never really drops much, the average overall weight during the time carried doesn't make it as weight efficient as it is fuel efficient.
Kerosene
12-11-2004, 16:27
Seems to me the start weight is so much higher than my current alcohol set up that there isn't a good reson to switchI agree. Only inveterate canister users should consider, and then only if they plan to be out for more than 10 days.