Stove systems - JetBoil

Advantages

• small
• complete system

Disadvantages

• Susceptible to wind

Notes

• packed weight: 12.3 oz (348 g)

My first encounter with a JetBoil system was on a recent trip to King's Peak in the Utah, High Uintas Wilderness area.

With very late start at the trailhead, our first camp was at Alligator Lake, only a couple of miles from the trailhead and at a relatively low altitude. After setting up camp it was time for dinner, and out came my trusty liquid fuel stove. The other stoves in the group were a top-mount upright canister stove and the JetBoil.

The JetBoil caught my attention, not because of speed of boil, which is impressive, but because of the compactness of the entire unit. The engineering to allow the stand, fuel, and pot all to nest is a great feature. The one thing I really did not like was the bayonet connection between pot and stove. As I watch the JetBoil being used, it appeared to be a hassle to disconnect the hot pot from the stove to be able to pour water out of the pot. Apparently the cosy does not do a complete job of shielding the heat, and the fabric handle is not much help either. But pack size...

So I bought a JetBoil. One of the worst decisions of my life. What a waste of money.

First use, was on my patio. Temperature was 45º, but breezy.  I honestly do not know the wind speed, but to me it was a breeze. I nearly failed to boil water. The JetBoil kept blowing out. Since the stove is directly above the canister, it is unsafe to wrap the stove with a wind screen. I finally ended up constructing a wind block with patio furniture and was able to boil water.  I have since tried two other times with the JetBoil.  One success was in near calm, the other failure in a breeze.

I had bought the JetBoil to use on a two week non-resupply extended trip, which will average above the tree line. No natural wind breaks, and now I am reluctant to trust the JetBoil and I will probably never use the stove. I would sell it, but I am having a hard time with my conscience.  Plus I do not make much of a convincing salesman, since I have nothing good to say about the stove. I cannot return it, I have used it three times, (well tried to use it three times).

One further mistake. I bought the titanium version (Sol).  The heat exchange coil is still aluminum. With the Sol, you need to be extremely careful to not melt the heat exchange coil. There are heat transfer problems from the the aluminum to the titanium. Instructions included with the Sol explicitly state that you only boil water with the stove. No cooking, no melting snow, etc...

The one time I was able to boil 2 cups (~500 ml) water without incident it took 2 minutes and used .2 oz (by weight) of fuel.  Impressive numbers when it worked one out of three times.