Wondering if anyone has had any experience with Jetboil ? http://jetboil.com/ . I checked one out at EMS; the saleswoman took me out front and fired it up. It boiled the cup/pot in no time. I tend to shy away from canister stoves, but this one had a lot of whiz bang appeal.

Biscuits

I don't know what "wizz bang appeal" is, but it does look "sexy" !!!

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I saw it at REI. I think it's too specialized for camping, but it might be great if you need some hot water regularly, away from electric power sources or your kitchen. Like, perhaps at a construction site for your tea.

It would be absolutely perfect for me and would take care of quite a few different problems I encounter in the field, but I would like to know more about the fuel, as I am not a huge fan of canister stoves either. The main question I have is if it takes Jetfuel or whatever only, or if I can use other types as well.

Garrett

Campmor sells them, and their catalog states that the fuel canisters are not available by mail order. So, if your local store doesn't have them (and chances are they won't), I wonder how you are going to get more fuel???

Funny that you brought this up just as I'm researching a couple of new stoves, specifically gas (as opposed to liquid) stoves - in the course of which I ran across the Jetboil last week.

No experience and have not seen one first hand. But I ran across some discussions of it - sorry I didn't bookmark them. IIRC, I read zero negative reviews - all were positive, although one reviewer did note that using the container with an included sipping lid a la communter mug was not their cup of tea.

As for the cannister fuel - again, IIRC - it is the standard (except GAZ and Powermax) 7/16" - 30tpi threaded connector with a Lindall (SP?) valve that all such cannisters are - any should fit. And those containers are shipped surface anywhere in the States - just can't go via air shipment. Most everyone says "YOU MUST USE OUR BRAND XYZ CANNISTER FUEL", but that is less than accurate for other stoves and may be the case with this as well. Again, IIRC, one reviewer has used it with other (larger) butane-propane cannisters, with the caveat that it no longer packs as neatly because the fuel cannister doesn't fit inside the cup.

There are - or can be - air-fuel mix and velocity considerations to swapping fuels. For example, stoves designed for isobutane (several MSR stoves) will not reach design BTUs with butane-propane mixes - isobutane has a higher heat value. And stoves designed for butane-propane mixes MIGHT (depending on the stove) see abnormally large flames, possibly standing a distance away from the burner head, when fed pure isobutane at full throttle. But they all work if the cannister threads onto the stove and the nut on the flame control valve isn't too loose (the operator). It all made sense at the time I read it.

Agin, all this is my recollection of things I have read recently, not my first-hand knowledge.

BTW, it sure looks like Coleman now owns Le GAZ / Bluet and I saw a couple of non-US marketed stoves that looked interesting during my research. In any event, Coleman sells the 270 and 270 HPZ stoves now. Personally, I'm probably going to try out a PowerMax Xtreme stove and my wife will try out a GAZ 270 HPZ and the standard 270 - we can get such good prices on these right now through Coleman's non-profit group sales. The winner becomes the stoves of choice for the BSA Venture Crew we advise... or maybe a Feather 442. Hard to wean me off of white gas; pardon my cold weather bias...

I predict the PowerMax will ace the cold weather testing - it supplies liquified gas to the burner where a heat exchanger (generator, if you like) gasifies the fuel - there is a clunk-type pick-up in the tank for liquid fuel, like a chainsaw or model airplane fuel tank. Using butane-propane conventional cannisters in below freezing temps appears to involve some arcane mutterings and secret hand wavings to avoid burning off the propane and leaving the butane sitting there doing...nothing. I have not pased the 35th level of secret gas stove usage yet, so this is pure speculation on my part... but we'll find out this winter.

...anyway, ALL of these fuels and more are on-the-shelf locally, so shipping isn't an issue.

PS - Google Jetboil. This is a quick one: http://thehowzone.com/how/Jetboil including a video and photos showing it happily running along on an MSR cannister.

HTH,

Tom

I bought the Jetboil to test it out from REI.

It's still targetted at the US market and not for international use as it uses the threaded valve.

You'll have a problem using it in other parts of the world as the non threaded valve Campingaz is much more easier to find.

You'll need an adapter to use it with the non threaded valve.

HTH.

That thing looks pretty cool. I've wanted a stove for a while and this may be it.

Any idea how much it costs? What about the fuel carts? And what are the biggest compatible cartridges I can get, and how much do they cost, if I don't care about stowing the fuel cart inside the cup? Thanks.

The campingaz C206 piercable gas canister is readily available here. However you need to buy an adapter from Europe to use it for the Jetboil as it uses the threaded valve.

Markill adapter from Germany


Transform a puncture-style gas cartridge into a re-sealable cartridge(EN417). Will work on most Camping Gaz® type non-resealable canisters easing your worries about obtaining re-sealable canisters in far flung places.

Karrimor Go Gas power pak adapter from UK.

I went to the REI website and they do sell fuel for the stoves. AND its not Jetfuel. Its something else. They recommended it though, so I guess it cant be too bad. I am going to ask for one for christmas.

Garrett

This might be a bit late after the initial posting, but I just got my JetBoil and I really like it.

The time it takes to boil water is insanely short. Granted it only works for water and it'll undo/redo some people's notion of cooking out in the woods.

Retail is $75 and it's a wee bit on the expensive side if you do a comparision of a) how much water per fuel it can boil (approx. 11.5 liters) and b) how verstile it is (not very, but if you look at Jetboil's website they do have alternative recipes for it).

On the flip side you've got those prepared dehydrated foods that require hot/boiling water to rehydrate/cook. This would be an excellent use of Jetboil.

As for the question regarding fuel, it can run on non-Jetboil fuel but the performace is about equal or nearly so. At least with Prima fuel.

While it's not as light nor as verstile as say a MSR whisperlite, it's great if you go for a easily stored cooking device. As for mentioned, the fuel and the burner can go inside the cup.

Cheers!

I have taken a Jetboil on a couple of lightweight hiking/camping trips this year, and it is amazing how fast it works with liquids. It's great for making a hot drink to warm your core when you're hiking and want to take a quick but effective break. It's also great for making one of many different adaptations of the classic hiking food, Ramen noodles. For breakfast, oatmeal is my basic staple, and it gets hot water ready in a flash. If you're using dehydrated meals from Mountain House, that just need boiling water to make them edible, this will do the trick.

I think the best thing is that it's a compact unit that you can take along, with nothing else but a spoon, and have all the cooking kit you'll need for a lot of situations. In the past, I was always trying to figure out if I need the pot, pan, cup, plate, etc? A full mess kit, even titanium, is bulky, and then you still need a stove. This thing packs into itself, fuel, heater, and cook/drink cup, and is about the size of a 1 liter Nalgeen bottle when packed.

What I've found is that it's compact and light enough that I put it in my summit bag for day hikes. I have had plenty of times when I was on a day trip that got colder than expected. A hot lunch, or even just some cocoa, at the right time, can really lift your spirits and get you through a miserable time.

I typically have the unit in the daypack in the back of my car, so it's also part of my BOB.

Downside, from my experience, is trying to heat anything that isn't very fluid. It can burn things quickly if they aren't fairly liquid. You wouldn't be happy trying to warm up your thick Dinty Moore stew in there, because you'll be stirring it constantly. (And I love that stuff.) That's not a big problem for hikers, because usually we're taking lightweight stuff that just needs hot water to reconstitute it, like noodles, pasta, granola, oatmeal, etc.

Lastly, someone earlier asked about where to get the Jetboil fuel. Our local EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) stocks them, along with REI. In addition, some places will ship them, using ground only, for example, Mountain Gear sells a 6 pack of them:
http://www.mgear.com/pages/product/product.asp/level1_id/0/level2_id/0/level3_id/0/item/103705

I still like my liquid multi-fuel stoves. I can run it on White gas, kerosene, jet fuel, unleaded car fuel, and #1 diesel. It sits nice an stable. I can use a pot or just a steel cup on it. The jetboil sounds neat, but I wouldn't replace my stove with it just yet.

I'm not too concerned with getting a hot cup of coffee or cooking ramen, and MREs already come with heaters for the entrees...

However, I would be interested in hearing about jetboils value for boiling questionable water for drinking, and maybe melting snow for drinking. I haven't really considered a stove, and I'm not sure I need one, although I have been looking at those small folding stoves that uses solid fuel

I think I'd go with the classic soda can stove.