Canoe with a View : : Canadian Open Canoe forum

The Jetboil is a metal, 1 litre travel mug with a dedicated propane stove that attaches to the bottom. The mug features a set of heat transfer fins and exhaust vents that, according to Jetboil, doubles the efficiency of the stove. To be honest I believe them. It boils water really fast. More efficiency means carrying less fuel which being in a canoe is not a great problem, but being a 'fruggle' Yorkshireman it matters.



The Jetboil is modular, too. The propane canister and the stove, which features a built in piezo-igniter, stack neatly inside the mug. The mug has a foam cozy with a strap handle, a simple cup top with drinking hole, and a bottom cover to protect the heat transfer fins.



The Jetboil is perfect for quick brew stops or even for use in the bottom of the boat. It is however limited for use of water boiling. Some dehydrated foods can be cooked in it although it becomes a real pain for keeping clean as the mug takes on the colour of the last meal. If 'proper' meal cooking is required stick with the usual MSR, but unless you want to be a campsite Gordon Ramsey or require the versitility of cooking with petrol, white gas, av-gas or liquidised sheep poo the jetboil is a lot easier and quicker. By the time the old whisper lite is set up and lit the jetboil is packed away with you sitting drinking tea watching the others emulate an episode of Krypton Factor.

One point I would like to make is to not make your drink and then boil it up as it gushes out of the cooker then an out of control volcano, just the water on its own, trust me, I know about this one



The Jetboil is a great piece of kit albeit with a limited set of applications. It is not compatible with standard pots and pans but if you feel flush the specialist frying pan can be purchased to broaden the stoves scope.


Similarly the coffee press extends the range of applications slightly.


There are a few fuel options; Jetboil recommend the use of their own fuel (which is rarer than boredom in the company of Retro) or the usual gas cannister selection available in the UK, MSR propane/ butane mix proves to work well. If a small (225ml) cannister is used this can be stowed in the cup and packed away as a complete unit.

The Jetboil is not cheap. A simple, single kit costs £60, but they are widely available and well worth the money. For more details see http://www.jetboil.com."

Great report thanks
We need more reports of this quality on many pieces of our equipment of choice.

As for the jet boil a fantastic piece of kit when in a rush.

I'm not convinced though as speed is the last thing I need when stopping for a brew.

And it packs away into the duluth thwart bag, along with a sigg bottle of water, canisters of Tea Sugar Milk, Spoon, extra thermal mug,, interesting reading the comment about using other gas canisters, but dont all manufactures of cookers recommend that you only use the fuel that they supply, But I have found that most gas canisters are interchangeable, what can make a difference is the mixture of Butane, or Propane, and of course Temperature, but this is one for the Scientific ones among us, not me I'm afraid, Good review informative, enjoyed reading Happy Brewing up and Paddling Bill

Once again an informative review. I've seen Retro's JetBoil in action on numerous occasions and can vouch for its speed and ease of use.

When I was looking to replace a cream crackered gas cooker recently I thought about one of these as much of my cooking is not much more than boiling water but decided against for two reasons: 1. As you mention the limited flexibility in using different pans, 2. The long tall design seems rather unsteady to me. Though having said that seeing Gav fire his up with it perched on the top of a fence post was rather novel.

If there is enough interest, I will see if I can put a members offer together as we supply these. I own one myself but for some reason have never used it that could possibly be because it is summer and I prefer cold drinks,,,,, just keep the ice coming for the scotch

Graeme

Great review Lee. If its alright with you can I copy this and use it on the mainsite When i get the time of course


Nige.

Highly recommnd bit of kit the best canisters I found are MSR 250ml on as these have a higher percentge of propane good for cold weather and use at altitude as it need less O2 to burn hotter thanks to the higher propane mix.

(04-08-08 08:57 PM)Retro Wrote: [ -> ]Highly recommnd bit of kit the best canisters I found are MSR 250ml on as these have a higher percentge of propane good for cold weather and use at altitude as it need less O2 to burn hotter thanks to the higher propane mix.

Lier, you buy them because of the colour

Great bit of kit - Always take mine along with me in place of a flask.

I've got the pan support and stabiliser feet as well but find that the flame is a bit too concentrated so takes a bit of getting used to when cooking bacon and sausages.

Did make the mistake of making some spicy couscous in travel mug which gave my tea and coffee an interesting flavour on the rest of that trip

Cheers

Jon

Usual reply from me - get an old brass primus/optimus and fettle it. Then you have a great all-purpose stove that did'nae cost a fortune, looks braw, does'nae waste yon gas cylinders and paraffin is still cheaper than petrol up here. It's a sort of recycling in itself and anyone who doubts their power or fuel efficiency should see my Primus #210 in action.

Grandfather Kite

Well I've just spent a couple of hours transferring Lee's review to the mainsite, and I've now decided I want one, so Jetboil has gone down on the christmas wish list.

Nige.

Group buy offer HERE

Graeme