Jetboil stove

[live2ride]

Hey, I am just trying to gear up for a summer that will be filled with overnight biking trips and was wondering what stove would be best? I have looked into the jetboil and that seems light and pretty good? Any suggestions would be great. I also followed up on a post regarding bivy sacks with some help needed for a light weight sleeping bag and a bivy like the outdoor research advanced but a little cheaper. Thanks

[marc olivares]

i've got a jetboil and i love it! makes a fast hot cup oe Joe!

[live2ride]

Can you cook other things with it in the cup if I don't purchase the cooking pot? I guess all that I need it for it to boil water since I will use the dried out, light weight food to eat? Do you have another stove you use to cook other food in?

[marc olivares]

Hmmm, depends on if i'm car camping or backpacking.

if car camping, yes i carry a small single burner butane stove. i use that to cook w/ and the jetboil for coffee. see photos in link (http://uutah.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1644&highlight=spiral+jetty)

if i'm backpacking, it's jetboil for coffee first, then jetboil for hot water for dehydrated foods. having multiple cups works great for this. as you can have coffee in one and food in the other. my wife and i each carry one so, she makes the coffee and we share the cup and i'll make the grub and we share. we also have the coffee press screen that helps make good coffee.
if youre not a coffee drinker, well then using them to heat water for dehy. food is super nice.:2thumbs:

[Scott P]

The Jet Boil doesn't work at all in cold weather, but should for summer hikes. It might be a good choice for what you are looking for.

I like my X-pert stove. It's easy to use and even works in cold weather. I swear by it, and highly recommend it. Only good product Coleman ever made.

http://www.rei.com/product/11004538.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC

[FlyfishermanMike]

I much prefect the MSR Pocket Rocket.

^^ike

[live2ride]

Well, I don't think I will be using any of the stoves in the cold weather and am looking for something relatively lite, it looks like I have the MSR to choose from and the jetboil, I will just be heating water and eating those freexe dried camping dinners? is the MSR easy to pack around? I want to stay as small as possible and is it low maintenence? Thanks for all the help

[hike2kolob]

I have a snow peak giga power titanium stove with auto ignition and I love it. I think it is more stable than the pocket rocket. I did not really look at the Primus version.

For years I have used the MSR whisperlite, but I recently upgraded to this butane canister stove. It requires no priming or pumping (like the whisperlite) and with the autoigniter, it lights instantly. You can buy various sized canisters depending on the length of your trip.

I looked at the Jetboil, but I think a canister stove with separate pot provides you more flexibility for that occasional time when you cook something other than just boil water. Plus, it's lighter.

Here is a link to the steel giga power.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/stovedetail.cfm/SN1000

Here is a link to a stove starter cookset.

http://www.backcountry.com/store/SNO0055/Snow-Peak-Starter-Kit.html?id=nWFt9gWS

With any small canister stove and titanium pot with lid, you can't go wrong.

Some backpackers will still swear by the $12 alcohol stove (or home-made) with the $8 small aluminum pot if you want to go that route.

http://www.antigravitygear.com/store/index.php?cPath=3_11&osCsid=9f619c6644bef496ba60d094485c1fc4
http://www.antigravitygear.com/store/index.php?cPath=3_39&osCsid=9f619c6644bef496ba60d094485c1fc4

[live2ride]

Great info, thanks for the link to the starter kit, that is a great price at 69.00 and i think that will be the way to go, any idea where they sell these other than the internet so I can check it out. Thanks man

[hike2kolob]

Great info, thanks for the link to the starter kit, that is a great price at 69.00 and i think that will be the way to go, any idea where they sell these other than the internet so I can check it out. Thanks man

I know Kirkham's in SLC sells the stove. I also saw that REI has the starter kit online, but I don't know if they have it in the store.

[Dean Myerson]

I think the jetboil is great for solo travelers, or at least solo cookers. They claim that high altitude mountainers use it in the very cold, but I haven't tried it yet in the cold.

One thing, the igniter has not been reliable for me. The first one gave out after a few months. They fixed it and the replacement barely lasted a month. I didn't bother to get it fixed. I take a lighter or matches.

But not only is the stove fast, but the design is convenient with the insulating cover that lets you pick up a container with boilding water without clumsy tongs. And it simmers very well.

Dean

[live2ride]

I think the jetboil is great for solo travelers, or at least solo cookers. They claim that high altitude mountainers use it in the very cold, but I haven't tried it yet in the cold.

One thing, the igniter has not been reliable for me. The first one gave out after a few months. They fixed it and the replacement barely lasted a month. I didn't bother to get it fixed. I take a lighter or matches.

But not only is the stove fast, but the design is convenient with the insulating cover that lets you pick up a container with boilding water without clumsy tongs. And it simmers very well.

Dean

Have you tried the pot attachment? I am looking to pick up a jetboil this week and don't know if I will get the pot one or not?

[Dean Myerson]

Have you tried the pot attachment? I am looking to pick up a jetboil this week and don't know if I will get the pot one or not?

===

No I haven't. The coffee press attachment is the only extra I have.

The speed of the Jetboil is due to its extremely efficient heat transfer system, which increases the efficiency to 80% (warning - I'm quoting their promotional lit here) vs a max of 40% for other stoves. That would be lost if you don't use the cooking container it comes with. It would be just another iso/butane stove I think. If you want to just use it on occasion, it could make sense. But if I wanted to use a wide pot all the time, I would buy a white gas stove.

Dean

[FlyfishermanMike]

They will be on sale at REI as of tomorrow!

^^ike

[live2ride]

They will be on sale at REI as of tomorrow!

^^ike


Thanks for the heads up on the sale!!! I just went to REI and blew $300.00 bucks but hey I got some pretty cool stuff at least!! I did pick up a jetboil also, I am itching to try it out now.

[Alex]

They will be on sale at REI as of tomorrow!

^^ike


Thanks for the heads up on the sale!!! I just went to REI and blew $300.00 bucks but hey I got some pretty cool stuff at least!! I did pick up a jetboil also, I am itching to try it out now.

I use Jetboil quite a bit, one thing that I found out (probably very obvious to others), but once the water boiled, do not take it off the can to pour it. For the last year when I went with my friend's Jetboil, we kept taking it off the gas can to pour the water, then mount it back on and heat up more water. How idiotic is that? Then one day, on a river trip, I just picked it up and poured water out. It was too simplistic to realize originally LOL anyways, as stupid as that sounds, just wanted to pass it along.

[climbinghalfdome]

So its no secret that MSR came out with a copy cat that works better than the Jetboil.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34EMehx1XHQ
My big question is how did the Reactor perform in temperatures below 20 degrees?
In the store dude freezes a canister in a block of ice then fires it right up on a reactor stove. The illusion with this is the coldest the block of ice will ever get is 32 degrees. The ice acted like an insulator.
Any one ever use a reactor in colder temps? At elevation?
http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/reactor.asp
http://filehst.cascadedesigns.com/msr/reactor/reactor_flash.html
None of the info I've seen yet answers the sub 20 degree question.
Kevin

[CarpeyBiggs]

Ice can be colder than 32 degrees.

Also, correct me if i'm wrong, but the issue that makes jetboils perform poorly in cold weather is the gas canister, and the fuel blend in it. The colder the canister, the less pressure there is, and gas isn't vaporized as easily when it is propelled through the jet. So, you'd think the two stoves would perform similarly in equal environments. I seem to recall something saying that the msr blend works better though than jetboil blend of fuel, because of the ratio or isobutane to propane.

I guess I could be incorrect though. Just assuming.

[climbinghalfdome]

True story.
Rasberry farmers for years have soaked their fields with water on the first night the freeze occurs to coat the vines with ice. This protects them from sub freezing temps later on in the winter.

Also as the temps drop the pressure in the canister decreases also. HOWEVER the MSR Reactor has a special pressure regulator inside that is suppose to ajdust the pressure, though I can see how (mechanicly that is.)That way the burner has a steady flow.

My main question is How's to work in colder temps? Does this pressure regulator realy make that much differance?
Kevin

I'm heading uo Touchstone wall in Zion on Saturday. I'm stoked!!