Jet Boil Anyone?

[Brewhaha]

Does anyone use the Jet Boil stove system? Do you like it? I've read that you have to make sure the fuel is kept warm when temperatures are low, but the rest of the reviews seem quite positive.

[live2ride]

I bought one last year and love it. I use it primarily for boiling water and it works wonders. I have had no problems with it whatsoever. There should be a topic in this section where I asked the same question last year at this time. Jetboil didnt receive the best reviews this year in the Outdoor product review. MSR has so pretty steller stoves out and they boiled faster in the reviews and were more efficient.

[Mtnman1830]

I nearly bought a jetboil, but instead chose the MSR PocketRocket. I have had no problems with it, using it from near sea level to 11,000'

[mroy]

My setup with a 106g stove, 350g can of fuel (jetboil is a 100g canister), and 90g titanium pot, the weight is nearly identical to jetboil's, but I have a much larger fuel canister for the same cost as the smaller one for jetboil. I don't think you can go wrong either way. I think jetboil & MSR use the same fuel type, what I do in colder weather is shake the fuel canister up a bit to help things get going. If I were to use a jetboil sized fuel canister, it would knock my weight down to around 1lb instead of 1lb9oz. I think it just matters how light you want to go, and how much you want to spend on fuel. I imagine you could use larger fuel canisters on jetboils but then it wouldn't pack down into itself as well as it does.

Here's live2ride's thread: http://uutah.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2160&highlight=jetboil

[Scott P]

I've read that you have to make sure the fuel is kept warm when temperatures are low, but the rest of the reviews seem quite positive.

This is correct. A Jet Boil won't work at all in cold weather.

[marc olivares]

This is correct. A Jet Boil won't work at all in cold weather.

you've made this statement before, yet i have not had any issues w/ mine.
what do you consider cold? mine works fine from 5*F and up
though i have not used it below that, and i imagine that 95% of the people that own them wont either :ne_nau:

[kris]

I use both the pocket rocket, and jetboil systems. In fact, we have just purchased 10 jetboils, both the personal, and the large, for our fire crew.

Never had any real problems with the jetboils working in below freezing weather, or colder nights for that matter. I think a lot has to do with which fuel canister you use.

[Alex]

This is correct. A Jet Boil won't work at all in cold weather.

you've made this statement before, yet i have not had any issues w/ mine.
what do you consider cold? mine works fine from 5*F and up
though i have not used it below that, and i imagine that 95% of the people that own them wont either :ne_nau:

marc, I swear we shop in the same stores or like the same gear :five: :2thumbs:

I use Jetboil quite a bit and I personally think it's great. I use it on backpacking trips, river trips and family camping for a quick cup of tea. Even though I have an MSR whisper or something in that nature (lighter stove) I drag my Jetboil with me backpacking because it's just simple to use. I don't worry about wind or preheating, none of that, just turn it on and heat the water.

REI has the 20% off coupon which will drive the price of the Jetboil even lower.

[Glockguy]

I I use it primarily for boiling water and it works wonders.

What else would you use it for? :roflol:

[Scott P]

you've made this statement before, yet i have not had any issues w/ mine.
what do you consider cold? mine works fine from 5*F and up

If winter or snow climbing, 5F isn't very cold (unless it's April or something), but even at 5F, we've encountered problems. I've encountered many on our trips, and every winter climb they have had problems every time, and always with a different Jetboil (usually someone will bring one once, but learn after the first time).

Here is a review written by Henrick whom took the stove on the Mount Massive trip I led:

Used this stove on Mount Massive, Colorado at 11600 ft in about -5F = -20C.

While it boiled water very fast at home during test, the above condition must be close to the working limit. It was difficult to ignite the stove (kept pressing the igniter about a minute till it caught fire), and it burned at very low flame taking several minutes to melt snow and other several minutes to boil.

My previous stove was liquid fuel (MSR dragonfly - got stolen), so I don't know if problems in cold wether is generic to gas-stoves. I used MSR gas canister as I could not find jetboil canister in the stores. this is another minus, since only with the small jetboil canister can it all fit inside the cup for compact packing.

Thus, for winter mountaineering stove I give it 3 stars. For lower altitude and summer stove it would probably perform very well, and for such use achieve 5 stars.

Actually everyone whom used the stove in cold weather has confirmed the exact same thing:

http://www.summitpostgear.com/gear/1052/jetboil.html

The above was just below 0F. At -10, a JetBoil won't work at all (at least from my experience). At anything below +20F, performance is reduced by quite a bit.

There is a simple way to test this or any other stove out though. Simply leave it in the freezer overnight and try it the next day and see if it fires up or not the next day. Morning when it is colder is better, but take it outside after pulling it from the freezer.


imagine that 95% of the people that own them wont either

That may be true (in Utah at least), but Brewhaha brought this up in the original post, so I was just confirming what he heard.

Jet Boil is a good summer backpacking stove. It isn't meant for cold weather, winter climbing, nor expedition type glacier trips. JetBoil even says this in their specifications.

[Brian in SLC]

I've read that you have to make sure the fuel is kept warm when temperatures are low, but the rest of the reviews seem quite positive.

This is correct. A Jet Boil won't work at all in cold weather.

Not true. They'll work in any weather. The perform very poorly in colder weather, though, unless you compensate for the cold. Ton of tricks for that.

Had friends with a compressed gas stove in Montana in the winter once, on a desparately cold trip to Glacier Nat'l Park. They managed to find shelter in a wind storm, one of the chalets, and when they turned the stove on, the compressed gas ran out as a liquid (ie, like -40F below +).

If you warm the canister, and keep it warm, these stoves can work fine in very cold weather.

Jet boil for me is too small a pot for efficient boiling of the water that I and a partner usually need a stove for. Even the larger 1.5 liter is too small for me, with a group of two, who need water for a brew and dinner.

My pocket rocket boils a liter of water in a two liter ti pot in under 3 minutes (indoors). Fast enough.

Some good info on stoves here:

http://www.trailspace.com/news/2007/01/17/integrated-canister-stove-showdown.html

Note that Steve House and Vince Anderson used a compressed gas stove on their ascent of Nanga Parbat last year. You can see Steve go through his gear on the patagonia website. Pretty facinating viewing, and, very informational.

That said, for high and cold, I prefer white gas as a fuel.

[Scott P]

Brian likes to disagree with me, just for fun. :2thumbs:


Not true. They'll work in any weather. The perform very poorly in colder weather, though, unless you compensate for the cold.

in my experience, "very poorly" turns to "not at all after -10" and that goes double for the automatic lighter (bring a cig lighter for backup). Would you take one up Denali? Denali in winter? Would you take one up Logan? What do you mean by "any weather"?


Had friends with a compressed gas stove in Montana in the winter once, on a desparately cold trip to Glacier Nat'l Park.

Was it a specifically a JetBoil? I use cansister stoves all the time in cold weather, but only the Exponent Xtreme or Exponent Xpert. They work well down to at least -23, but I haven't camped colder than that, at least not when I had my thermometer with me. Below are the coldest temperatures I've camped in each month in CO and UT:

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=186172&confirm_post=7

I used a canister every time since 1997.


If you warm the canister, and keep it warm, these stoves can work fine in very cold weather.

You can keep it in your sleeping bag, but how do you keep it warm while cooking outside (melting snow at -20 can take a long time for a group as you know)? Lay down and stick the base down your pants while the stove is running (I do not cook in a tent)? Any volunteers? :naughty:


Note that Steve House and Vince Anderson used a compressed gas stove on their ascent of Nanga Parbat last year.

Was it a JetBoil? Not all canister stoves perform equally in cold weather. Some work quite well.

I stick to what I say that the JetBoil is not meant to be a cold weather stove and wouldn't recommend it for winter climbing, nor cold weather use. On the other hand it seems just fine for summer and is a neat set up.

Anyone disagreeing is free to bring the stove on one of my winter trips. I've made the challenge before.:naughty:

[Brian in SLC]

>Would you take one up Denali? Denali in winter? Would you take one up Logan? What do you mean by "any weather"?

I wouldn't, but, I spent some time with a party of two on Logan for five days in a snow cave who were using compressed gas. They didn't have any issues with it. And...I...uhhh, don't recall having an issue with the air in the cave being bad, until we fired up our white gas stove. Soon after, we couldn't even light a match or lighter. We dug around and realized our snow cave was on top of a crevasse, though, so that kinda cured the air flow problem (and a few others as well!).


Had friends with a compressed gas stove in Montana in the winter once, on a desparately cold trip to Glacier Nat'l Park.


>Was it a specifically a JetBoil?

No, way before that design. Late 70's.


>You can keep it in your sleeping bag, but how do you keep it warm while cooking outside (melting snow at -20 can take a long time for a group as you know)? Lay down and stick the base down your pants while the stove is running (I do not cook in a tent)?

There's a bunch of tricks. Build an insulated cozy for the fuel can, and put a shake and warm in the bottom of it. Flatten a piece of copper wire, and run it from the flame down to the fuel can. Etc.


Note that Steve House and Vince Anderson used a compressed gas stove on their ascent of Nanga Parbat last year.


>Was it a JetBoil? Not all canister stoves perform equally in cold weather. Some work quite well.

No, looked to be an MSR Windpro. One of their pretty cool tricks was to flip the can upside down to get better flow. Also, having the can off the stove made it a bunch easier to keep warm, methinks.


>I stick to what I say that the JetBoil is not meant to be a cold weather stove and wouldn't recommend it for winter climbing, nor cold weather use. On the other hand it seems just fine for summer and is a neat set up.

Kinda depends on personal preference, and what tool you think is optimum for the job at hand. I personally like compressed gas for trips where I want a fast and light set up that takes up minimal space. A pocket rocket, small fuel can, takes up barely any space in a pack and when pair with a Ti pot, pretty lightweight set up. Good also for long ski tours.

Also, not that I'd recommend it, but, my bet is that CO is less of an issue with compressed gas if you cook inside an enclosed space. I've got CO poisoning inside a tent using a white gas stove in cold, crappy weather (four day storm on Denali). Never seems to be an issue with a compressed gas stove, but, YMMV. And, I fully DO NOT recommend cooking inside an enclosed space with any stove.

-Brian in SLC

[Scott P]

I wouldn't, but, I spent some time with a party of two on Logan for five days in a snow cave who were using compressed gas.

Yes, but I was refering to the JetBoil specifically and from personal experiences with just that particular stove, such as the blurb Henrick wrote after our trip. I have around 150 winter ascents and have probably had a JetBoil taken on 6-7 of them.

Not every canister stove works poorly in cold weather.
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/images/products/exponent/9710-725_500.jpg

Only good climbing product Coleman ever made. It is specifically designed for cold weather. Works prerfect down to to -23 and probably much below, and my cold weather performance with this one has even been better than both my white gas MSR Whisperlight International and XKG. I rust my Xpert more than even my white gas when it's cold. It is also what the CMC used for their Denali ascents.

REI gives it the highest cold weather rating.

Also:

Product description - Xtreme Stove

This is a specialised gas stove designed for cold conditions. It has a three-legged burner and a 140 mm (5.5") flexible hose leading to a separate gas cartridge, and the matching Powermax cartridges are custom to this series of stoves. They are different from the standard screw-thread butane/propane gas cartridges in both shape and connector. The Powermax connection is also different from the French CampingGaz one.

Read more about why it works in cold weather:

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Cook%20Gear/Stoves/Coleman%20Exponent%20Xtreme%20Stove/Owner%20Review%20by%20Roger%20Caffin/

Here is another review:

[i]Until last winter, I had always taken a liquid fuel stove with me when I went winter camping. I have had plenty of experience dealing with the poor performance of canister stoves in cold conditions of the other seasons. I am fully aware that there are ways to make those canister stoves function in freezing temperatures but I have been usually encumbered enough that I have not been interested in having to jump through hoops to coax a stove to work. Five years ago Coleman introduced the Peak 1 Exponent series of canister stoves and the outdoor community was spellbound over the outstanding winter performance of them. How Coleman

[Brian in SLC]

Only good product Coleman ever made.

Nah, not true either. My dad's stove and lantern are both going strong, and they're vintage 50's. Some of the best car camping stuff ever made.


Yes, but it's just easier to bring a cold weather stove then to do that. Leave the JetBoil for summer or warm weather use.

Again, depends on what you need. The coleman stove you mentioned (which seems like a great stove) is picky on the type of cartridge it uses and this fuel may not be available, especially in remote areas and/or overseas. Also, its heavy, given the other models that are designed similarly (ie, the MSR Windpro is around half the weight and will use most cartridges out there).

If weight, space, and function is top priority (ie, hanging from a wall and using a hanging stove system) then that might be as big a factor as ease of cold weather use.

Stove technology and choices have been pretty amazing the last several years especially. I kinda initially thought the Jetboil was mostly a gimmick, but, upon closer inspection it does some really neat things, design wise, that its competition hadn't. The integrated pot/heat exchanger idear for instance. And Jetboil definately pushed the rest of the industry into some competition. Good for everyone.

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC

[Scott P]

Nah, not true either. My dad's stove and lantern are both going strong, and they're vintage 50's. Some of the best car camping stuff ever made.

OK, let me rephrase that. It's the only good climbing product Coleman ever made (that I know of at least). They make stuff mostly for car camping and their stuff works just fine for that.


overseas.

Yep, that's why I have my Whisperlight and XKG. Actually the Xpert now has an adapter to fit any of the other cartridges.


Also, its heavy, given the other models that are designed similarly (ie, the MSR Windpro is around half the weight and will use most cartridges out there).

Yes, heavier than the MSR Windpro, but I wouldn't call it heavy.

13.5 ounces for the Xpert and 6.8-10.5 ounces for the Windpro.


If weight, space, and function is top priority (ie, hanging from a wall and using a hanging stove system) then that might be as big a factor as ease of cold weather use.

I agree. My post was about only about cold-weather use, which someone asked about.


upon closer inspection it does some really neat things, design wise, that its competition hadn't. The integrated pot/heat exchanger idear for instance. And Jetboil definately pushed the rest of the industry into some competition.

Agree. My only mention is about cold weather use because someone asked about it. It (JetBoil) has good features not related to cold weather. In fact the only complaint at all I've heard is the cold weather use. Everything else about the stove is rated very highly by about everyone.

[Brewhaha]

I see that MSR is coming out with a cannister stove combo like the JetBoil. It is a little heavier but (according to preliminary tests) boils faster, works much better in the cold and wind. However, I don't like the design of it as much as the JB. I thing the cozy is a nice touch to make it easier to handle the pot.

I wish I could find the link again to the MSR stove but it is supposedly coming out in the next month or two.

I went ahead and got the JB. Just ran a quick home test and it definitely boiled in 2 minutes. The design is very slick. Also I've read in some reviews that it is difficult to remove the pot from the stove after cooking because of hot metal parts. Maybe the one I bought is a redesign because there the stove part looks to be a hard plastic which didn't get hot at all.

[Brian in SLC]

I see that MSR is coming out with a cannister stove combo like the JetBoil. It is a little heavier but (according to preliminary tests) boils faster, works much better in the cold and wind. However, I don't like the design of it as much as the JB. I thing the cozy is a nice touch to make it easier to handle the pot.

I wish I could find the link again to the MSR stove but it is supposedly coming out in the next month or two.

I'll post this link again...

http://www.trailspace.com/news/2007/01/17/integrated-canister-stove-showdown.html

MSR Reactor.

I saw a test at the OR show between the Reactor and the Pocketrocket, done with a fan. Was amazing how well the Reactor handled the wind. Wild design.

-Brian in SLC