In the summer I spend a fair amount of time on the road and that means eating out. And that means putting on lbs. So instead of that Bob Evans farmstead breakfast complete with biscuits and gravy (so good), I have opted for a jet boil and a bowl of my usual oats in my hotel room (don't tell).

I settled on the jet boil instead of one of my other stoves because I liked the "all-in-one" concept. Plus the flame seemed a bit more contained.

My initial impressions are less than wholehearted endorsement. Here are a few observations.......
I dislike that the simmer capability is somewhat marginal. As a result, when things need to be turned down lest they boil over you are at a disadvantage since your cooking "pot" is essentially mated to the flame. You can't just pick the pot up and remove the heat source. Hello boil over :P.

The other thing that is objectionable is that the pot is hard to remove until it cools a bit. That takes little time but it is a delay nonetheless. Perhaps with usage this issue will rectify itself.

The stove has its place and I will learn it but it is not the cats meow IMO. I am certainly open to being educated and you jet boil guys please weigh in  8-)

Let me weigh away, and good luck with the weight.  ;D

Yeah it doesn't simmer very well. I think I've always said that. BUT neither do some other favorite stoves, I'm thinking of the MSR whisperlight. I have seen the MSR WL produce a better simmer if the cook pot was raised a bit off the burner and the tank pressure wasn't pumped very high. I think that's why I do like the Jetboil's Fry pan for doing fish. Jetboil want you to use a universal pot adapter to keep the Fry Pan's bottom off the burner. The combination of raising the fry pan and the heat exchanger capturing heat near the edge makes for cooking surface without a center hot spot. But you're not using a low heat to fry fish either.

That said I did get, and try, the cook pots JB sells. They also want you to use the universal pot adapter with them. They don't lock-in like the "cook mug" so they're easier to lift off. And although you don't have the boil over problem. I still don't think the Jetboil works very well if you're trying to simmer. Mine is the original model.

Maybe better to go with Cliff "what's his name's" approach and use cozies.

"The other thing that is objectionable is that the pot is hard to remove until it cools a bit. That takes little time but it is a delay nonetheless. Perhaps with usage this issue will rectify itself."

just set the pot on the stove in the "dimples" - don't give it a half turn to lock it in place - what for you want to lock it - think somebody gonna steal it!  I never lock the pot to the stove - no reason to unless you have the hanging pot setup where you suspend the stove as a unit from some chains. 

option 2:  buy the pot support that fits atop the stove (comes in a "kit" with the stabilizer thing) and you can use any pot or pan - a wider, shallower pot is easier to simmer with than the jetboil mug, and you can use a non-stick coated pot - not as fuel efficient as the jetboil pot with heat exchanger, but not too bad either.  about the same as using a pocket rocket. it will be less stable if you use a larger pot, just keep in mind you need to be more careful with a larger pot, and keep it centered.

look up "Hikin Jim's" blog - this guy is like a stove guru, doing stuff like baking with esbit.  he has lots of tips on using jetboil for cooking as opposed to just boiling water with it.

all cannister stoves have that "hot spot" due to the small burner heads.  look up "diffuser plate" - a little gizmo to spread out the flame - not sure if you could rig one for a jetboil.

Hey Thanks Matt........hikin jims blog. Who knew? I just did a little jaunt on the Buckeye trail this past friday and it made me realize how much I missed the simplicity of just truckin along. I will be eyeing something for next summer perhaps.

Good points Jim on the jet boil and its flame dispersal. That benefit probably outweighs simmer ability by a slim margin. Still, oatmeal boiling over is a significant issue in my oatmeal world :D

One way to avoid a hotspot (which makes frying fish almost impossible) is to use a bit thicker pan which distributes the heat better. Use a thin fry pan and your results will be marginal at best unless you are doing a full fire.

One stove which I have found that performs exceptionally well is the MSR windpro. Wide flame, excellent simmer ability. The perfect stove if baking is your thing. Despite the implication of the name, the windpro is very susceptible to wind unless you use the little wind shield provided. Plus it sits low to the ground with the canister being attached via fuel line. A safer set up for sure as compared to say a pocket rocket.

As per carrying extra weight? My advice is to try and avoid the notoriously tasty Pecan Braids at Panera Bread ;)

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that's hikin jim's blog - upper left corner is the search field

jetboil in there, pops up a list - 3 cooking items - BUT he was using the Jetboil "Sol" which is a bit different design - its the best of the jetboil stoves in my opinion, as it is designed for use in colder temps - and it is easier to adjust the flame down a bit.  he was using a non-stick fry pan for omelettes in the first - I didn;t look any farther.  The SOL is better for backpacking as it is lighter - comes with a point eight liter pot rather than the standard 1 liter pot

so jump in your time machine, go back to the store and buy the Sol version.   

I have both, the PCS (original) and the Sol - the SOl comes with the stabilizer gizmo, but not a pot support, and it costs something like $120 (alum pot) compared to the $79 you can get a PCS for.

some cooking tips, maybe, can be found in thier recipes section - see link below

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Matt you are a bad influence. My ultra light solo trip changed a bit and I found myself with only a pocket rocket  and all my other stoves  in Fl. (well besides the jet boil which I am not so far especially enamored with).

I liked Hikin Jims review of the Kovea spider and at $55 I'm going to give it a try. Be careful of e-bay where they want to charge you a fortune to ship (as much as the stove))........Amazon has them in stock and shipping is quite reasonable. Seems like a good deal and more compact than a wind pro.

I'm repeating myself, but I've found that the original JB stove, with the JB fry pan, work great for frying fish.

MT, Simmering oatmeal?? Try just turning stove on/off stir, till you think it's done. About the same as the cozies cooking trick.

MM, Thanks for the link.

I detest instant oatmeal and I think it detests me given the results on my intestinal tract.......so yes I do simmer my "old fashioned oats" for some 3 minutes, just long enough for the blasted jet boil to boil them over. But we will somehow learn to get along and without doubt the jet boil will be my most used stove in short order.

MT- I agree about the instant oats- I'll even take the steel cut (10-15 simmer) just cause I like the change. On my most recent trip (back today) I threw 1/3 measure of polenta with the old- fashioned oats, that and dried Michigan cherries makes a fantastic breakfast. MSR"s Dragon Fly is great for temperature control (from a simmer to a roar) and miserly on fuel and good in the wind. I use the pocket rocket for making road side coffee....

Solus, I have an MSR Dragonfly and think it's a great cooking stove. My stove of choice for a larger group trip. Some people hate how loud it is. But I kind of like the sound it makes. I always know how well it's running because I can hear it. It does take more time and trouble to get going than a JB, and the fuel, cookpots, stove, overall seem like a bulkier load than the JB. But it can do more,i.e. bigger pots, simmer, boil. Plus I like the reusable fuel canisters, less trash.

Yeah the dragonfly is a bit bulky. Before I packed for my last trip (1 week in the Q, no cooking fires, dinners (20 minutes simmer) oatmeal and coffee) I made a pile of the Dragonfly+fuel (11oz +22oz) +repair kit next to the pocket rocket + fuel(3 8oz cans [which I was not certain was enough]) and decided that the volume was about the same, the dragonfly cluster a bit heavier. I went with the dragonfly because of wind and that I hate the accumulation of partially full fuel canisters (gotta take full canisters....) the rocket brings. I try to get everything comfortably in a Granite Gear solo pack during the summer so I can one trip the portages.

ok........I have used the bigger pot for my jet boil which was supposed to be for making coffee (thermos) to make oatmeal. I managed to not have a boil over on oats this morning.......that's a good thing.

It is very unlikely a jetboil will ever make its way into the woods with me. I'm glad I have another very important use for it. Looking forward to the Kovea Spider.....I like the whole remote fuel tank and cooking low to the ground concept. Whole lots less chance for any sort of accident.....from exploding fuel tank to spilled pan. Maybe, just maybe, this will be my last stove......fingers crossed.

I know jet boil has its fans, and many on this site.  I am leery of products force you to use only their accessories: pots, etc.  I will stay with my old-fashioned, quiet, reliable, and versatile Coleman Peak stoves.  The only thing I've added is a small roll-up grate that can just barely sit above the Peak and add stability to pots and fry pans.  See pic.

prouboy

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"I am leery of products force you to use only their accessories: pots, etc."

ah, but that ain't so Prouboy - with the pot support on top of the jetboil burner, you can use any pot or pan you want, including the the one in your picture. no different than a pocket rocket or any other upright cannister stove

Look, the whole point of a jetboil is to make as fuel efficient a system as possible - that is the object of having thier own pots with the heat exchanger ring - using a different pot, you lose some of that fuel efficiency

and while you can "cook" with one, they aren't really designed to do more than boil water as fast and fuel efficiently as possible - no point in buying a jetboil if what you want is a stove to cook on

by the way, hang on to that Peak 1 - coleman seems to have stopped making it - they have a similar model, shorter with a fat butt, but no more Peak 1 - better start hitting garge sales to see if I can find another.

i agree with Matt.....the jet boil is indeed super effecient and the contained directed flame is what caught my interest.

It seems it can be a slick set up if used for specific purposes. Preparing oats is not high on its list of utilitarian functions IMO but am getting by quite nicely with the larger pot. I am also less than thouroughly impressed with the coffee press.>>> Fussy, fussy.......a little to fussy!(probably an absolutely wonderful article of gear for a backpacker)

still awaiting the arrival of the kovea.......Jumpin Jim better be right (or was that "hikin Jim"?)......crap, can't remember, probably need to bookmark that site.

Mad_Mat and MasterT -- 

Good perspective on the jet-boil and it's intended purposes. 

Helpful actually, as I am sadly in the market for a new stove.  Three of my four Coleman Exponents are showing their age and are in various states of disrepair (like me).  When I lose confidence that a stove can do the job for a 2-week trip without breaking dow, it's time for something new.  I'll probably go with one of the "whisper-lite" things.

prouboy

mike,
check out what mat turned me onto......hikin jims blog. dig around a bit and you will see that the guy is a stove fanatic. his review of the kovea spider pushed me into another stove purchase. Still waiting to get the dang thing (fed ex sort of sucks IMO). Supposedly it was already shipped a long time ago. anyway, looks to be a good stove for a good price.

Dragonfly aficionado here.  I took the whisperlight for Philmont trip - just add boiling water meals at most - and coffee all the time - an dirt was fine but miss being able to turn it down low and leave on till cleanup.

Prouboy - you may want to take a look at the link below - you can see the efficiency of the jetboil heat exchanger.  the review is a bit old, but not too bad.  what is confusing is the liquid fuel consumption numbers - I'm guessing that it is supposed to be an equivalent weight of fuel, but not crystal clear.  REI used to have a similar coparison of stoves, but I couldnt' find it on website.

a newer  cannister stove to consider, is an updated version of SOTO  odr1  - they have a new "windstopper" version - its a cannister stove you use your own pots on - has a "micro regulator" valve that is supposed to be more simmer friendly


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hikin jim's blog is adventures in stoving.com

BillConner wrote on Jul 24^th, 2013 at 12:35am:

Dragonfly aficionado here.  I took the whisperlight for Philmont trip - just add boiling water meals at most - and coffee all the time - an dirt was fine but miss being able to turn it down low and leave on till cleanup.

BC, A guide used a whisperlite to simmer very well. He had a small grill setup that would hold 2 WL (2 burner coleman suitcase stove style). It raised the pots up some, plus he barely pumped the gas canister when he wanted a simmer. You had to keep an eye on it to see that it didn't go out.
He hated how loud the Dragonfly was. But I don't mind it and think it's loud enough I don't need to watch it to know how it's burning.