Bentley6

I was intending to get a Whisperlite Int. til I saw the new Jetboil Flash. Has any of you been using the Jetboil? I have read plenty of good things about it but any cons that people know of? Thanks.

xyzzy834

I've been using the Jetboil system for about 5 years. I love it.

I started with the Jetboil Personal Cooking System (PCS). That's the one with the tall, 1L cup. I often eat at local establishments on a tour and supplement that with my own cooking when convenience or taste dictates. Most of the meals I cook for myself consist of boiling 2 cups of water and adding freeze-dried contents, pasta, or instant rice meals.

I found eating directly out of the tall Jetboil cup to be less than a satisfying experience. I prefer a bowl or something where I don't have to "go fishing" with a shortish spork to get to the bottom of the meal. Eventually, I bought the 1.5L Jetboil pot and the little adapter kit for it to sit comfortably on the burner. In the end, I ended up with what is sold as the Group Cooking System (GCS), even though I use it only for myself. I don't take the tall cup with me. I pack the burner and the cartridge, along with my eating utensils and a small biodegradable soap bottle in the 1.5L pot for traveling. The GCS only weighs 5 oz. more than the PCS.

Now, I feel like I have the perfect setup for the way I travel and the types of cooking I do. There's plenty of room in the pot for my added dry food after the water is boiling. The stove can be turned down to a simmer to finish the cooking as desired. The pot is easy to eat from, like a large bowl. Cleanup is easy and the whole thing packs up efficiently.

All of my trips so far have been of the 2-week or less variety, so I've never had to search for canisters on the road. I take a Colemen 8 oz. isobutane canister in place of the smaller Jetboil one if I think I'll be cooking quite a bit. Turn it on and push the igniter. Nothing could be simpler.

kayakdiver

I'd rather have the MSR Reactor setup if I was going to use iso fueled type stoves.. but that's just me.

Bentley6

Please explain why. Thanks.

kayakdiver

See here for user reviews. https://www.rei.com/product/736977 I'm not saying I'd want one.. I'm not a fan of either when It comes to touring. I'd rather have a white gas or alcohol based stove. Not having to worry about finding fuel is one worry I don't want to deal with.

Niles H.

I used a JetBoil briefly. I found the tall cup to be unsatisfactory, and too small for many types of cooking.

The system is very quick and convenient. Set-up is quick. Windshield is in place. Ignition is quick and easy. It's clean. It's fast. It's efficient.

But a larger, differently shaped pot would have been better.

Over the long haul, the canisters can get expensive. This is relative, though. On a per-meal basis, it isn't much. Over the course of hundreds of meals it adds up. But it depends on whether that is a significant or insignificant amount of money for you -- it varies from person to person.

I like the white gas stoves for long trips.

Depends on how important the different factors are for you -- convenience, speed, cost and availability of fuel, weight, size, etc.

If you aren't touring in areas or ways that make the canisters hard to keep in stock; if you don't mind spending a little extra money on fuel; if you are happy with the pot (or can find one you are happy with); etc., the canister stoves are hard to beat.

As far as JetBoil systems compared to other canister stoves, that is a whole other ball game.

Primus makes some excellent, highly efficient canister stoves that would definitely be on my short list.

EriktheFish

Agree!

Bentley6

Well here's the scenario. I'll be traveling a loop in September from Illinois to Denver and back. It will take me about 30 days or so. I'm not a big fan of getting messy with liquid fuel even though it might be the best type of stove for me and the most readily available. I'll be staying with friends probably one week out of four so figured a couple of the 100gr. canisters would work fine for cooking noodles or soups during those three weeks. I don't really care to do any camping below 40 degrees so figured the canisters would work okay (not sure at what temperture they start being less usable). I like the fact that there's no mess with the canisters and I watched some MSR Reactor reviews and I was impressed...except for it's price. I can't afford putting that much into a stove. On the other hand I may try doing some tours in October as well but will probably go to the more southern states where it should be warmer so canisters should be fine there as well. I like the looks and quality of the Jetboil but there's a lot to be said about the Reactors fuel regulator and radiant heat. What to do?

xyzzy834

The Jetboil Flash is $99 at REI. The MSR Reactor is $159. Either one is a chunk of change, but either one should also last a lifetime.

So far, we've had two negative comments (myself and Niles H) about the satisfaction of eating directly out of the tall Jetboil cup. The Flash appears to have the same tall shaped cup as the Personal Cooking System. There is also not much room in the tall cup for additional food to be added to the boiling water. I can't say whether the shape of the MSR Reactor pot easier to eat from or if it allows better room for additional food added to the water.

The Jetboil Group Camping System is $119 at REI. That's in the middle of the two other price points and I know for sure it's a pleasure to use. It doesn't pack quite as small as the others, but it only weighs 5 oz. more than the Personal Camping System and I'm able to pack soap, and utensils inside it, in addition to the canister and burner.

The Jetboil systems have a built-in igniter. I'm not opposed to carrying matches, but when it's windy or wet, you can't beat push button fire. Don't forget you can use any brand of isobutane in the threaded canisters. Coleman, MSR, and Jetboil all have different sizes available. A single 8 oz. canister may be more convenient than carrying two 3.5 oz Jetboil canisters.

Bentley6

I figured that it would be easy enough to just pour the contents out into a separate bowl like the bottom measuring cup. I did just talk to a guy who's complaint was that the tall cup was hard for him to wash up. I can see where the Group Camping system pot would make that much easier. I've also found the Group Camping system for under $100 shipped so that might be the way to go along with getting a single canister like you suggested.

xyzzy834

The bottom "cups" on my Jetboil cup and pot are more suited to protecting the fins of the heat exchanger than for using as a bowl. I don't have my stove in front of me right now, but I don't recall either of them being large enough to be considered an adequate bowl for what I'd just cooked.

I had resorted to carrying an extra lexan bowl to eat from until I got my 1.5L pot. It was something else to clean up. Now I'm happy eating from the pot. The pot cozy keeps the contents quite warm while I'm eating and the wire handle works well for lifting and moving the (initially) hot pot.

Bentley6

How's the stability and your lid fit? This seems to be a big complaint in the reviews at REI.

kayakdiver

I still think your original idea was the best one(whisperlite). I love my cannister MSR stove.. It's a version of the simmerlite that takes cannister. It's great for mountaineering and I also really like it for shorter touring trips. I just got so frustrated with it when I toured cross country trying to find cannisters. It was a complete bust in the middle of the country.

Now it has been suggested that shipping can be done. Ship them to the next town along the way. Though this is possible it's still more messing around than I want to do.

So I'm not poo pooing your choice. Just letting my own frustrations come out from past experience.

It's really nice having a pot bigger than 1 liter also.. Anything less than 1.5 can make cooking a pain. Prefer a 2 liter as my sweet spot for size.

kyakdiver

Bentley6

Right not it's just a matter of what will work best for me and what I can live with. I appreciate everyones imput. It's really made me think about my options. There are pro's and con's to all types of stoves from what I can see.

kayakdiver

How true it is....

xyzzy834

There is a plastic folding stability leg kit for use with the Jetboil canisters. There is also a folding platform that attaches to the burner for the pot to sit on. I've never had any problem with stability, however I'm usually at a picnic table in a campground or on solid ground. I'm not clipped onto the side of a mountain or anything crazy like that. I do exercise some basic common sense, such as not sitting at the picnic table (with my legs underneath the table) while I'm cooking.

The larger Coleman or MSR canisters have a larger footprint themselves and I don't use the plastic stability legs for them. Still, I show some respect for the situation and avoid putting myself in a dangerous position.

The plastic lid on my 1.5L pot fits tightly. I don't think it has ever come off in my pannier, although it might not have a chance because of the way it's squeezed in. I can imagine some lids that loose their shape or aren't manufactured as cleanly. Mine works fine, though.

kayakdiver

^^^ Pick up some Primus 14.9 oz/450g cannisters and your stability problems are gone. You can find them at REI and few online sources. Worth a look. They last a long time and are much cheaper per ounce/gram.

As a bonus the base is 4 5/16" in Diameter. They are approx 5 3/4" tall.

kyakdiver

mr geeker

i honestly dont know much about either system. what i do know is that they're both stoves/cooking devices. my question is, i suppose, what makes them better than a cheap coleman unit?

gregw

I have used every type of stove out there and they all have their place. I use white gas for winter backpacking, alcohol for short, ultra-light back packing and as a back-up to canister stoves on tour.

My go to system is the Primus EtaExpress, similar to the Jet boil and about $40 cheaper. boils water in about 2 min. and the smallest canister (the jet boil canister) has 60 min of burn at 3/4 flame, the large canister has 3 hours of burn, that's a lot of cooking. Most of my cooking is using the freezer bag method, so I'm just boiling water, but I also do eggs in the lid over boiling water. Freezer bag cooking really conserves fuel.

https://trophysgreatoutdoors.com/cata...6356&pid=67201

zoltani

Hahaha, that is one of the best things i've read on the forums in quite a while!

Never used a jetboil, so i can't comment on that, but i also like the availability of alcohol and would hate searching for canisters or such. Also, I have no idea where you guys are finding white gas in a container that is less than a gallon, as that is all i saw in the countryside. I ended up giving my white gas stove to a couple in a parking lot and stuck with alcohol, so much easier.

Metzinger

Whisperlite International can burn gasoline, available in any volume you want.
Kerosene too.

Bentley6

I looked at the reviews and videos of the EtaExpress and I'm impressed. Very nice stove. I also looked at the Primus EtaPackLite. It was equally impressive. Have you any experience with it Greg? So many stoves and so little money! What to do? I see advantages and disadvantages to all of them. I may have to just pick one and try it on a tour then evaluate it afterwards to see if I need to keep or sell it. Some times too many choices can be as bad as not enough choices.

gregw

I have no experience with it, but it looks like a more versatile cooking system with a wider pot. I think if they had that system out when I was shopping, I would have picked that one, especially for bike and kayak touring. The efficiency of these (including jet-boil) system is so high that I feel they top the list of pros / cons. At 2.5 min. to boil using a freezer bag cooking method, the medium canister would last for 72 meals, even if you cooked 3 meals a day, that's 24 days. Bring one spare canister and your good for 48 days. Most people can find a walmart or other source in 48 days of touring.

Bentley6

Well after about 2 months of searching, researching and questioning people about stoves, I finally pulled the trigger and got one. The only thing that I never did was go to a store and actually hold a couple different ones in my hands to compare. But I've looked at the MSR Whisperlite Int., Jetboil Flash, MSR Reactor, MSR Dragonfly, Jetboil Group Cooking System, Primus EtaEspress, Primus EtaPacklite and a couple others I don't recall their names. I decide on the Primus EtaPacklite. I got the last one in stock at Backcountry.com and they gave me a good deal on it. Hopefully it will work well for my needs and seems the best all around based upon MY needs. All the others I'm sure would have worked great as well but time and tours will tell if I made the right choice. Thanks for all the imput guys & gals. You really helped me do my research.

Mark

kayakdiver

Did I miss what you purchased in the post? Just curious what you decided. I realize that there is no perfect choice. All are a compromise on some level.

Forget it... I see you decided on the EtaPacklite... Looks like a nice stove set. Enjoy.
kyakdiver