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Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?


Postby Mountainlove » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:31 pm

Since my last overnight walk I decided I need to buy some kind of light cooking kit to take away with me.
I had a look online...the plain stoves start from 30 Pounds but I also saw the Jetboil ones...which are more expensive (cheapest I found them for is 68 Pounds), but I like the fact that they come in a compact version.

Did anyone used any of those and can recommend something?
Many thanks!!
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby BobMcBob » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:34 pm

Jetboils are fantastic for making cups of tea, but I can't see them being much use for anything else. A wee stove packs away more neatly I think. But either is good, it just depends on what you need it for really. If all you're ever going to do is boil water then I'd go for a Jetboil.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby Caberfeidh » Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:00 pm

Jetboil stoves are indeed only good for boiling water, any cooking of stews or sausages will only weld stuff to the centre of the pan while leaving the outer part cold/raw. Also the tiny size will mean your pot is more likely to topple over, particularly when the water gets boiling. A wee meths burner is best; it is cheaper, more adaptable and means you are not left with an empty gas canister to dispose of.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby rockhopper » Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:28 pm

I looked at jetboils and similar as well as meths stoves. Now tend to carry a wee meths stove as a backup and "wire coat hanger" based stand for pots - lightweight - but I find that it takes quite a while to boil water.

Main stove I use is a Vango compact which boils 1 litre in 4 minutes along with a small Primus gas cannister - as it's possibly not that stable I clip the cartridge into a primus cartridge footrest. Stove, cartridge and rest all in about £25 albeit that you need to buy new cartridges for around £4. I find the smallest cartridges, besides being light, are big enough for a couple of overnights depending on how much they're used.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby Steve B » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:48 pm

I have used a Jet Boil for a number of years and think it's great. It is used for a boiling water for rooibos tea on day walks and I always take dry meals up if staying out overnight, they are lighter and you do not have to mess about with any cleaning up after, so only boiling water for that.
It is very quick, a couple of minutes to get .5l boiled also. A downside is that they are tall and I use a small plastic tripod under the gas canister to ensure stability.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby Les Sutherland » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:08 pm

I would recomend the jetboil I use it mostly for boiling water for coffee it is very fast and I also like the way it all packs inside the cup.I have used it occasionally for boiling dried food and it works fine .You do get an attachment for fitting pans on top if you want to use a larger pan for cooking.I did have a pocket rocket :lol: which was very cheap and worked perfectly the only reason i changed to the jetboil was that my lighter got wet and i couldnt light it(my own fault) while the jetboil has a built in ignitor.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby mrssanta » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:46 pm

be careful though built in igniters can fail too. I'd always have a back up igniting plan. or three
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby madrock289 » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:56 pm

I use an msr whisperlite which is very reliable, boils water über fast and packs away inside the small pan I use with it. I bought a small metal water bottle to carry on lightweight trips instead of the standard size.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby Belgian_Hiker » Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:11 pm

Hi ML
Have a look at the Primus Spider - fits in the palm of your hand folded up.
Sits low to the ground with less risk of a pot of boiling water spilling over you.
It's the remote gas canister type where you can invert the gas - great for colder temps when most canister mounted types fail to get going.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby tomyboy73 » Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:30 pm

Belgian_Hiker wrote:Hi ML
Have a look at the Primus Spider - fits in the palm of your hand folded up.
Sits low to the ground with less risk of a pot of boiling water spilling over you.
It's the remote gas canister type where you can invert the gas - great for colder temps when most canister mounted types fail to get going.


i`d second something like that, you can get cheaper ones from go outdoors if it`s not going to be used that much, i`m gonny get one myself
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby whiteburn » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:16 pm

The choice of stove or a ‘cooking system’ is always a trade off: weigh, size, convenience, personal preference, cost, fuel availability, etc all have to get taken into consideration. The ‘perfect’ system all depends a lot upon the intended use and there’s loads of information/ opinions/ reviews on the internet for you to research and after making up your mind there will always be someone to disagree, anyway here’s my opinions.

If you’re only going to be using for overnight trips (brews + rehydrating a packet meal) and you’re NOT really concerned about weight the Jetboil certainly fits the bill. These boil 500ml of water really fast, 2 – 3mins, but they do weigh more than the alternatives, the ‘Classic’ ~ 425g and £75, the titanium version is 330g but ~ £125. Plus you can’t put the pot on the bothy fire when the gas runs out.

If you’re looking for a more flexible set up, maybe you’re thinking of multi-day trips in the future, I’d start with a good titanium cooking pot around 750 – 1000ml (titanium is pretty non-stick as well as light) then choose the stove(s). I use the Evernew 1000ml Pasta Pot (115g) which is big enough for heating enough water to make a cup of soup (250ml) and cooking up a large solo meal (600ml) in one go, plus as an added benefit a 230g gas cartridge fits snugly inside.

For one or two nights probably the lightest and simplest stove is the Hexamine. The Titanium Esbit Stove or the Gram Cracker only weigh a few grams, add to that a few 14g tabs, a pot cosy and a good wind shield (the Caldera cone is probably the best) you’ll have a pot/ stove/ fuel combo that weighs ~200g inc fuel and it's dead cheap.
Alternatively you could go for a meths stove, meths is cheaper and more widely available than Esbit tabs, you do risk spillages and you’ll use twice the weight in fuel than the Esbit tabs but you can get some stoves that simmer.
Both fuels take a lot longer to boil water than the Jetboil; 1 Esbit tab, 500ml in 5-6mins; 30ml meths 500ml in 7 – 8 mins; but if you’re sitting in tent on a windy night what’s the hurry. For an overnight trips I’ll normally use an Evernew Ti meths stove (similar to Trangia) with homemade pot stand, windshield, cosy and 75ml of fuel all up weigh ~ 250g inc fuel.

The gas canister stoves are probably the most convenient to use and quite fuel efficient, I find I use around 30g/ day so a 230g cartridge will last a week, however replacement cartridges can be hard to find at times. With any gas stove I’d recommend using a MSR canister stand (I broke the Primus one) to aid stability. The MSR Pocket/ Micro Rocket stoves are good choices, lightweight and are good for boiling water quickly (not as quite as fast as the Jetboil) but not very good for simmering, the answer to this is to use a pot cosy. See http://www.theoutdoorsstation.co.uk/2011/12/christmas-within-tent/ for a good demo, very useful with all stoves as it saves fuel. All up weigh for this system (Ti pot, Pocket Rocket, canister stand, pot cosy and windshield, no fuel canister) is ~ 330g same as the Jetboil Ti and cost ~£100.

Be aware that some of the gas stoves have a wide flame pattern which make them unsuitable for use with the smaller diameter pots and this can increased fuel usage by 50%, I’ve a nice Vango Ti stove that I now use for car camping but only with larger pots or frying pan because of this. Also don’t bother with ignition systems they’ll eventually pack in, take a couple of disposable lighters (convenience + lighting candles) and a fire steel (100% reliable).

For flexibility/ price I would recommend starting with a titanium pot, a trangia meths burner (not the lightest but cheap) + trivet (pot stand), pot cosy (you can make one out of an old karrimat), wind shield (one cut from an aluminium turkey roasting dish works good) and a fire steel; you can always add a gas stove to your kit later.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby mrssanta » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:20 pm

also be aware hexamine gives off poisonous fumes, not really recommended inside a tent
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby whiteburn » Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:37 am

mrssanta wrote:also be aware hexamine gives off poisonous fumes, not really recommended inside a tent

I tracked down the data sheet for Esbit tabs, combustion is said to give off Formaldehyd, Ammoniak, Nitro gases and Hydrocyanic acid (hydrogen cyanide), strange that Esbit market there tabs as being non-toxic, perhaps it's the quantities involved? :?

I wouldn't use Esbit tabs (or any stove) inside a tent, I've only used in the porch and under a tarp.
The other thing to note is that hexamine is toxic if ingested so care must be exercised when handling and then preparing food.

Found this good website that's got lots of info:
http://zenstoves.net/StoveChoices.htm
The site also has lots of ideas for those who like making their own gear.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby BobMcBob » Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:54 am

It's generally a bad idea to use any stove inside a closed tent, even if you have a large porch area. Even gas and meths stoves give off carbon monoxide which is just as toxic as any of the things the Esbit tabs give off. It is all about concentrations though and probably they're quite low but even so, none of it is something I'd want hanging around in the air while I slept.
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Re: Jetboil or wee stove- what do you recommend?

Postby Rudolph » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:54 pm

Any sort or cookery beyonf heating water and using it to make coffee or rehydrate dried meals is beyond me. Especially on a lighweight camp so heating water is all i want from a stove.

My first lightweight stove was a caldera cone and a 500ml titanium pot from alpkit. It was very light and the case fitted in the mug neatly. It was great in wind (once lit!) and also good in cold conditions. I don't use it so much now preferring a pocket rocket or Mrs Santa's MSR remote for ease and bulk and not smelling of meths. The gas stoves also can be used with an espresso maker!

That said, If I was going overnight in winter I'd probably go back to it.
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