Backpacking Stoves... Jetboil?

[j_h_nimrod]

Typically I do some type of boiled meal on most ultralight trips.  The Reactor does simmer fairly well with careful attention and does not have the tendency to scorch the center.

If I were wanting to roast some meat or a trout I would wait until after Sept. 30 and kindle a fire.

[Skyvalhunter]

I prefer my MSR whisperlite or my Pocket rocket as sometimes I like to cook fish or if I want to cook up some meat I can. Jetboil does have their advantages that is if you only need hot water but I don't care to be that limited. The thing about cooking over a stove as opposed to an open fire it the black soot is a mess on the fry pan unless you cook the meat in foil.

[MLHSN]

I prefer my MSR whisperlite or my Pocket rocket as sometimes I like to cook fish or if I want to cook up some meat I can. Jetboil does have their advantages that is if you only need hot water but I don't care to be that limited. The thing about cooking over a stove as opposed to an open fire it the black soot is a mess on the fry pan unless you cook the meat in foil.

I have to disagree skyval, it is easy to cook both fish and steak over the fire with no tinfoil. I gut the fish as normal and cut the head off.  Find a nice skewering stick and then slide it in between the skin and the backbone.  Set beside the fire to slow cook.  I prefer it to tinfoil.  First, no aluminum chemicals.  Second, it's not as soggy and you get a little smoke flavor.

My favorite trick is to cut a steak into finger strips.  I season it up and freeze.  Then it's thawed by night and I skewer over the fire.

[packmule]

Based on your description of use and needs you might want to consider an alcohol stove.

See this link:
http://andrewskurka.com/2011/how-to-make-a-fancy-feast-alcohol-stove/

I use a titanium pot and this alcohol stove, and like you, I only boil water on backpack hunts.  My alcohol stove uses 3 tablespoons of alcohol to boil water in the pot.  The alcohol stove is not fast, you're looking at around 7 minutes or so to boil the water.  But, the stove weighs almost nothing and denatured alcohol is cheap and easy to carry.

Just another though to consider, good luck.

[CoryTDF]

I have two now. Both boil water fast and both can be used to cook on. One takes fuel and one uses wood.

the first is below and the reviews and the cost is what brought me to this unit. It works plain and simple. I give it 5 stars!

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpacking-Canister-Stove-Ignition/dp/B004U8CP88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375454161&sr=8-1&keywords=backpacking+stove

I recently purchased this from another site member and am completely happy with it. It boils water, can be cooked on, and has no fuel to pack. This baby is awesome! it burns so efficiently there is almost no smoke at all and it really does charge USB devices. My pan had almost no soot on it and after boiling water wtill had fire to make SMORES After the coals went cold there was NO SMELL of smoke at all! it is a little heavy that is the only draw back.

http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

[lostbackpacker]

I have two now. Both boil water fast and both can be used to cook on. One takes fuel and one uses wood.

the first is below and the reviews and the cost is what brought me to this unit. It works plain and simple. I give it 5 stars!

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpacking-Canister-Stove-Ignition/dp/B004U8CP88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375454161&sr=8-1&keywords=backpacking+stove

I recently purchased this from another site member and am completely happy with it. It boils water, can be cooked on, and has no fuel to pack. This baby is awesome! it burns so efficiently there is almost no smoke at all and it really does charge USB devices. My pan had almost no soot on it and after boiling water wtill had fire to make SMORES After the coals went cold there was NO SMELL of smoke at all! it is a little heavy that is the only draw back.

http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

how well do you think the biolite will perform under less than dry conditions?  I cant imagine finding too many dry fuel up in the cascades during oct/nov. 

[Rob]

I use a soto and a Ti Pot.  wieghts in at 6.5 ounces w/o fuel.  more compact than the jetboil.

I don't have a JB, but many of my friends do and they love them.  With a full canister they cannot be beat.  That said, they really seem to have issues when the canister gets to about 1/4 full.  take forever to boil water.

If I was going to buy a speed boil system, I'd get the MSR reactor in 1 liter size.  those things are scary fast, do NOT blow out even in pretty good wind and with the pot off, and use every last drop of the fuel like it was a full canister.  My buddy used his at 9,100 feet to boil water last weekend and it boiled a pot in about 40 seconds.

I shy away from the fast boil systems because of the added weight. 

All these systems seem to take a pretty good performace hit when it is cold out.  sleep with your canisters or move to the heavier/bulkier/messier whitegas systems like the MSR Whisperlite.  Those will work anywhere.

[CoryTDF]

I have two now. Both boil water fast and both can be used to cook on. One takes fuel and one uses wood.

the first is below and the reviews and the cost is what brought me to this unit. It works plain and simple. I give it 5 stars!

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpacking-Canister-Stove-Ignition/dp/B004U8CP88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375454161&sr=8-1&keywords=backpacking+stove

I recently purchased this from another site member and am completely happy with it. It boils water, can be cooked on, and has no fuel to pack. This baby is awesome! it burns so efficiently there is almost no smoke at all and it really does charge USB devices. My pan had almost no soot on it and after boiling water still had fire to make SMORES After the coals went cold there was NO SMELL of smoke at all! it is a little heavy that is the only draw back.

http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

how well do you think the biolite will perform under less than dry conditions?  I cant imagine finding too many dry fuel up in the cascades during oct/nov.

Honestly, I bet it does alright. All you would need is a good fire starter and they use small sticks to get a hot fire going and boom, your off and going. The fan helps the fire burn so well I think it would be great. Some reviews say they had trouble and some not. I helped teach cold weather survival for a bit and honestly I have a hard time trusting review about making fire. I came to learn that a large number of people are severely "fire challenged" and make way more work of it than need be. It's like anthing else start small and go big. Crawl, walk, run!

[mossy8352]

Jet boil for me the Sol model. It will work with 2 plus cups of liquid. I practice at home with all of my gear and I can make soup, scrambled eggs and various meals with the pot. I do have and use a small cook set from REI that gives me a skillet pot combo and with those I can make almost anything I know how to cook. Maybe mine is newer but I have no trouble with the flame control and I can simmer with the pot or skillet as well as with our kitchen stove. All of the above are good units and should do what you want.

[Fester]

Brasslite Turbo D II
All my other stoves are collecting dust.

http://www.brasslite.com/

[Paxer]

This is what I like - You can charge any USB products while you cook too.

http://www.thepowerpot.com/powerpot-v

I also use a 10w foldable solar panel too with external battery pack

[scottcrb]

MSR Reactor, hands down.  Jetboil is a close second depending on circumstances. The MSR is more efficient, faster, and actually has the ability to boil useful amounts (1 or 1.7 liter) of water. Have you ever tried to feed multiple people 1 cup (actually think it will do 16oz) at a time?   With the Jetboil you can only fit the small fuels in the cup, not the larger canisters that nest nicely in the Reactor. The Reactor will boil (rolling boil) 19 liters (~40 degree water, ~50 degree ambient) per large (8oz) canister.

The Jetboil is good for personnal use or shorter trips. For larger groups and extended trips the Reactor takes it.

Agreed love my reactor have 2 different sized pots for different situations. Very fast and efficient.

[Shawn Ryan]

If you really want to cut your weight and can wait 5-6 more minutes for your water to boil, then an alcohol stove is way lighter.  My stove weighs 1/2 ounce.  Fuel weight depends on how many burns you need.  An alcohol stove system only weighs more than a canister stove system once you stay in the woods long enough/need enough burns so that the weight of the alcohol finally outweighs the canister stove and fuel.  It takes my stove about 1 oz of fuel to boil 2 cups of creek-cold water at 6,000 feet.  You can bring the exact amount of fuel you want and never worry about partially filled canisters.

As for space, the stove and fuel is as small as or smaller than a Pocket Rocket (or similar canister top stove) and canister.  Both systems need a pot, but both systems fit in the pot for packing.  I've compared my stove set up with hunting buddies' Jetboil setups and mine is smaller in size, quieter, and 4-5 minutes slower to boil water for one.  Jetboil is very fuel efficient.

Personally, I've never been unduly delayed by the 6-7 minutes it takes to boil my water. I've always got other camp chores to do at the end of the day that more than occupy those 6-7 minutes.  I use/take my alcohol stove on my 9-day trips because I boil most of my water on my wood-burning/Kifaru style stove anyway.

IMO, you have to decide what is most important to you:  time to boil, weight, space, fuel efficiency, and ease of use.  Once you prioritize those, choosing the right stove system for you will be easier.

[MLHSN]

Yes, Shawn Ryan, I can agree the alchy stove is lighter.  I used a cat food can for two years.  My problem was by the time I did all the cooking I wanted the fuel and container weighed more then my fuel canister.  It really depends how much you use it.  My wife and I are having two cups of coffee each a day plus three meals (the last meal requires 2 boils).  So in the end I'm boiling water 8x a day.  That's a lot of alchy.

1 tip for those that are wanting to use an alchy stoves.  Fuels like HEET can give off some really nasty byproduct gasses that you don't want to inhale.  The S-L-X you can buy at the paint store burns a lot hotter and cleaner.  It's cheap, and you can buy it by the gallon.  Much cheaper, hotter, and safer then HEET.

[hillbillyhunting]

I bought a scale yesterday to start weighing my backpacking equipment.  My current stove and pot setup only weight 1 lb with the cases/bags and only 14oz without them. 

I really need to do some more thinking about fuel efficiency to determine if upgrading will be worth it. 

I was impressed with the biolite a few years ago when I saw it the first time, but thought there was no way I would be packing a stove that heavy.  I just checked out the specs and saw that it weighs less than 2lbs.  Considering you wouldn't have to carry fuel, the weight is pretty decent.