Gadgetell Review: Jetboil for explorer types
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Product: Jetboil Personal Cooking System
Price: $89.95
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros:Simple to use, small to bring, having a fresh cup of joe miles from civilization is key
Cons: I broke the starter, maybe a fluke. Can’t fly with fuel, thanks a lot, terrorists
Overall: A fantastic solution for anyone with limited space but likes to eat/drink hot things.
Adventure gear must meet 2 prerequisites to work well for me: 1) be small and light and 2) work extremely well. I am here to report, the Jetboil does both equally well. I took the Jetboil on the high seas recently, testing its resolve (and mine). It was fantastic to make coffee each morning and soup in the evening. It is truly amazing how some hot food can improve your outlook.
The jetboil packs up in the cooking thermos, so it’s footprint is very small, perfect for hiking, camping and in my case small-boating. Assembling the unit is very simple, everything fits together real well. Once together a simple push of the starter button lights the flame. The unit heats up super quick thanks to the unique FluxRing that more efficiently uses the flames heat. Burn time is shorter, smaller fuel units to pack.
I did end up cracking the ceramic-looking insulator around the starter wire that led to it shorting out and needing to be lit by another method. It was replaced by Jetboil without question and was done so quickly. I call it a fluke and applaud their high customer service mark.
Using the cooking pot as the cup/bowl is smart as I hate washing things whether at the campsite or on a rolling sea. A gimbaled mount would have been fantastic for this unit on my trip, so it could roll with the waves rather than me holding it gingerly so as not to fall over. They do offer a hanging option but the idea of a swinging cup of boiling liquid was less entertaining than just holding it in place.
The coffee press worked well and packs up equally well. I used it as directed even after seeing online you can run it as a coffee pull and get better results. I had no grounds escape so it was non issue for me. And the coffee was good.
We ended up using the Jetboil as a compliment to the charcoal grill. It handled side dishes, soup and coffee with ease. Cooking times needed to be recalculated but that is to be expected with something advanced like this fun gadget. We also cooked eggs over the just the burner. Overall, it was a joy to have aboard.
Product page [Jetboil]
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