Jetboil Flash
Owner: Thomas
Used since: 2014
Tested by: Thomas
Review by: Thomas
Primary Use: Bushwalking, Camping, Multi-Day Lightweight Hiking
Review:
I had used many different stoves and cooking systems of all shapes and sizes over the years. In the attempt to downsize my pack for multi-day hikes I was looking for a stove that can cook fast and efficient, thereby not requiring much gas. Since weight is one of the primary concerns in multi-day adventures, I planned on eating primarily dehydrated meals that can be made easily just with boiling water. As such I didn't need a pot set and could do with a single pot system.
After quite a bit of research I decided to buy the Jetboil for several reasons:
- Only need to quickly boil half a litre of water, so single 1L capacity pot is sufficient
- The system boils water quite fast, hence no requirement for much gas
- Weight of the pot and heating element is not the lightest but I can save weight by bringing the smallest possible gas bottle
- Due the the construction of the heating element and the bottom of the Alu pot, boiling works quite well even in windy conditions.
Overall an excellent cooking system which is my preferred option for multi-day hikes now. Smaller and lighter systems save weight and pack size, however I find them quite annoying because they take more gas, need much longer to cook the same amount of water and are less resistant to wind (unless you bring aluminium or other shields which then again offsets the weight advantage of the stove).
Pros:
- Cooks fast and efficient.
- Needs very little gas (I boiled 0.5L of water 2x per day and the smallest gas bottle was still half full after a 5 day hiking trip).
- Packs away in a nicely consolidated pack by storing the gas and heating element within the pot.
- Cooks well even in windier conditions.
Cons:
- Not as light as some of the small cooking systems out there, but you conserve some weight by only requiring smaller amount of gas/gas bottles. The smallest one will get you comfortable through about 1 week if you cook 2x per day.
- The heating element is not made for simmering - meaning the stove is ideal for quickly boiling water but its not very suitable for cooking and simmering a nice meal inside the pot because the heating element is hard to fine regulate.
Comment:
Highly recommended for multi-day hikes where you primarily cook water for dehydrated meals and hot beverages.
Manufacturer Website:
http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Flash-Cooking-System/