Scared to move on from my Jetboil?!

[deadwolf]

Alright folks, I have been using a Jetboil Flash for my water boiling needs....it's tried trued, tested, and proven. 15.6 ozs on my food scale, and in addition to that I carry a Snow Peak 600ml cup at 4.5ozs for coffee in the mornings. So my setup for cooking and coffee with those two is 20.1ozs. I decided I wanted to get my cook set lighter, so I picked up a 750ml Toaks cup/pot at 3.6ozs, and an MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe at 2.9ozs, essentially eliminating one cook pot and lightening the load by 13.6 ozs. Nothing but GREAT reviews on the MSR PR2 so I'm excited about the prospect of this being a good change. I have to admit though, I am pretty nervous about stepping out of my comfort zone all in the name of saving some weight. Looking for input from those that might have made the swap from Jetboil to something lighter, either positive or negative. I NEED to know I can trust this setup on a 12 day sheep hunt and not get "burned"!

 

[justinspicher]

I've been running an MSR pocket rocket for over a decade now using a sno-peak mug as well. I tried the jetboil and while its awesome for making hot water fast and lightweight, I didn't care for it. Its pretty one dimensional. I can boil enough water in my mug for both my MH meal and coffee/tea at the same time without needing a second cup. It's also handy that my sno-peak mug nests with both a 32oz and 48oz Nalgene bottle allowing for better storage during travel. I don't count ounces, I carry what I need, or at least try to.

Just my thoughts, good luck with your decision.

 

[North61]

You will be fine. The Jetboil and similar MSR Windburner (which I like better) are neat set ups but as you say you can save a fair bit of weight going with an unintegrated system. The integrated stoves might burn a bit less gas especially in wind but you can moderate that by learning to find a sheltered spot and strategically using your back pack as a wind break. I switched to a SOTO windmaster and the MSR deluxe pocket rocket looks pretty similar. I am very happy with the trade off's with the SOTO windmaster and won't be going back to the JB or Windburner.

You have to carry so much extra gear for hunting that looking after the ounces is really important to get to an under 50 pound pound load for a long hunt.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Check out the adventures in stoving blog. Lotta good reviews and testing on many makes and models and I think you’ll find you’re gonna be okay with your choice and not miss the weight.

 

[FLAK]

Never had Jetboil but the PocketRocket 2 is SWEEEEEET!!!

 

[Wrench]

I've been in the lightweight stove game for at least 25 years. My findings are that the pot diameter makes the biggest difference of all variables in the traditional stove/pot system.

My 30 plus year old primus (can't find a model name on it) is about 2 ounces lighter than my current Soto / snow peak ti system. ....but it is SOOOOO much faster. It is faster than the first gen jet boil and honestly after packing that bulky thing around I never looked tothe jet boils again
So, if you want to go stand alone stove, look for a larger diameter pot, and not the tall skinny. These stoves spew a LOT of heat around the edges and the extra pot diameter is simply more efficient.

 

[kiddogy]

I bought the pocket rocket 2 this past spring . haven't used it much yet but so far I love it.

 

[BenFrank]

Never had a jetboil but have had the same pocket rocket since 2007. Never failed me. Like others have mentioned, the only issue I have is needing a small windbreak.

 

[Jahvette20]

Both will work it just come down to preference. I started out using a soda can alcohol stove/windscreen/ultra light aluminum pot for years and just this year started messing around with canisters. I grabbed a JB zip, a evernew ti pot/mug/lid nesting set, and a cheap no name ti ul burner. As light and compact as the can stove setup is I do t see me going back to it. Just a bit finicky for hunting situations, ie cold, hot, windy, different elevations all change the amount of fuel you actually need to boil a cup of water so there potential of wasting fuel or worse not using enough and haveing to refill and light. The canister/burner combo is a step up in convenience and ease of use but isn’t very quick or efficient as you really shouldn’t use a tight windscreen as the canister could overheat and expose, or so they say, plus you’d need a tall windscreen to be very effective. All that said, the JB zip has really grown on me. Yes it’s about 4 oz heavier than the other setups but it’s supper quick, stable, efficient, and the neoprene sleeve and rubber lid hold the heat very well. Also no need for your goals cup with it because it has that light plastic cup integrated which isn’t bad unless your a coffee snob lol. I bought the JB for my wife backpacking for simplicity but I actually plan on using it this season. You’ll figure out what you like but you can’t go wrong either way

 

[Jahvette20]

Another factor could be how many times a day are you boiling water...

 

[sweetroll]

The only thing you may miss is having an igniter on the stove, but if you do go with a Soto one that has them and is still light. It doesn’t bug me because I always carry a lighter or two anyway. Otherwise I bet your jetboil will gather dust. The difference in time and fuel spent should be really minimal and the PR2 should be just as reliable.

One other tip - grab the little base thing from the jetboil that clips on the fuel can to make it more stable. It’s nice to have.


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[wind gypsy]

Have jetboils and pocket rocket 2. The pocket rocket is definitely a little slower and less efficient but not a big inconvenience and worth the weight savings IMO.

 

[deadwolf]

Thanks for the replies all, after doing a bunch of looking last night, I might go the Soto Windmaster route and return the pocket rocket deluxe. Seems to be what MSR based their design on and a couple things about the Soto I like better. The good news is I’m gonna pack both setups on an upcoming two night trip and just use the lightweight stove cup combo, and see if it works good for me before committing!


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[deadwolf]

Did a few boil tests today, to compare the pocket rocket deluxe and my Jetboil flash, both had water boiling around the three minute mark, but the Jetboil did it burning only 4 grams of fuel compared to the 12grams of the MSR. This was just outside in normal conditions, probably a 3-4 mph wind with no wind blocks of any kind. Also used the Snow Peak Lite max that I have up for sale and it did surprisingly well too, going just over three minutes and using about 10 grams of fuel. Some things to think about here!


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[CApighunter]

I use a pocket rocket 2 and toaks 650. Never had an issue, the only extra thing I do is I use a piece of tinfoil doubled over as a wind shield.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

In my current stove inventory, I have an ultra light alcohol stove I made out of a beer can, a jet boil, an MSR Reactor and an MSR XGK. All the stoves have their +/-.

At a certain point the time it takes to boil water outweighs the benefit of the stove’s weight, the faster the stove boils water, the less fuel you will need on a long trip, thus negating any weight savings of the lighter stove.

Other factors are your meals and how you package. Using freeze dried bag meals like mountain house, the packaging weighs more and adds much more bulk. If you carry multiple dehydrated/freeze dried meals in a single container, you can save a lot of weight. Disadvantage is you have to clean your cooking pot.

With my buddies, we can sometimes just carry one stove for multiple people and a single larger pot saving even more weight vs. each of us carrying a stove.

My reactor stove boils more water faster than anything. At least 50% faster than the jetboil. For a long trip, that’s a lot less fuel you have to carry. The reactor is also perfect for two people.

Interesting video:

 

[Beendare]

Ive been using a stove similar to the pocket rocket for about 15 years- Optimus i think, great stoves.

I wouldnt use a stove that has plastic parts in the back country. Ive personally seen 2 jetboils melt to where they we’re too dangerous to use and heard stories of others. Luckily I had my little all metal stove along.

The knock on this type stove is that they are slower than the jetboils-which is true, by about 20 seconds or maybe a little more. Not a factor IMO.

I want bulletproof in the back country

....

 

[AK Troutbum]

Alright folks, I have been using a Jetboil Flash for my water boiling needs....it's tried trued, tested, and proven. 15.6 ozs on my food scale, and in addition to that I carry a Snow Peak 600ml cup at 4.5ozs for coffee in the mornings. So my setup for cooking and coffee with those two is 20.1ozs. I decided I wanted to get my cook set lighter, so I picked up a 750ml Toaks cup/pot at 3.6ozs, and an MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe at 2.9ozs, essentially eliminating one cook pot and lightening the load by 13.6 ozs. Nothing but GREAT reviews on the MSR PR2 so I'm excited about the prospect of this being a good change. I have to admit though, I am pretty nervous about stepping out of my comfort zone all in the name of saving some weight. Looking for input from those that might have made the swap from Jetboil to something lighter, either positive or negative. I NEED to know I can trust this setup on a 12 day sheep hunt and not get "burned"!

I did it about a year or so ago after only using JB’s for the last decade or so. I pretty much have the same set up as you but mostly using a 650 pot and $15 BRS 3000 stove (3.6 oz. total wt. for both). The JB’s are a fair amount more efficient, but if you keep the flame down on those little stoves the efficiency is much better even though it takes longer to bring the water to a boil.


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

I did it about a year or so ago after only using JB’s for the last decade or so. I pretty much have the same set up as you but mostly using a 650 pot and $15 BRS 3000 stove (3.6 oz. total wt. for both). The JB’s are a fair amount more efficient, but if you keep the flame down on those little stoves the efficiency is much better even though it takes longer to bring the water to a boil.


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Switched to that exact set up this season (650 toaks and BRS). I need to do some testing myself, but would you say that two small canisters would last one person 8-10 days with 2 boils a day?

 

[AK Troutbum]

Switched to that exact set up this season (650 toaks and BRS). I need to do some testing myself, but would you say that two small canisters would last one person 8-10 days with 2 boils a day?

Absolutely, but you’d be better off with one medium (230 grams), canister over two 100 gram canisters. 100 gram canister=7 oz., 230 gram=12.4 oz.


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