Anyone using the Jetboil SOL cooking system? Thoughts on weight, ease of use, bulk and such. Looking at it for general high country backpacking and hunting as well. All thoughts and ideas appreciated. Thanks.


Larry Sellers

Larry, I don't have a JetBoil SOL or SOL Ti but I'm familiar with the PCS and the PCS is a pretty nice unit.

The thing I didn't like about the PCS was that it was a bit bulky. But the SOL is more compact and lighter.

The nice thing about the JetBoils is they setup and heat FAST and are very fuel efficient!

And now they've got accessories that enable you to use pots and pans in addition to the cup. They even have a French press coffee cup gizmo for coffee fanatics like me!

It looks pretty good to me, but I'd go to REI or some store where you can see it, handle it, and test it out (most REIs will let you do a boiling water test in the store).

I have a couple of friends that have them and like them a lot, but the thing is that all they can basically do is boil water well.

If you only like to cook food that is made with boiled water you will probably like this better than any other system available at this time.

If you like cooking eggs, or frying, or pancakes, etc then you will probably end up dissatisfied with a jetboil.

Mark - As TheMan stated, they now have a skillet and pot that works with the system, so all normal cooking can be accomplished. The coffee press would be high on my list as well.

I have seen and handled them, looked good, but was just looking for some firsthand user info. Thanks guys

Larry Sellers

I have used the PCS for the last five years. Love it. Has relegated all my other stoves to the gear closet.

The SOL Ti is the next one I'll be buying...

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
I have a couple of friends that have them and like them a lot, but the thing is that all they can basically do is boil water well.

If you only like to cook food that is made with boiled water you will probably like this better than any other system available at this time.

If you like cooking eggs, or frying, or pancakes, etc then you will probably end up dissatisfied with a jetboil.

I agree with this 100%. jetboil does a GREAT job boiling water but the way it concentrates heat makes it very difficult to do anything other than boil something. It's very easy to burn soup to the bottom of the water pot and I've never been able to get eggs fried in the bigger pan.

I like it for what it is: a boiler. For anything else I'd suggest working elsewhere.

tried it, but was not the right one for me - I instead bought the MSR Reactor - and I am real happy with that one...!

Go with a Soto microregulator stove and a Jetboil heat exchanger/cup with cozy. Then you have the best of all worlds.

quote:

Originally posted by Kaboku68:
Go with a Soto microregulator stove and a Jetboil heat exchanger/cup with cozy. Then you have the best of all worlds.

And for real cooking?

No Piezo here! I go with the MSR pocket rocket!

Solo configuration.

soto has a microregulator and will work fast in colder situations. The sparking system is pretty good as well.

Pocket Rockets are great but if you are going to create a cooking that can handle bad conditions that you can encounter on a high glacier at 9000 ft then spend the $20 extra bucks and buy the best.

Sincerely,
Thomas

quote:

Originally posted by Kaboku68:
soto has a microregulator and will work fast in colder situations. The sparking system is pretty good as well.

Pocket Rockets are great but if you are going to create a cooking that can handle bad conditions that you can encounter on a high glacier at 9000 ft then spend the $20 extra bucks and buy the best.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Thomas, being the cheap SOB I am,.... my "microregulator system" consists of sticking my IsoPro fuel canisters in my sleeping bag under extreme cold conditions!

Lumpy..... but it works!

BTW - the difference between the Jet Boil Flash and the SOL is smaller size and microregulator!

Pocket Rockets are great, just need a stainless mug and you are ready to go. I have a mug that takes one of the small gas cylinders and that is enough for a day or two worth of tea and other hot drinks, or warming up a stew for lunch. But in Scottish Mountains in winter they do get slow due to the cold / damp.

I used to have an MSR whisper light that ran on wholite gas / petrol. Brilliant little stove and really burns hot. Downside, it's a bit digital in terms of heat control - full on or full off. My pack was stolen with all my gear and I replaced it with a small self contained colmans petrol stove. Like it a lot, mch more controllable than the whisperlite, and less faff in setting up but a bit heavier.

Most of my camping trips in the last few years though have been with kids and now tend to use a Trangier system with a gas burner attachment - all pots etc in one package, with the burner in the middle. Also have a small gas lantern that fits in as well - that gives a lovely light.

Larry,

The biggest drawback is getting fuel cans. The canisters cannot be taken on airplanes. And it is iffy to get them at your final destination. I find the multi fuel stoves to be a better choice if you are travelling to remote destinations.

Happy hunting.

So where are you going "backpack hunting" that you can't carry Isobutane?

It's not carrying that's the issue, it's finding it when you step off the commercial plane.

Multi fuels are available in even the most remote areas, small size jetboil cans are not.

Have you tried to finding them in Quesnal BC, Norman Wells, Nunavit NWT, or before 8:00 AM in Smithers? I have had no luck.

Probably not going to find them in Whitehorse next year either.

Fuel is much easier to find than little Jetboil cans.

Cheers

I have used the whisper lite stove for 25 years, it's fairly light weight, any fuel type available,excellent at extreme altitude but can be messy and finicky. The Jetboil with accessories I love , It's fast, clean especially when fingers are semi frozen with loss of dexterity. It's a feather weight .it's a no brainer. If a long stay in the woods is in order and I don't want to deal with fuel or be dependant on it I use the best option I have found it's been in use in Ireland for generations It's called the kelley kettle it comes in either ss or aluminum and different sizes depending on application.

The Jetboil does its little task perfectly, reliably, efficiently. It boils a small quantity of water quickly. I use it for backpacking where I'm not really inclinded to cook something that requires me to mix stuff up, cook, stir, all that rigamorole. Let me open a pouch, pour in a cup of boiling liquid, stir the contents with the water, zip the pouch closed, relax enjoying the scenery for 10 minutes, and then eat dinner right out of the pouch! For this use -- and making boiling water for hot cocoa or hot instant coffee, it has to be hard to beat this device.

love my jetboil, get some mountain house dehydrated foods a spork and life is good.
Very nice when your hands are cold and it's windy, nothing to hassle with, just boil 1/2 liter water place in foil pouch and eat directly from pouch. I would be concerned about fuel availability if flying to some parts of the world. It packs really neat and fairly light.

quote:

Originally posted by mlfguns:
I have used the whisper lite stove for 25 years, it's fairly light weight, any fuel type available,excellent at extreme altitude but can be messy and finicky. The Jetboil with accessories I love , It's fast, clean especially when fingers are semi frozen with loss of dexterity. It's a feather weight .it's a no brainer. If a long stay in the woods is in order and I don't want to deal with fuel or be dependant on it I use the best option I have found it's been in use in Ireland for generations It's called the kelley kettle it comes in either ss or aluminum and different sizes depending on application.

Are you aware the MSR now makes a Whisperlite Universal model that will burn either liquid fuels or the cannister fuels, simply by adding an adapter to the fuel line. Check them out at CascadeDesigns.com.

I too really like my Jetboil for backpacking. Although not a true light-weight stove they are light enough for my needs especially since I normally pack it in and leave it in camp. The gas canisters are small and last longer than I thought they would. For boiling water to re-hydrate bagged meals (like Mountain House and others), making coffee/tea and instant oat meal etc it is hard to beat.

Jet boils like other canister stoves are great for impatient folks or for pairs/groups where you know you'll need the extra fuel time.

Otherwise I find for solo use that ultralight Alcohol stoves are the best use of grams in the pack..

I'll second the motion that they definitely make sense for larger groups where sharing the stove/fuel makes sense.

I never did the math on it, but I think 2 or more is break-even (on group total weight) and 3 is a win. Might be off by one member.

If I'm by myself I usually don't take a stove.

One other thing is that the canister stoves are also a more weight efficient choice if you have to melt snow to get drinking water ..

Alcohol stoves will actually be heavier if you carry the fuel required to melt snow..