Gear Review: JetBoil Cooking Systems

JetBoil Cooking Systems 10/10
My first cooking system was a Trangia, the old kind, slow, painfully so, heavy, temperamental that burnt most food that went within a ten mile radius of it, but I loved it dearly (they've improved a lot, so don't right them off!).  The JetBoil Personal cooking system (£60, 425g) offers a super fast and simple cooking system for outdoor use.  Many a time I have (and so have many others) whipped out their JetBoil in high winds, pouring rain, or freezing snow, popped on their water for a nice brew with this 'mountaineers new lover' and been seen happily sipping from their HUGE mug 2.4 minutes (my quickest time for the complete procedure) later 'happy as Larry'. It's one of the quickest stoves on the market, if not the quickest, it's dead easy to use, lightweight and all integrated (burner, cookware, the lot so no needless searching for 'that bit' at the bottom of your pack!).  The heat transfer system is excellent (coil technology I believe) that means nothing gets burnt and it's pretty darn speedy.  Gone are the days of uncooked rice, burnt curry, grassy soup, snow in your tea and burnt-down tents- it works excellently on any surface in pretty much any weather.  It's light, compact and expandable (you can buy add on bits for larger parties, it's not all solo you know!  The group system retails at £85 (660g), which isn't bad,  considering- although there's an additional 1.5l pan for the personal if you want it for a bit more.  Alternatively you could fork out £115 for the Helios Cooking System (£115, 793g) which adds even more cooking options and power with a butane-canister injection, a 2l flux ring or step up again with the highly attractive Helios Guide Cooking system (same thing but with a 3l and 2l flux rings at £159, 1349g) which is awesome power, and excellent in the field, ridiculously light, especially spread between 3 of you! (£54 and 450g each, in case you can't be bothered with the math).  JetBoil have recently bought out the Flash system, (£85 450g) which is basically the personal system but changes colour when the water's hot- very clever. In the range there's also a rather fancy Flash Java System, which includes a coffee filter/ plunger, sample coffee, stabilising tripod, and a sip through lid as well as the usual insulation mug.  

SPEC:

Convenient

Jetboil includes all the elements required for outdoor cooking in a single unit. Burner and cooking cup are integrated into a single package. Assembly and priming are not required.

Fast
'FluxRing' technology makes Jetboil a faster boiler than competing stoves. This speed, coupled with minimal setup, makes it the quickest way to get hot food into your stomach.

Fuel Efficient
FluxRing yields fuel efficiencies of over 80%, compared with the 30-40% typical of standard stoves and cookware. Bottom line: weight and money savings because a canister of fuel boils twice the volume of water. A single 100-gram Jetpower canister boils 12 litres of water.

Light and Compact
With the diameter of a Nalgene bottle and less height, Jetboil stows in places standard cooksets won't go, like your fanny pack or side pocket. At 15 ounces, Jetboil rivals the very lightest titanium cooksets and micro-canister stoves. When adding the weight savings from fuel efficient operation, Jetboil is without rival for fast and lightweight use.

Usage
Jetboil's functionality and ease of use are unparalleled. The base and cooking cup snap securely together during use. Piezo electric igniter lights quickly and easily. Heat level can be dialed in to meet your exact needs. After heating is complete, the cooking cup unsnaps from the base and the contents stay insulated. For stowage, the base and canister nest inside the cup and the lid seals it closed to form one compact unit.