Customer Reviews

Jetboil Backcountry Gourmet Cooking Set

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this set of Jetboil. Everything is fairly well thought out, and it does boil water EXTREMELY fast. indoors (no wind) it can boil 2 cups of room temperature water in less than 100 sec. out doors, while not as fast, its build in windshield/heat spreader still manages to boil water in under 3 minutes. most of the time i can start with my food before other campers finished priming/setting up their stoves.

the whole stove/support/cup/pan fits and locks into each other exceedingly well, but sometimes too clever for its own good. this is partly Jetboil (the company)'s fault - their manual left many small details untouched so the less patient users end up using the set incorrectly.

common complains:

1. This comes up often, some people complain about cup's bottom protector doesn't come off easily, one even suggested cutting the edges of the protector to make the whole thing fit better. I wonder if they ever realized the cup bottom is grooved, and the protector can be inserted and removed in one specific direction, by design.

2. Another common complain is while using the pan, the support legs could not be set on top of the stove firmly, and can be tripped over easily, along with the food. Initially I was puzzled by this as well, but if you play around with the stove and the support a bit, you'll find it's also got notches and grooves for a firm lock down.

aside from these, there are a few problems I see with the set.

1. the cup and the frying pan's cooking surface is NOT non-sticking, so cleanup after meal is a hassle. but for backpacking, perhaps this is more convenient - you don't have to treat the pan as delicately. Scrubbing it with sand and leaf works just fine.

2. the spatula uses the same material as the spoon and fork, but unfortunately, this material doesn't stand up to high temperature well. after one use or two, you'll see some damage on the edge of the spatula. Not a huge problem since its still fully functional, but still...

3. the heat exchanger works great for the cup, but not so good with the pan. because the cup and the stove has the same radius, its very easy to align them and lock them down. however, since the pan is at least twice as big as the stove head, setting it right to the middle can be a chore, and the exchanger's many folds can catch the support legs, knocking the stove down. with practice it'll become easier to estimate the center of the pan, but still, had Jetboil's design included a metal ring on the inner side of the exchanger, this would've been much easier.

4. the cup is not perfectly round, and neither is the pot supporter. which means fitting the support into the cup takes a few tries, and can easily scratch the inside of the cup if you just brute forces it. than again, since the inside surface isn't the non-stick variety, it's not a big deal.

overall, this is still a great cooking set. easy to use, easy to store, and very flexible, with a few design tweaks it'll be close to perfect for campers and backpackers.

My recommendation would be to forgo the pan and utensils all together and just get the Jetboil PCS system instead. The PCS system (Personal Cook System) is really good for boiling water. It boils water extremely fast and the pot can be used as a mug or a cup additionally. It also works really well in low temperatures which means that igniting the flame with the integrated piezoelectric igniter is going to make it very easy and fast. If size is an issue and you must have a fry pan for limited cooking the entire set is not all bad. I have cooked with it and it does an adequate job, it just requires a little more work to use the fry pan than I would like. Just get the word Gourmet out of your mind.

See my full review
[...]

[I do not work for Jetboil, even though I live in the same town where they have their offices.]

I took the Jetboil Backcountry Gourmet Cooking Set out on a four-month hike of the Appalachian Trail (I had to get off early due to my knees) and managed to amaze everyone who saw me cooking with it.

First off, there aren't that many opportunities for fishing along the A.T., so you may as well leave the skillet and spatula (and pot stabilizer) at home. I sent mine home when I got to Neels Gap just because I never had a chance to use it. I also sent home the coffee press I bought along with it because it got damaged by the stove igniter bumping against it. (And yes, I was in a bad mood for many days afterward.)

That said, the Jetboil itself lives up to its name. It boils water very fast and invariably I would already be eating while other hikers were still messing with their stoves. Those who didn't also have a Jetboil, that is. The fork and spoon, which don't come with a standard Jetboil, and expand to full size, also made even Jetboil owners jealous.

It's not for gram weenies, though. Sure it's a few extra ounces, but it's all self-contained and packs up very well. And to my mind, the convenience and speed are worth it. After all, I was out there to hike, not to fight with my equipment for an hour three times a day.

One thing you should remember is to stir your food very frequently, even constantly, while cooking. The Jetboil runs pretty hot, even turned down as far as it will go, and several types of food (like Lipton/Knorr pasta dishes) will try to stick to the bottom. As you can imagine, this is a royal pain to clean up when it happens. Ramen noodles aren't a problem though.

Speaking of cleanup, this could also be a minor problem if you have large hands, but it's basically a cup, and wasn't too hard for me to clean. Heat up the water you use to clean up for a few seconds and it'll be even easier. (You'd be surprised how many hikers are out there who "clean" their dishes with cold water.)

Overall I'm impressed with the Jetboil and it will go with me anytime I wander into the woods.

This product is great. It is easy to use, is sturdy, and packs inside of itself. It seems like this will last a lifetime. I live in a small town and the fuel is hard to come by as many places won't ship it and we don't have a big sporting goods store.

Boy I wish I had this when I was a boy scout. Got it today and just had to try it out, works great! Oh and you can use the Colman gas canisters with this. Functions just great and the freeze dried food tastes better than MRE's.

I can't say anything more than my husband loves this product!! He uses this for camping with the Boy Scouts and has found it to be very efficient and easy to use. Would highly recommend!!

This is the absolute bomb for cooking on the trail. My only warning is this: Don't turn your back for even a second because when you look again it will be boiling over. It is amazingly quick.

Great stove, very durable. I take it out kayaking with me and also hiking/camping. Very compact, easily fits into my drybag with minimal storage area used up. Simple to use, no priming, no tiny or cumbersome parts to deal with. Seems to hold up well. Would highly recommend. I looked at this several times before deciding to get it and now that I have it, can't believe I waited so long to get it. It makes cooking meals/boiling water so much easier and speedier. On a superficial level, it looks pretty cool and impresses the people you are with.