A road trip of yearlong proportions requires a certain amount of gear. And by “certain amount,” I mean a shit ton. Boxes, racks and ice chests. Sleeping bags, stoves and lanterns. Suitcases, backpacks and functional clothes. These are the things — from essential devices and to clever do-dads — that make an itinerant life livable. And since Jill and I are in a position to give such gear a pretty thorough road test, we thought we’d share some thoughts about stuff we like (and stuff we don’t). The subject of our inaugural review falls into the former category. Cheers.
She Says: I’d like to introduce you to my fancy Jetboil Flash. Aside from my backpack and hiking boots, it’s the most technical piece of outdoor equipment I own. And I own it proudly. It was a Christmas gift. One that my backpacker husband thought was a little silly, a little excessive. It’s my bit of luxury on this live-in-the-car-and-out-of-a-tent adventure.
He Says: I don’t think the Jetboil is silly. I just think, at $100, it’s a little pricey for a water-boiling device, which is why I’d never bought one before. I’m plenty happy with my backpacking stove, the MSR PocketRocket, which weighs 3 ounces (that’s less than an iPhone) and costs about 40 bucks. But when your wife requests backcountry gear for Christmas — any backcountry gear — you whisper a prayer of thanks and immediately speed to REI.
She Says: I drink tea. Lots of tea. Green tea, yerba mate tea, red rooibos tea. It’s my new habit, taking the place of my old one — smoking. Thanks to the Jetboil, I can get my tea fix in 2 minutes. That’s how long it takes to boil 2 cups of water.
He Says: Who talks about liquid in cups? Even the metric system is better than cups. For those of you who don’t spend much time in the kitchen — and when you do, tend not to measure things — the Jetboil boils 16 ounces of water in 2 minutes. It’s able to do that because an accordion-shaped metal ring on the bottom of the cooking cup (patented by Jetboil as the “FluxRing”) transfers heat from the burner to the water with amazing efficiency. But, really, is boiling water for tea in 2 minutes that much better than boiling water for tea in 4 minutes?
She Says: Yes, it’s twice as good. (Do the math, Mr. Wizard.) But what’s really cool is that you boil the water in a cup that easily detaches from the stove and its little fuel tank. So you don’t have to balance a pot on a tiny burner and then pour water from the pot into a mug — you just drop a tea bag into the Jetboil cup and you’re ready to go. Plus, the cup is insulated — it’s like a beer cozy. What’s even cooler is what the Jetboil website calls a “Flash color-change heat indicator,” which is a rubbery meter on the insulator that turns orange when the water is boiled.
He Edits What She Says: It’s a fuel canister, not a “fuel tank.” A fuel tank goes in an automobile, not a backpack. I might also be inclined to taunt you for needing a color-change indicator to tell if water has boiled, but that indicator does eliminate having to constantly pull off the lid and check. And you’re right: The insulated cooking cup is user friendly. Another nice feature is the push-button igniter. I hate trying to light a match in the wind. A word to the wise, though: An old colleague of mine who founded the excellent website GearJunkie.com reports that the piezoelectric igniter doesn’t work well at sub-freezing, high-elevation conditions.
She Says: I can assure you that, over the course of this trip, I will NOT be making yerba mate in at “sub-freezing, high-elevation conditions.”
He Says: That’s what you think.
—Jill and Scott
Nice post! Hard to find comedy in a review of a camping water boiler, but you did it
Never mind the tea. If the cup is insulated, is it enough to keep the beer cold?
That looks like a handy tool to have when you want to boil water in 2 minutes! Can’t beat that! I totally get Jill’s comments, the measurements(cups vs. ounces). What’s funny is that Scott has to reiterate everything Jill says to make it more technical.
Love it! Hope you both are well.
This is such a great post! I think my hubcap and I go through similar conversations about our hiking/camping gear! I now want a Jetboil!