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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Cooking Accessories > Jetboil Cargo Cozy Kit > Test Report by Chuck Carnes

JETBOIL
Cargo Cozy
Cargo Cozy Kit
Initial Report: June 28, 2007
Field Report: August 30, 2007
  Long Term Report: October 25, 2007

 

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 37
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ft. 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina USA

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since then. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.



PRODUCT INFORMATION Spoon and Fork
Manufacturer:
Jetboil

Model: Cargo Cozy Kit
Year of manufacture: 2007
URL: http://www.jetboil.com
Listed Weight:  Spoon: 0.4 oz (11 g)
                            Fork: 0.4 oz (11 g)
Listed Dimensions:  In use: 8.5 in (215 mm)
                                    Retracted: 5.2 in (130 mm)
Actual Weight:  Spoon: 0.4 oz (11 g)
                            Fork: 0.4 oz (11 g)

Actual Length:  In use: 8.5 in (215 mm)
                            Retracted: 5.2 in (130 mm)

MSRP: 19.95 USD

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The ideal utensils for your Jetboil PCS plus the Cargo Cozy to store them. Keep your utensils in the kitchen! Long enough to comfortably reach the bottom of the PCS, and specially shaped to scour each edge and corner. Handles telescope to store compactly in Cargo Cozy. Cargo Cozy also accommodates the Jetboil Hanging Kit (sold separately). Cargo Cozy Kit includes spoon, fork, and Cargo Cozy. Lightweight and durable high-temperature nylon.



I N I T I A L    R E P O R T
June 28, 2007

The Jetboil Cargo Cozy Kit is a great little kit that goes with the Jetboil PCS Cup or Companion Cup. When I received the Cozy Kit, I removed the provided cozy on the PCS Cup and slid the Cargo Cozy Kit onto cup. The material is the same as the provided cozy, only the Cargo Cozy has a small piece of material attached to the side of the cozy which can be seen in the first picture. This provides a place for the spoon and the fork to be located while the PCS is packed or while it is in use so the utensils won't be miss placed or lost. While the utensils are in their retracted position, they fit easily through this tab and it holds them very securely.

The spoon and fork are a nice addition to the PCS. The utensils themselves are very light but seem to be very strong. At first glance at them I thought they would be flimsy but after some time of handling, extending and retracting them, I found these utensils to be very solid in their design. As seen in the picture above, there is a blue tab on the side of the utensils. This tab clicks into place when the utensil is extended and provides solid rigidity to the whole utensil. Simply press the tab in to retract back into the compact position.

In their extended position, the utensils seem to be plenty long enough to reach the bottom of the cup and still have enough room to grip the handle to stir or get food from the very bottom. I am very curious to see how well this works and if I am able to get all of the food out of the bottom of the cup. The utensils do not seem to be able to come apart at the handle so I will monitor how hard it might be to get food out of the handle where the two sections are joined. While the utensils are in the stored position on the Cargo Cozy, the bottom ends seem to be very close to where the burner could have an effect on the tips as far as burning them or charring them. I will monitor this also to be sure they do not get in the way or get burned.


F I E L D    R E P O R T
August 30, 2007

Spoon in cup

I have found the Jetboil Cargo Cozy kit to be very helpful on my outings during this test period. I took it on a two night trip to Jones Gap with two of my sons where the temperatures during the day were around 80 F (26 C) and dropping to around 60 F (15 C) at night. The elevation at the camp site was 2,487 ft (868 m). The whole Jetboil system is very impressive. I like the way they integrate their products to fit or work with each other. For this trip I packed pancake mix, oatmeal, eggs, instant potatoes and two hamburger patties to be cooked with the PCS system and to use the Cargo Cozy kit with the Companion Cup during some of these meals.

Before the trip I removed the cozy that comes with the companion cup and replaced it with the Cargo Cozy. I placed the Jetboil fork and spoon in the provided sleeve on the side of the cozy. I transported the companion cup in a side pocket of my pack with the cozy and utensils. The utensils stayed in the sleeve during the travel. The Cargo Cozy also has a web strap on the side to be used as a handle. I found this to be very useful in grabbing the companion cup, with all the cooking gear inside, out of the pocket and carrying it to my cooking area. I first left the utensils in the provide sleeve to see if they would get in the way during cooking, eating or drinking out of the companion cup.

During this trip I boiled water for coffee and for oatmeal. I monitored the utensils, while the water was boiling, for any sign of singeing or burning while they were so close to the heating element of the Jetboil system. At no time did I experience any of the two. The utensils were warm to the touch but nothing of any danger. The spoon and fork came in very handy once I was ready to prepare my coffee and oatmeal. I didn't have to go hunting for them in a stuff sack or in a pocket somewhere, they were right there on the cup in easy access. The spoon was plenty long enough to reach the bottom of the cup to get the last bit of oatmeal out. I even used the fork several times cause I make my oatmeal thick and the fork worked just as well. While drinking coffee I placed the utensils back in the sleeve to see if they would bother me, in the way of touching my face or what have you, when I turned the cup up  to drink from it. I could see the tops of them out of the corner of my eye but they did not come close to poking me in the eye or touching my face. So, it was okay to have them there so I would not put them down or lose them.

Cleaning the utensils was fairly easy, just a quick rinse with some water and a little bit of rubbing with a rag and some soap and the food came right off. I did have some of the oatmeal in the small edges of the spoon but I was able to dig it out. The utensils are very sturdy when the are extended all the way out and I look forward to more delicious meals with them.


L O N G   T E R M    R E P O R T
October 25, 2007

Eating with Utensils

The Jetboil Cargo Cozy kit is a great replacement for the included cozy on the companion cups. With the added tab that keeps the Jetboil utensils organized and kept from being lost, it's worth changing it out to the Cargo Cozy. I had the cargo cozy on the companion cup on a two night trip to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The mornings were a little cool with temperatures about 48 F (9 C) and the nights before bed was about 55 F (12 C). The elevation was about 6,600 ft (2,012 m) with beautiful blue skies and starry nights.

For such a small addition to the original cozy, it makes a huge difference when you know where your fork or spoon are when it comes time to stir the contents in the companion cup. The whole Jetboil PCS system with this cozy just makes everything covenient and organized. For the evening meal on the first day of the trip, I liked reaching into my pack and getting the Jetboil PCS out and knowing everything I needed was in or on the companion cup. I put everything together, fired up the burner and started warming up some Beanie Wienies and it was nice to know the spoon and fork were right there on the side of the cozy when I was ready to use them. I leave the utensils there as I cook because the heat from the burner does not affect them at all.

The next morning I made coffee and again the spoon was right there on the side to stir my coffee with. A simple shake of the spoon and I put it back on the side of the cozy for the next use. The meal for that evening was Fettucini Alfredo and just after it was made, I took the cup from the burner, slipped my hand between the cozy and the attached web strap and enjoyed my meal straight from the cup. After I got home the companion cup needed to be washed so I simply removed the cozy from the cup and washed the cup by itself. The removal and putting on the cozy is fairly easy. It is snug to the cup but the cozy stretches enough to make the process easy to do.

Overall I am very pleased to have this Cargo Cozy on my Jetboil Companion Cup. It is a great organizer to place the utensils in and it doesn't really add any more weight to the cup.



This concludes this test series.
Thank you Jetboil and BackpackGearTest.org for this opportunity.



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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Cooking Accessories > Jetboil Cargo Cozy Kit > Test Report by Chuck Carnes



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