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Owner Review by Amanda Tikkanen

Jetboil CrunchIt
By Amanda Tikkanen
Owner Review
April 10, 2014

Tester Information

NAME:	Amanda Tikkanen
email:	amanda@uberpest.com
Age:	32
Location:	Southeastern Indiana, USA
Gender:	F
Height:	5' 4" (1.63 m)
Weight:	159 lb (72.10 kg)

I've been hiking and backpacking since 2000. Always with a dog by my side, my current trail companions Ranger and Halo are helping me cover ground in southeast Indiana, southwest Ohio, and northern Kentucky. I've previously tramped around the upper Midwest, mostly in Michigan and Indiana. I document our adventures and misadventures on my website, UberPest's Journal.

My base pack weight runs around 16 lb (7.26 kg). My goal is to carry as little weight as possible without sacrificing comfort as my trips are typically 10-15 miles (16-24 km) per day.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Johnson Outdoors Gear, Inc
Year of Manufacture: 2013
Manufacturer's Website: www.Jetboil.com
MSRP: US$5.95
Listed Weight: 1 oz (28 g)
Measured Weight: 1.1 oz (31 g)
Listed Dimensions: 3" x 1.4" (76 mm x 35 mm)
Measured Dimensions: 3" x 1.4" (76 mm x 35 mm) at longest and widest points

Other details:

The Jetboil CrunchIt is an ovoid-shaped metal tool that screws on to the top of propane canisters in order to safely vent any remaining gas and then punch a hole in the can to ensure recycling systems will accept the canister. There are pictures on the underside of the tool that show how it should be used.

It comes with a small orange piece of plastic that covers the sharp part of the tool.

Jetboil CrunchIt tool
Jetboil CrunchIt tool.

Jetboil CrunchIt tool--bottom view
Jetboil CrunchIt tool--bottom view with diagram for use.

Field Use

This is a tool that I haven't carried on the trail as, for me, it's not useful enough while I'm on the trail to justify the weight. I've never emptied a canister in the middle of a trip and, even if I did, I'm not in a situation to recycle the spent canister. My canisters die as I work through my stack of partially filled canisters to use to make camp coffee on a car camping trip. When I build up a pile of empties I need to figure out how to safely recycle them through my local recycling.

Enter the CrunchIt.

In the past the only way I had to empty the last bits of gas out of a canister was to pop it with a nail (not exactly safe) or take it to the shooting range (also not exactly safe as well as a clear violation of the "paper targets only" rule at the range). A regular "church key" type can opener isn't strong enough to do the job--I know because I tried.

Dents from can opener
Dents from can opener.

The CrunchIt, on the other hand, worked as I hoped it would. I threaded the tool onto the canister and lifted up according to the diagram on the tool in order to vent any remaining fuel. For most of my canisters there wasn't enough to provide a hiss, but a couple did have enough fuel for me to hear escape and to smell. This served as a reminder that in the future venting should probably be done outside, just to be safe.

Once I vented the gas I was able to punch holes in the canisters by applying pressure with my palm. I got an anticlimactic metallic popping sound, which signaled the canister's trip to the recycling bin. I punched several holes in the canister to make sure whoever has to sort them at the facility knows it's empty.

Jetboil CrunchIt tool punching holes
The CrunchIt punching holes--one is visible in the UPC code.

A few other tidbits about this handy little tool:

The side of the CrunchIt opposite the sharp can opener point is a bottle opener, which is always a welcome addition to my travel kit. To be sure it would function as advertised I cracked open a cold one (purely in the interest of gear testing, of course). It does indeed function as a bottle opener, just not as well as any of my dedicated bottle openers. I had to pry a little bit of the edge of the cap up all the way around the bottle in order for the cap to come off. As best I can tell the length of the CrunchIt prevents it from getting proper leverage to pry the cap. I'll stick to using this as an emergency backup bottle opener.

Jetboil CrunchIt tool opening a bottle
Jetboil CrunchIt tool opening a bottle.

There is also a piece of the tool that is listed as an orifice wrench that can be used to adjust some models of Jetboil cooking systems. My model of Jetboil PCS (c. 2006) does not have a need for this, so I am unable to comment on how well the orifice wrench works.

While visible in some of the pictures above, I wasn't able to put the orange plastic back on the tool tip, so it went in the recycling bin as well.

Summary

The Crunchit does a great job of its primary purpose--safely punching holes in spent fuel canisters in order to recycle them. It's a good tool to have at home to clean up after your trip.

Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Cooking Accessories > Jetboil Crunchit > Owner Review by Amanda Tikkanen

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