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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > Jetboil Jetset Utensil Kit > Test Report by Coy Ray StarnesJetboil
Jetset Utensil Kit
Test Report Series Initial Report: June 8, 2007 Field Report: August 27, 2007 Long Term Report: October 27, 2007  Jetboil Jetset Utensil Kit retracted  Jetboil Jetset Utensil Kit opened
Tester Biography I live in Northeast Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities but backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike less in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However, I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3-season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. Initial
Report
June 8, 2007 Product Information
Product Description The Jetboil Jetset Utensil Kit consist of a fork, spoon and spatula. All three feature the same retractable handle design and are constructed of a hard nylon. The website says this about the utensil kit; "The ideal utensils for Jetboil cooking systems or meals-in-a-bag. Long enough to comfortably reach the bottom of the PCS or GCS, and specially shaped to scour each edge and corner. Spatula shape matches Jetboil FluxRing® Fry Pan. Handles telescope to store compactly in or on Jetboil cooking vessels. Jetset Utensil Kit includes spoon, fork, and spatula. Lightweight and durable high-temperature nylon."  Initial ImpressionMy initial impression is man, these are slick! I found myself sliding them into the open position, mashing the release and closing them over and over. After this got old I sat down to give them a good inspection. First, all three utensils are very sturdy when opened. Fork and Spoon As this photo shows, when opened the fork and spoon are rather long. I checked and they are in fact much longer than my forks and spoons in the kitchen sink. I can see how Jetboil claims they are ideal for meals-in-a-bag cooking and reaching down in the PCS cooking pot. I know I have gotten my knuckles dirty with food many times reaching down inside a freeze-dried meal. The business ends are also full sized eating utensils. In fact the spoon is larger than a regular spoon but smaller than a table spoon. It is also slightly square. When collapsed, both the spoon and fork fit in the Cargo Cozy. Spatula The spatula handle is not as long as my kitchen spatula but is much longer than my old backpacking spatula which was more of a toy than a working spatula. The face on the spatula is a little smaller than my kitchen spatula but still fairly good sized, much larger then my old backpacking one. It certainly looks big enough for most flipping and other spatula chores. My testing will tell the real story down the road. Here is the spatula with my other ones for size comparison. The Jetboil spatula is the one in the center.  Jetboil spatula flanked by kitchen and my old backpacking spatula  The spatula is designed to fit under the plate that
goes with the Jetboil fry pan. The handle portion fits neatly
inside the FluxRing® but the spatula must rest over the
FluxRing®. However, once placed inside the plate snaps easily
in place. This picture on the left shows what I am speaking
of. Future Testing I plan to use the Jetset Utensil Kit as my cooking and eating tools on several backpacking trips. I will note how well the spoon and fork work for stirring food and then eating it. I will use the spatula for foods that will be cooked in my Jetboil fry pan will. I will be looking for strength, ease of storage, ease of cleaning and any other things of note that I feel are important to report Anticipated Testing Locations and Conditions I will be making several short overnight hikes and a few longer hikes over the next 4 months. I will be testing in the southeastern US with trips into the local mountains of Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina as I try to get some relief from the heat by seeking altitude and cooler weather. However, most testing would be done in Northeast Alabama. Elevations will generally be less than 4000 ft (1219 m). This concludes my Initial Report. Please check back in approximately 2 months for my Field Report to see how the utensils are working out. Field
Report
Aug 27, 2006  Coy Boy chowing down on pancakes with the Jetboil Fork Testing Locations and Conditions I used the Jetset Utensil Kit on a three day 27 mile (43 km) backpacking trip in the Cohutta Wilderness in Georgia in early July. On this hike the elevation was around 800 ft (244 m) at the river and we topped several ridges, the highest at around 2600 ft (792 m). The high on all three days was around 85 F (29 C). The overnight low temperatures were 66 F (19 C) and 61 F (16 C). It rained on the second night. Field Test Results  I was really pleased with how this utensil set worked out
on my Cohutta Wilderness hike. I used the spatula and fork on two
different occasions and the spoon once. I used the spatula in preparing two pancakes for breakfast on the first morning and then the fork for eating them. The pancakes were about 6 in (15 cm) in diameter, pretty much because of the 8 in (20 cm) fry pan I was using. I had no problem flipping the pancakes other than the fact that I got my fry pan too hot on the first one, causing it to stick. Once I lowered the heat on my stove the second one was much easier to flip despite the burnt spot that was now on the bottom of the frypan. Cleaning the spatula was also easy but I did notice the very edge of the spatula did exhibit a slightly burnt looking edge but it did not melt. The fork was perfect for eating even though when extended it is slightly longer than my kitchen forks. It was also easy to wash. I used the spatula again the second night when I prepared some hashbrown potatoes aptly named "Skillets". I used it to basically stir the hashbrowns by flipping them regularly. I did not notice any further burnt look on the spatula so I assume the first time was more of a break in effect than any real damage. Again, the fork was great for eating the hashbrowns. I used the spoon for breakfast on the second morning. I used it to first stir my oatmeal as it cooked a few minutes and then to eat with. The slightly squared edge felt different than my kitchen spoons but I was really impressed with how well it allowed me to scrape the inner corners of my cook pot. This was especially nice when it came time to clean my pot. The retracting handles for all three utensils worked flawlessly. I had no problems with the fork or spoon riding in my pack even though they were not in any protective kit other than riding in the slot on the pot cozy. The spatula was well protected between the fry pan and plate that snaps on the fluxring of the fry pan. I had no problem with any of the utensils wanting to collapse back into the handle or get out of track but then I wasn't exerting a lot of pressure on them. Overall I'd have to say they just work. Future Testing After the hike in the Cohutta Wilderness summer arrived with a vengeance and I have limited my hiking to late evening walks down to the local swimming hole. The lows for the past month and a half have been the upper 70s F (25 C) and even low 80s F (28 C) and with daytime temperatures over 100 F (38 C) for 14 consecutive days (18 total so far) and almost that hot the rest of the time, I basically gave up any serious hiking until cooler weather. I am looking forward to fall weather so I can resume hiking. I have a 3 day hike planned in late September. Long
Term Report
October 27, 2007  preparing supper with Jetboil Jetset spoon Long Term Test Locations and Conditions My main testing during the Long Term Phase was on a 3 day hike in the Smoky Mt. National Park. On this hike the weather was absolutely perfect. Highs were in the mid 70s F (24 C) and the low both nights was around 40 F (4 C). There was no rain and what little fog we saw was in the valleys below us. Elevations varied from about 3600 (1097 m) to 6595 ft (1736 m) but both camp sites where all cooking took place were at the higher end of these elevations. On my overnight hike here in Northeast Alabama my campsite was at roughly 1200 ft (366 m) and the overnight low was 46 F (8 C). The rain had just passed so the woods were damp but due to the extreme drought recently this was appreciated. Long Term Test Results The Jetboil Utensil Set has continued to work well for me. Other than cooking bacon and eggs, I don't have much new ground to cover since I cooked similar meals on the Smokies hike as on my previous hike in the Cohuttas. Simple Rice Meal I used the spoon while making a stir-fry rice and vegetable meal for supper on the first night. This was a pre-cooked rice dinner so I basically just heated my food and ate it. I used my spoon for both stirring while cooking and then eating. Cleanup was super easy with a handy wipe and I didn't even need water other than to simply rinse off my spoon and frypan after wiping them off. Pancakes I had pancakes for breakfast the next morning. I used the spatula for preparing the pancakes and then the fork for eating them. The spatula did not work flawlessly but this was not due to a problem with the spatula but rather because I encountered some sticking while cooking the pancakes. I also let another hiking partner cook his pancakes for he and his dad, so in total, the spatula flipped and/or scrambled pancakes for 3 people. He experienced the same sticking problems only worse. His last few pancakes were more like scrambled eggs. It did not help that he took over the frypan right after I had already had some sticking problems and the bottom of the pan was already covered with stuck on and burnt pancake mix. On the plus side, despite the less than attractive looks of the pancakes, everyone enjoyed eating them so the sticking problem did not affect taste. Cleaning the frypan was a bit more involved this time but the fork and spatula were easy to clean. I also made some hot cocoa after eating the pancakes as I knew it would get cold before I finished all the pancake cooking. I used the spoon for stirring the cocoa mix. Freeze Dried Beef Stew Supper on the final night did not involve any cooking...but some might call it mooching (The act of taking advantage of another person). First off, a fast moving dayhiker begged me to help him lighten his pack by making a fresh whole wheat bread, lettuce, ham and cheese sandwich. It was still fairly early on in the afternoon and boy was it good, despite the ribbing I took for eating food I had not packed in. So naturally, come supper time I wasn't particularly hungry. However, another hiker at the shelter was unable to finish his freeze dried beef stew so I was happy to oblige in helping out. This is where the spoon really shines. The bag was already half empty when I took possession but I was able to reach inside without touching the sides of the bag. The shape of the spoon worked well to get the last bits of juice and food out of the bag. It was a simple matter to give my spoon a good cleaning with a handy wipe and my supper cleanup was done. Hot Cocoa Shortly after supper it started getting rather cool so I finally decide to make something myself instead of mooching. I filled my PCS cookpot/mug about half full of water for making a nice cup of hot cocoa. I left the fork and spoon on the cargo cozy while boiling my water. I poured in my cocoa mix just as the water boiled but by the time I reached to get the spoon out of the cargo cozy sleeve I had a mess to deal with. For some reason the cocoa boils/foams a lot higher up the pot than plain water. In all the times making hot cocoa before (this morning being the most recent), I never experienced the same boil over. Perhaps I had the stove flame turned a little higher or the pot was just a little too full of water? Then to make matters worse, I first turned the stove flame higher instead of off but managed to get it off without burning myself. Regardless, I made a mess, much to the delight of the rest of the hikers at the shelter. That's all I got to say about that deal... Bacon and Eggs With the cooler fall weather I finally got a chance to use the utensil set in preparing my all time favorite meal. Upon arriving at my campsite I set up camp quickly and then went about cooking supper. I fried up the bacon first and used the resulting grease to fry my eggs in. I used the fork to turn the bacon. At home I always switch to a clean fork after first turning my bacon over. However, in camp I did not have that luxury so I made sure I held the fork briefly in the hot grease as I finished up cooking the bacon. This did not harm it. I used the spatula for flipping the eggs. I managed to flip my first two eggs without busting a yoke but by the third all my grease was gone and I did manage to break its yoke. I just finished cooking this one more like a scrambled egg. In hindsight, I think it would have worked better if I had used thicker bacon with more fat. I also had to hold my frypan handle when turning the bacon and especially the eggs to avoid knocking the frypan off the burner. I did sustain a few grease pops despite keeping the stove turned low. Oh, well, this happens at home in the kitchen so I chalk it up as the nature of the beast... Eating the eggs with the fork was great. OK, I could eat bacon and eggs with the spoon and think it was great but that is beside the point. Cleaning the frypan was a bit of a challenge this time but again, the spatula and fork proved to be easy to clean using some Wet One handy wipes followed by a simple rinse with clean water. Final Thoughts This is a very nice utensil set. In fact, it is one of those items that I now wonder how I did without, especially the spatula. And not because I didn't have a similar utensil set before this test, but rather that they pale in comparison. The spatula is about double the size of my previous one. The fork is about the same size except for the extra long handle. The spoon handle is longer too and the spoon part is quite a bit bigger. All three collapse nicely for storage. The retractability, sturdiness and just all around practicality make the utensil set a winner in my book and will be along on all my trips in the foreseeable future. I would like to thank BackpackGearTest and Jetboil for letting me test the Jetboil Utensil Set. It has found a home in my pack as I feel it is a great addition to my cooking kit. Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > Jetboil Jetset Utensil Kit > Test Report by Coy Ray Starnes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||