Initial Report Jetboil French Press 24MAR2005

 

Biographical Information  Product Information  Testing Plan Photos

 

 

 

Product Information

Company:  Jetboil, 529 Sunapee St., Guild, NH  03754	Product Name:  Jetboil French Press
URL:  http://www.jetboil.com/	Manufactured in:  China, 2004
Colors:  Black	MSRP:  $19.95 US
Manufacturer Reported Weight:  1.2 oz (35 g)	Received Weight:  2 oz (57 g)
Manufacturer Reported Dimensions:  4.1 x 7.1 in (104 x180mm)	Received Dimensions:  4.25 x 7.1 in (108 x 180 mm)

Description:  The Jetboil French Press is an accessory to the Jetboil PCS.  It provides a way to brew coffee or tea using the French press method as opposed to using instant coffee or tea bags in the field.  It allows you to use any custom blend that you choose for your hot beverage.

 

Product Arrival:  A plain corrugated cardboard box arrived on the 22^nd of March 2005 via 2^nd day air service.  Packed inside of it seemed to be the entire Jetboil product line, to include:  1 Jetboil PCS, 1 Jetboil Companion Cup, 1 Jetfuel 100gram fuel canister, 1 Jetboil maintenance kit, 1 Jetboil French Press, and one Jetboil catalog. 

The French Press arrived unassembled in a plastic bag stapled to a cardboard hanger that identifies the product.  There are 2 metal poles one with a handle that seats flush to the top lid, both of them are threaded in such a way that they may only be assembled one way.  There is a mesh basket that has a nut in the center that the push rod attached to.  It is primarily made of a harder plastic that the lid and supports the mesh for filtration of the grind from the water.  The lid is composed of the same flexible material as the other Jetboil lids, it has the same drinking/vent hole as the others with the exception of the center is counter sunk to accept the handle of the push rod flush with the top of the lid.

 

Jetboil the company:  Jetboil is a small privately held company located in the northeastern United States.  It assembles its products there in New Hampshire, although some of its accessories are imported.  Dealings with customer service have been very friendly and helpful with my phone call returned quickly and professionally, with pertinent information relayed and helpful hints given without needing further resources (they know their gear) for most questions and those resources needed for more in depth questions are quick to provide information.

 

Manufacturer’s Website:  I have found the manufacturer website to be both informative and easy to navigate.  The buttons are shaped like rocks and is easy to access the information that you are looking for.  The website allows you to view a variety of content to include the warranty, instructions, job postings, sign up for email updates, return service, press statements, recipes and much more.  By reading the site prior to the products’ arrival I am expecting a system that is slightly shorter than a Nalgene bottle but roughly the same width when stowed.  There is also a small video that demonstrates the stove being used.  I do have a concern with this video as it does show an individual flinging a white gas stove while lit into a stream.  I find this practice both environmentally questionable (polluting) as well as an unsafe demonstration of what to do in this instance.  That is however the only detraction that I have from the website.

 

Manufacturer Instructions:

 

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Plan:  I am using a multiple phase testing arrangement to test all pieces.  Phase one will be in my kitchen, stovetop so as to have the most controlled settings for learning/experimenting.  All further phases the French Press will be compared with instant and other coffees to judge its effectiveness at providing coffee in the backcountry.    This phase will normally include day or short duration trips (Less than 4 days).  Phase three will be a typical 3 season use and include longer trips including a culmination in Isle Royale in August that will last more than a week and also segments of the North Country Scenic Trail.  I will be using the French Press solo and with companions.  I plan during this phase to pit the French Press against the Whisperlite in multiple person cooking for coffee (French pressed coffee vs. Coffee isn’t coffee until the horseshoe floats.   I of course will be the only operator/carrier during all phases of testing.  I expect varied terrain from concrete, sand dunes, hills, pathways, and off trail.  Mean elevation of use is expected to be 500-1400 ft (152-427 m) above sea level.  Expected weather conditions: 0-98 degrees F (-17.77-54 degrees C), rain, ice, snow, and heat.  This system will create a savings of necessary space and weight over my current system and I look forward to implementing it into my lightweight gear that can be carried with my current daypack which has been used on ultra-light overnighters before, but had no warm food or real coffee during them.  So far this next 6 months I have planned 12-day trips, 6 overnight trips, and 2 long-term trips that I would implement it’s use in.

 

Questions to answer:

 

1.                  How easy is it to set up with and without gloves?

2.                  How easy is stove maintenance with and without gloves?

3.                  How easy is it to clean?

4.                  How well do parts and systems fit together?

5.                  How durable is it after a full season's use to include possible slop in fit after multiple uses and or is there product breakdown to include the ignition system?

6.                  Does any of the French Press burn, curl up or fail in any way even with repeated uses?

7.                  Comparing the coffee press coffee to my regular brew coffee and my field coffee (instant and brewed).

 

Biographical Information

 

Mark Keskes	32 year old male
Height:  5’9” (1.75 m)	Weight:  270 lb (122 kg)
markkeskes (at) yahoo (dot) com	Michigan, USA

 

Backpacking background:  Like all things, I feel that my backpacking style is evolving.  I am a mid weight backpacker.  I prefer to be comfortable and to enjoy my escapes from civilization rather than to run through them or to feel uncomfortable in them.

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“You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.”

Saint Bernard, Epistle

French abbot & saint (1090 - 1153)

 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Thoreau