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The Jetboil Personal
Cooking System (PCS) is a backcountry cooking system designed to integrate
the main cooking components into a sturdy, efficient, and lightweight
package. The basic components of the system are as follows: a
gas canister, the stove, a hybrid cup/cook pot with integrated heat
exchanger, a lid, and a neoprene cozy. The system nests for packing
(with the canister and stove packed inside the cup), and stands sturdily
as seemingly one piece when assembled.
For details about the
components and assembly of the Jetboil PCS, please see my Initial
Report.
During the Field Testing
period I have used the Jetboil several times, from cooking up a pot of tea
or coffee with the French Press on my front porch to cooking up dinner and
melting snow in the backcountry.
For the purposes of this
report, my impressions of the PCS will be reported from my experiences on
the following three trips:
 An overnight
snowshoe into Loch Leven Lakes near Lake Tahoe: This backcountry trip in
the late-season snow was an opportunity to visit a location I had not
seen before. Three of us snowshoed in a few miles and set up camp near
the cluster of lakes. Although during the hike in we were pretty warm,
as the evening approached storms rolled in and it rained, turning to
snow late at night. When cloudy it was breezy and cold, but enough above
freezing for rain. When the sun peeked through the layers came off and
it was hot, as is often the case in the Sierra in winter. On this
trip the Jetboil PCS was used for boiling water for our freezer-bag
dinner (a recipe borrowed and adapted from the Jetboil website) and
melting snow.
- An overnight backpack at Henry Coe State Park just south of San
Jose, California: This was a visit to the largest State Park in
California before it gets too hot for the summer. Spring
backpacking in Henry Coe means lovely wildflowers and rolling green
hills. It was hot out during our backpack, probably around 80
degrees F during the day and no lower than 50 F at night. Due to
the crazy amount of rain in the Bay Area this winter the field grass was
shoulder high in many places, making it difficult to find a place to
camp and cook. Pictured to the right is David, my husband, cooking
in Henry Coe with the Jetboil stove and companion cup.
- Car camping for two nights/three days in Lava Beds National
Monument: This time we used a campfire for our evening meals and
snacks, but in the morning the Jetboil was my source for my much-needed
coffee. One morning was drizzly and cold, the other was hot and
sunny.
Cooking with the
Jetboil
The most important thing
about the Jetboil, of course, is how the cooking process works. The
Jetboil PCS is perfect for any type of meal where water just needs to be
boiled and added to something - it excels at this, actually! Putting
the System together is a quick and painless process - first I screw
the stove to the fuel canister, then I attach the cooking cup to the
stove (after removing the plastic cover to the heat exchanger).
To do this, there are two small nubs on the inside rim of the
stove. These slip into corresponding slots on the bottom
of the cooking cup. A slight twist locks the nubs
into place. I then add water to the cook pot and snap on the
plastic lid. The only difficulty in this process is removing the
plastic cover over the bottom of the cooking cup - the thing is impossible
to remove. If my hands are cold it takes the help of Leatherman
pliers to get the darn thing off!
To light the stove, I
turn the gas knob until I hear the hiss of gas, then click the
igniter. Poof! It's on, and it even sounds a bit like
a jet engine. Moments later, the water is boiling and ready for
use!
Overall, the cooking
process is quick and easy - I am constantly amazed at how fast the water
boils. Frequently I haven't finished preparing the rest of my
kitchen or food by the time it is ready. However, there are a few
things that I am having problems with. The major
issue I have occurs immediately after the water is done boiling. I
turn off the stove, and then what? I have to pour the water into my
freezer bag, coffee mug, water bottles, etc. In order to pour the
water out of the Jetboil I have to pick it up and tilt it. With the
easy pour lid and handled neoprene cozy for support and insulation,
this is easy when the cooking cup is not attached to the stove and fuel
canister. But, immediately after cooking, when the metal around
the stove is hot and the water inside is just below boiling
temperatures, unlocking the cup from the stove and the stove from the
fuel is a difficult feat. This is what Jetboil recommends, but
in order to get the nubs to 'unlock' it takes a bit of jarring and a
good grip, which is difficult when the metal is still so hot. I
end up picking up the entire system and performing a careful balancing act
in order to pour the water out. If the fuel canister is of the
larger variety and full I can barely handle it with two hands. If I
have to hold a freezerbag open with one hand, that leaves only one hand
for pouring. Again, this is fine when cooking cup is not attached to
the stove and fuel, but with the entire system this is quite
difficult.
I know, I know, I should
wait for a second to let it cool down. This works for removing the
stove from the fuel. But that still leaves the stove connected to
the cooking cup. Unlocking the cooking cup from the stove is
not a smooth process, and even with a cup of cold water I have spilled - I
don't want to risk it with boiling water! The 'track' for the locked
nubs needs to be much smoother. The alternative is to not twist the
cup when I attach it to the stove - it is easy to remove this way, but
there is less stability in the system while cooking.
On a positive note, when
the cup is being used by itself it pours better and is more comfortable to
use than any other cook pot or kettle I have tried.
Melting
Snow
I have used the Jetboil
to melt snow on one overnight trip. I did not have the
opportunity to measure fuel consumption, but a partially used Jetboil fuel
canister was able to supply two people with all the water, hot chocolate,
dinner, and coffee we wanted! As mentioned above, the temperatures
on this trip were not excessively cold, and in fact were above freezing
much of the time. The Jetboil system was placed on a closed cell
foam pad while in use, but did not have any other sort of insulation
around the fuel canister. It melted snow remarkably fast.
While melting snow I loaded the cooking cup well past the recommended
two cup limit line, but kept a careful eye on it and had no problems at
all.
Fuels
Jetboil recommends their
proprietary Jetpower fuel to be used with the Jetboil PCS. With the
Jetboil PCS I received one Jetboil fuel canister which was used on the
above mentioned snow trip. Since Jetboil fuel canisters are
not easy to find I have tried two other fuel brands. Snowpeak and
MSR canisters have both worked successfully with the Jetboil. I
haven't noticed a diminished performance or any odd behavior with these
other fuel types. I also prefer to use the larger fuel canisters of
these other brands since it improves the stability of the overall
system.
Recipes
As promised in my Initial
Report, I decided to test out the recipes on the Jetboil website. I
decided to try out the "Cluck Cluck Couscous" on the above mentioned snow
camping trip. I made some modifications of the recipe on the
website, and instead of a chicken boullion cube I added some different
spices/flavoring. My version of the recipe is as
follows:
2 cups water
1 packet Lipton
Cream of Chicken Soup
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of onion
powder
1 cup couscous
4
oz. can chicken
Mix all the dry ingredients in a
freezer bag at home. In camp, add water to the cooking cup
and bring to a boil. Pour water into freezer bag and set it in
a cozy. Cover and wait about five minutes for couscous to
absorb water. Add canned chicken and eat.
Yum!
Further
questions
In my initial report I had a few random questions in
my test plan:
- Can the heat exchanger
cover double as a small cup?
Yes, in fact it is marked as a
measuring cup!
- Will the heat effect
the neoprene of the cozy negatively?
The
neoprene is holding up well - no signs of wear or melting
yet!
- Is the piezo igniter
reliable?
I had it fail on one occasion
when making tea on my front porch, but it has always performed well while
camping. I always carry a backup lighter/matches, of
course.
- How easy is it to clean
the Jetboil cooking cup?
It wipes out
easily, and I always wash it thoroughly when I get home. I have made
coffee in it and there is a slight 'ring around the collar' from coffee
stains that I can't seem to clean out.
- If I need to use
the maintenance kit, how easy is it to replace the different
components?
So far, I haven't!
In
summary
Pros:
- It sure boils
water fast!
- It pours well
with good control when the cup is used by itself.
- It melts snow
very well.
- It
packs together very well as a system.
Cons:
- Removal of the
bottom cover is extremely difficult.
- It is difficult
to remove the cup from the stove/fuel after use.
- Retains some
color from coffee, but so far this is just cosmetic - it hasn't
affected the flavor of the water being boiled inside.
I'm looking forward to a
summer of use with the Jetboil PCS. I'm already making up more
freezer bag recipes to enjoy in the
backcountry! | 
