Name: John R. Waters
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.7 m)
Weight: 178 lb (81 kg)
Email Address: exec@bysky.com
City, State, Country: White Lake, MI USA
Date: June 27, 2005

Backpacking Background

My backpacking experience is limited to the last couple of years, hiking primarily in Michigan and Colorado. In Michigan, I do hikes of 6-8 miles (10 km-13km) 2-3 times a week in Pontiac Lake Recreation area with weekend hikes in various other southeast Michigan locales. Our twice-a-year vacations are usually in Colorado where we hike the mountains in the summer and snowshoe in the winter.

I tend towards the lightest pack possible - under 12 lb (5 kg), but of course, that is day hiking. I plan to start overnight hiking this summer and am aiming for a light to ultralight weight pack.

Product Information (from Manufacturer website)
http://www.vargooutdoors.com

Manufacturer: Vargo Outdoors
Model: Titanium 'Jet-ti' Stove
Weight: 2.7 oz (76 g)
MSRP: $64.95 USD
Warranty: None listed, but a "Return Policy" is listed as: "We offer a return policy that ensures that every item purchased meets your high standards. Items may be returned by first contacting us by email or by phone."

Features:
Sturdy one-piece titanium legs swivel in for compact storage
Output: 9,000 BTU/hr
Manual ignition
Boils a liter of water in approximately 4 minutes
Precise flame adjustment for simmer or boil
Includes attractive nylon carrying case
Size: 2.75 in high by 3.5 in top diameter (6.99 cm by 8.89 cm)

THE JET-TI STOVE IS COMPATIBLE WITH BRUNTON, MSR, SNOW PEAK AND OTHER MANUFACTURER FUEL CANISTERS.

Product Information (from tester)

Weight of Stove: 3 oz (85 g)
Weight of carrying case: 1 oz (28.35 g)
Total weight: 4 oz (113 g)

Arrival Information

The Vargo Jet-Ti Stove arrived via UPS on June 7, 2005.

The Stove was attached by plastic fasteners to a folded four-sided heavy-duty paper/cardboard placard. The placard has a hole at the top so that it can be hung for retail display. The two inside pages of the placard lists other products by Vargo outdoors. The back of the placard lists the features of the Jet-Ti, instructions for use and a warning notice.

The Jet-Ti arrived with a zippered black nylon carrying case embroidered with "Vargo Titanium" in white on the front. The case has a webbed loop on the back for attaching to a belt or what-have-you.

First Impressions

This thing is SMALL! The Jet-Ti with legs folded fits in the palm of my hand with room to spare. Even with the wing-like legs extended, the stove design is very compact. The connector for the fuel canister and the valve appear to be brass rather than titanium.

The instructions included on the placard for the Vargo Jet-Ti are very spare -

"1. Fully open the pot supports and lock into position before lighting the stove.
2. Position the valve knob 1/2 turn counter-clockwise when lighting.
3. Adjust heat output to desired level using valve knob.
4. Shut off valve and let stove cool before removing form [sic] the canister."

Fortunately, setting up and operating the stove proved simple enough.

A preliminary test was in order so; I took an 8 oz (.24 L) of 63 F (17 C) water, put it into an uncovered hard anodized boiler. A light breeze was blowing; the air temperature was 85 F (29 C) with a humidity of 63.5%. The stove lit immediately. Initially, I tried the Jet-Ti with the valve opened only 1/8 of a turn, but the water never got hotter than 165 F (74 C) after 12 minutes. Hmm, not impressed yet.

However, later that same evening, with the temperature down to 75 F (24 C), a relative humidity of 70% and a slight breeze, I tried again, this time with the valve opened 1/4 turn. The increased fuel flow resulted in the flame hitting the outer edge of the boiler. Within 1 minute, 26 seconds, my 8 oz (.24 L) of water was in full rolling boil and I was soon drinking my tea. NOW, I'm impressed!

Afterwards, the Jet-Ti cooled down rapidly. Two minutes after turning off the stove, it was cool enough to remove it from the fuel canister, fold down it and pack it into its case.

Something to note; the Jet-Ti burn so efficiently that you can barely see any flame when it is in use. I used a Snowpeak GigaPower 7.76 oz (220 g) isobutane/propane mixture fuel canister.

Can't wait to get it on the trail!

Test Plan

Testing the Vargo Jet-ti stove really intrigues me and will involve testing for ease of using, efficiency of using and cost of using, as well as the quality of the product materials.

With only 9,000 BTU, I will be looking to see if a liter of water really does boil in 4 minutes. How long to heat various solid foods? Can I cook in a large pot as well as a smaller one? Will various size pots sit stable even when boiling? Will the fuel last long enough or will I have to re-fuel midway through cooking my pasta? If I have to re-fuel, how quickly can I do so?

I will be checking to see how easy it is to find/buy fuel for the Vargo Jet-ti stove. Can I find/buy it in a small camping retail locations as well as the big city chain stores. What are comparable costs versus other stove fuels such as alcohol? What is the cost of making a cup of tea? How much fuel will I need on a weekend trip with "normal" usage? A weeklong trip?

During the testing of the Vargo Jet-ti stove, I will be looking at the stove to see how well made it is and how well it holds up to normal use. I will be checking to see if any parts become loose, broken, bent or damaged.

I will also report any other issues that arise during the testing period.

Thank you for the opportunity to test this product!

John R. Waters

Read more reviews of Vargo Outdoors gear
Read more gear reviews by John Waters

Initial Report

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