Walking Equipment and Accessories

Jetboil Stash Lightweight Stove | Review

Jetboil have brought a new stove to the ultralight party – one that's 40% lighter than their previous stove system

Jetboil’s Flash and Zip stoves, which have been around for a number of years now, are renowned for their power and super fast boiling times. The problem, however, is that they’re a touch on the cumbersome side for multi-day trips and big distances. Enter stage left, the brand new Jetboil Stash, a fast boil system that offers the same super efficiency as the Zip and Flash but at a fraction of the weight.

The Stash in fact weighs just 200g, that’s 40% lighter than the Zip. And there’s no downgrade in performance either with Jetboil stating that their new stove system offers the exact same boil time as their previous model – 0.8 litres boiled in 2.5 minutes.

Jetboil say their intention with the Stash is to appeal to those outdoor enthusiasts who take a super lightweight approach and streamline every last item in their pack. As it’s unregulated, it’s not for those who like to go out and cook Instagram-worthy dinners (the MicroMo, MightyMo and MiniMo are the stoves in Jetboil’s collection for that), but instead it’s for those who are happier to sustain themselves with boil-in-the-bag dehydrated meals washed down with a hot drink.

I was lucky enough to get an early sample of the Jetboil Stash to test out before it hits the market. With the current lockdown restrictions in the UK, I haven’t managed to test it on a proper multi-day backpacking trip, but I have still got out with it in my local hills on a number of occasions.

What’s Included

The Stash includes a pot (125g), a plastic lid (16g), a burner (58g) and little sack for it and then a stand (30g) for a gas canister .

The pot has a 0.8 litre capacity with volume markings on the inside and outside and a folding handle with a heat-proof silicone casing. It’s made from the same lightweight anodised aluminium as Jetboil’s other pots but it has thinner walls. At its base there’s Jetboil’s proprietary Flux Ring technology which provides wind protection for the burner and increases the stove efficiency by creating a larger surface area to conduct and spread heat.

The pot has a lip on its base which sits within the ribs of the pot stands.

The burner, which is 1.52kw and unregulated, has three ribbed pot stands which all slide neatly together and there’s a twist valve to control the gas flow. There’s no Piezzo igniter so you’ll need to carry a lighter or matches etc. Some may see this as a downside, whereas others wont (ie. those who know how frequently spark igniters can break!)

Related: Best Camping Stoves Reviewed

It’s worth noting that the folding canister stand is omitted from the 200g weight that Jetboil give for this set, but still it only weighs 30g.

The Stash is designed as one of those nest systems, meaning that the whole set will pack up neatly together. First, the folded canister stand goes in, then the folded burner is tucked in upside down. The gas canister – and this is the neat bit – can be pressed into the bottom of the plastic lid (which seals the set) to keep it raised off the pot and away from the walls, thus preventing it from rattling around inside.

Performance

First of all, I’d say that this system really is impressively compact. I’ve long been a fan of the Primus Lite+ for its compactness, but this is a much smaller package at just 130 mm x 112 mm.

I’ve found the stated boil time is pretty much bang on accurate in fair conditions and it’s really impressed me in that regard. In windy and cold conditions (between 3 and 6 degrees celsius), I’ve found it to be about 15 seconds slower than the stated 2.5 minutes, which is still by no means slow. The Flux Ring does seem to shield a proportion of the burner’s flame from the wind but it is still very exposed. I haven’t tested it out in really blowy conditions yet but I imagine it would move into the three minute mark (I’ll test this in the next few days). As for fuel efficiency, Jetboil state that one 100g gas canister is capable of boiling 12 litres. (Again, I’ll have to test that out and come back to update this review once I have).

Although, as I mentioned above, this sits in Jetboil’s category of stoves that are primarily for boiling liquids for drinks and for dehydrated meals, I’ve still managed to successfully cook dried pasta using the Stash – but it is a pretty chaotic process! You can dull down the power of the burner a little bit, but it’s still full on, so expect some violent bubbling. This thing is all about getting things done quick after all.

There’s space for a lighter and folding cutlery.

I love how the Jetboil Stash packs away. I actually found that I could nestle in a lighter and my folding spork within the set. I particularly like how the base of the gas canister can be stuck and fastened on to the pot’s lid. Any long distance walkers out there will know that it doesn’t take long for a rattle from inside your backpack to become intolerable and this solves that, though you do still need to make sure your lighter doesn’t become the culprit.

Conclusion

At £139.99 this isn’t cheap. There are certainly stoves systems out there from the likes of Alpkit and Coleman that are cheaper. But there are also stoves that are more expensive, including the MSR Reactor, the MSR Windburner and Jetboil’s MiniMo.

What I will say though is that I can’t think of any other stoves (be they cheaper or more expensive) that are able to match the Stash’s balance between power, weight, and efficiency. The Primus Lite+ is probably the nearest competitor. As I mentioned before, I’ve loved using that stove – I even took it on a three week backpacking trip along the Cambrian Way once, but compare these two against each other and the Stash comes out on top with the stronger burner, faster boil time, lighter weight and smaller packed size.

All in all, I’ve been super impressed by the Stash. It’s definitely the kind of thing I can see myself taking with me on my next long-distance challenge.