Review: Jetboil Zip + 1.5l FluxRing Ceramic Cook Pot

Preface:

I do love my spirit stove, there's no denying that. But I recently got to thinking that I would be better running it on gas, not so much from an efficiency point of view but from a safety aspect - even when the fire bans aren't in place here everything it still pretty dry, and one overzealous movement could result in burning fuel pouring over dry pine needles and the like. I'm definitely a "better safe than sorry" kind of guy.

Anyway, if you've read the review of my spirit stove (see here) you'll know it's a sort of Trangia / Optimus clone that takes a Trangia burner and so any Trangia-compatible gas burner should fit. However, they're few and far between; the choices seem to be limited to the genuine Trangia version, the Robens Fire Tick (which may or may not be discontinued - it's certainly out of stock everywhere I looked) or any number of no-name variants on Aliexpress.

With neither the patience to wait for the Robens to come back in stock nor the justification for spending 50% more again on the Trangia version, I started to look at other options......

Review:

When I reviewed my Alpkit BruKit some years ago I mentioned that I had been prompted into buying it after my Jetboil Zip never arrived. Well, having decided that the BruKit wasn't best-suited to my needs, I sold it on to Bob, and eventually bought the Jetboil. It's had more use than I ever thought it would - and not just for camping. It's my go-to water boiler when we have a power cut and it came in our hand luggage when we emigrated and was our main cooking source until we I put the new kitchen in.

As with the BruKit, cooking isn't its forte, but we managed. These kind of stoves are designed primarily for rapid water boiling, and at that they excel, but the pot height and diameter makes cooking with it a bit more challenging. Unlike the larger BruKit, the Zip's compact 0.8l pot also rules out boil-in-the-bag cooking. So in the main the Jetboil has been used for making a brew (and has accompanied me on many a day out) or boiling up water for instant noodles.

The burner, gas and stabiliser pack into the pot, while the cup sits underneath

Until now, that is, when I discovered that Jetboil make a pot support to take pretty much any stand-alone pot or pan. Again, sourcing one was a challenge. I think I managed to find about the only place in Spain that still had stock, and promptly ordered one up along with the matching Jetboil 1.5l cooking pot.

The Jetboil Zip is the most compact of the Jetboil stoves, with it's 0.8l capacity pot. Out-of-the-box it comes with the burner, pot with neoprene sleeve, stabiliser support, lid and bottom cover. The cover doubles as a bowl/cup and the lid has both a pouring spout (which can also be used to drink from) and strainer holes. The burner, stabiliser and gas (100g) pack away neatly inside the pot for transport/storage. It runs on any EN417 butane/propane gas cartridge, but while the stabiliser will accept 100g and 230g cartridges only the former can be packed away into the pot. There is no piezo ignition on this model, so it has to be lit with a match/cigarette lighter.

The Jetboil boils water fast. There may be faster stoves out there, but at 2 minutes 30 seconds for half a litre it's no slow coach. As I tend to only boil a mugs-worth at a time, it comes in even quicker. This is thanks in part to the built-in heat exchanger, or FluxRing as Jetboil call it - a feature present throughout Jetboil's range. A coffee-press attachment is also available to turn the Zip into a cafetiere.

The optional pot stand locks securely to the burner in place of the standard pot, and allows use of the Jetboil cookpot, frying pan or other third-party pots (Jetboil say not to use pots with a diameter greater than 23cm or a capacity greater than 2l).

The Zip burner with pot stand fitted

While the Jetboil Zip is a great piece of kit, the cook pot is a massive disappointment. For a start off, the price is extortionate for what it is, even if it was designed and built well - which it isn't. The lid is ill-fitting with a good 5mm of lateral play, and though one can only assume this is by design, I've no idea why - it isn't to let steam escape, because the lid has strainer holes in it.
The handle, while serviceable, is underwhelming for a product at this price point (I've seen far better designs on products costing a quarter of the price), and it's also in the wrong place - it sits below the half-way mark then angles back upwards, which serves to make the pot top-heavy when handling and downright awkward to hold when eating directly from the pot. On top of that, it isn't even fitted straight - the bracket is riveted to the pot off-centre, and the bracket itself isn't square either, so the whole handle is on a twist.

Though obviously intended to be used with the pan support, it's no more secure in place than any other pot. It does have a slight lip around the bottom to (in theory) prevent it sliding off the stand, but this has rounded edges and is so shallow that it doesn't actually achieve anything (one of the reasons I opted for the Jetboil pot over a third-party one was that I assumed it would be designed for purpose and thus a better and more secure fit). I certainly wasn't comfortable stirring my food without keeping a firm grip on the handle. 

If I was to sum it up, it has the feel of an existing OEM product that has had the Jetboil name slapped on it rather than something that was designed from scratch to integrate with the Jetboil system.

At 1.5l, the Jetboil cook pot is way too big for a single person and more than ample for two (in fact you can probably fit the contents of five packets of Wayfayrer food in it) - 1.2l to 1.3l is plenty big enough for two people, so this pot is better suited to group cooking. The latest version features a non-stick ceramic coating, which while nice in principle does mean extra care has to be taken when packing the gas, burner, etc into it to avoid scratching the coating. Basically you're going to have to find a suitable bag to put them in first. This also limits you to using plastic utensils for the same reason.

A 400g can of chilli and 125g pre-cooked rice just disappear in the 1.5l pot

On the plus side, the included pot lid is transparent so you can keep an eye on your food without having to lift the lid and let heat escape, which is a nice touch though hardly a unique feature. The non-stick coating does its job, and food does heat up/cook very fast. My obligatory chilli con carne was cooked in a matter of minutes. I have yet to test a conventional third-party pot to see how much difference the FluxRing makes, but Jetboil claim 2x faster boil times and from my experience of using the Zip pot I'm inclined to agree.

If you were setting out to buy a Jetboil for cooking on, the better option in my opinion would be the MiniMo; its 1l pot is more suitable for single-person use and less bulky, as a system it weighs less than the Zip burner & 1.5l pot combination, and it works out roughly the same price. It's also worth mentioning that pretty much every Jetboil component is available as a spare part, so if you particularly wanted this set up the cheapest option would be to buy the Zip burner, stabiliser, pot stand and 1.5l pot individually. 

As it is, I now have a flexible system that can cover a multitude of options, from day-trip coffee making to two-to-four-person camp cooking - though it's unlikely I'd take the pot on solo trips due to its size. 

In conclusion, the Zip is an outstanding bit of kit (even more so with the added flexibility that the pot support provides) and an almost must-have, while conversely I honestly wouldn't recommend the pot at all on the basis that the design and quality is poor (especially for the price) and there is no shortage of alternatives. 

NOTE: I sent Jetboil a link to this review as I was interested to hear their thoughts on my observations and comments regarding the cook pot, and did eventually have a conversation with them, but ultimately their customer service turned out to be as good as the pot I was complaining about.

Review: Stanley All-In-One Food Jar (First Impressions)

With the Summer fire bans now in place in Spain I've been pondering ways in which I can still have a good meal while out and about without falling foul of the law and/or risking setting the countryside on fire.

While it could be reasoned that the semi-concealed nature of my Jetboil Zip's flame means it doesn't constitute an "open flame" - and indeed it seems other countries do allow the use of such stoves during fire bans - I decided I didn't want to take the gamble on it being OK. So I started looking into flameless cook systems, but of the few I found to exist, most had been discontinued without replacement which made me question their effectiveness and/or safety. This left me at somewhat of a dead end. Then I realised maybe I was over-thinking the issue.

As I tend to only do over-night camps due to time constraints, I started wondering whether I even need to cook at all. I mean nothing beats the simple pleasure of cooking up a meal in the wilderness, but how essential is it on a one-night stay? Not essential at all, I reasoned, so I started looking at vacuum food jars (basically vacuum flasks but shorter and wider, specifically designed for storing and consuming food from).

There are several reputable offerings, all in a similar price range, from the likes of Thermos, Esbit and Stanley, and even more offerings from some lesser-known brands. I decided to stick to a big name on this and even then it was a tough decision - there are almost too many different options:

Stanley do several different sizes, including a 400ml and 530ml version (both including a spork); Thermos do two models that fit between the two Stanley offerings in terms of size, at 470ml (which is cheaper and only marginally heavier (40g) than the smaller Stanley model), and 500ml (at the same weight as the Stanley but more expensive), both including a spork. Esbit do a 750ml model at around the same weight (and price) as the larger Stanley model, and then Thermos do a 710ml version which at 400g weighs in considerably less than both the Esbit and the larger Stanley, but neither include a spork. In fact it was so difficult to chose that in an ideal world I would have bought one of each.

I decided the 400ml Stanley was too small, given that it would hold a can of chilli but nothing else (i.e. no rice), and I thought the 470ml Thermos might also be a bit on the small size for the same reason. Initially the Esbit, with an extra 50% capacity yet same overall weight as the larger Stanley, or the lighter but more capacious 710ml Thermos seemed to be the most viable options, but then I reasoned that unless I filled them, they would be less effective at doing their job of keeping the food warm; with that said I'm strongly considering purchasing one of these at a later date for when the wife and I next camp, as at that size it will hold enough food for two - albeit slightly smaller - portions. Ultimately, the 530ml Stanley seemed to be the ideal compromise between capacity and weight.

The Stanley jar arrived with virtually no packaging of it's own (a good thing), save for a cardboard wrap upon which it mentions that Stanley flasks have survived speeding bullets, 4000-foot drops, etc; not Amazon's couriers though, being as it arrived with a massive dent in the lid. I have that many problems with Amazon deliveries that I decided just to keep it, rather than mess around with a replacement - given that it's the lid rather than the flask that is dented it shouldn't effect functionality. 

Bulletproof......

....but not Amazon/courier proof.

As the product name suggests, it really is an all-in-one system; the lid, as anyone who's ever owned a flask will know, acts as a bowl. In this case it is a stainless steel outer with a plastic liner, giving an element of insulation to prevent burnt hands. With that said, the mouth of the jar is wide enough to eat straight out of and it's more likely I will use the lid as a cup, if at all.

The top of the stopper has it's own little compartment with lid to store - well, I'm not sure what you would put in there, but it's there anyway. Attached to the side of the jar is a spork holder and spork. I intended to replace the included spork with my titanium Sea To Summit version on the presumption that the latter would be lighter, but it actually isn't. And just as well, because it doesn't fit the holder. 

Despite the courier's best efforts, the jar does feel solid and built-to-last and it's easy to see why Stanley offer a lifetime warranty. With no other brand's offering's to hand I can't make comparisons, but I have absolutely no complaints from a build perspective.

At 520g, the jar comes in a shade under the weight of my Jetboil plus gas canister, and weighs less than my spirit stove excluding fuel. So for a single-person, single-night trip it actually makes more sense to take the jar unless I was using dehydrated food and near a water source* (in which case the Jetboil would become the lighter option overall), and it also presents other benefits; if for whatever reason you found yourself unable to cook (bad weather, as one example), with this you've already got your cooked meal, ready to eat. I'm amazed it's taken me this long to think about it to be honest.

With that said, there is of course one major down-side; food will only stay hot for so long. Stanley claim 12 hours, though some real-world reviews disagree. I've yet to test this out - if the food is still hot after 12 hours then there is no issue for one-night trips. If, in fact, it starts to get cold after 6 hours, that could be a problem. Time will tell on that front, and I'll be sure to report back with my findings.  

Stanley All-In-One Food Jar

*The dry weight of dehydrated food plus the weight of the water needed to activate it is generally more than the food weight of a can of chilli, soup, etc; dehydrated food is really only meant for long trips where a lot of food needs to be carried and access to water is plentiful - there's certainly no argument for using dehydrated food on one or two-night trips.