Jetboil Personal Cooking System

Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by jhbeckman, Nov 06, 2009

"Pretty convenient, but not without flaws.

I have the Jetboil Personal Cooking System (PCS) and the Group Cooking System. They're essentially the same thing -- a PCS becomes a GCS with the addition of 1) stabilizing legs that fit under the canister; 2) a pot stabilizing device that fits on the burner; and 3) a 1."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by culchymuckty, Feb 26, 2009

"Best used only for boiling water and possibly for cooking pasta without sauces as cup tends to hold strong flavours.

Care required when packing to prevent damage to ignitor insulator, I cracked the ceramic tube allowing the spark to short out, I removed the ignitor and binned it and now use a separate lighter."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Spiritwind, Dec 10, 2008

"Here's another rave review for the Jetboil.

I have a bunch of stoves and use everything from alki, esbit, white gas and canisters. I probably never would have considered getting one of these until one morning a friend offered me a cup of coffee."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Bo, Oct 07, 2008

"Ingenious design with the ability to nest the fuel canister and burner inside the cup. My friend packed his MSR Windpro and was jealous of the weight and ease of use of the Jetboil I packed."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Ronin, Jun 19, 2008

"I've logged a lot of miles (on and off trail) with the Jetboil PCS. It's an outstanding and practical approach to lightweight hiking/trekking. Its compact self storage makes it simple to pack and unpack.

The flaws I find in this unit are in its electronic igniter and the measuring cup that grasps and protects the heating coil."

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Personal Cooking System (with pan, utensils, and coffee press)
Reviewed by mumphra, Jun 15, 2008

"Went on a 3 day trip in the White Mountains (Liberty, Haystack, Lafeyette, and Lincoln) with 3 friends, first real trip with Jetboil. We had 3 stoves total. One was a primer any type fuel older system and the other had a MSR stove and the Jetboil was the best by far."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by AJ, Apr 20, 2008

"Absolutely love it!!! Very simple design with outstanding results...quick, clean lightweight, self contained, fast and efficient.

The Coffee Press is an excellent addition although it is not the easiest thing to clean afterwards.

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!!"

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Seth A. Rogers, Feb 26, 2008

"Super real deal gear here.

All the praise is due this little mother. Not only does it work as well as everyone says it does, but I totally loved the way that it packed down as well. It does so such that there is not any rattling even when the lid is placed on the unit with the burner and fuel inside."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by f_klock, Feb 09, 2008

"Can't say much about the JetBoil PCS that hasn't already been said. It's small, lightweight, simple, and efficient. Between outings, mine lives in my car - just in case.

Bottom line:
Go get one!"

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by David Grimm, Jan 23, 2008

"Jetboil is perfect for a single backpacker looking only to boil water. More people or complex cooking should look elsewhere.

However, this product is perfect for the use it was intended."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by martinac, Oct 31, 2007

"This little piece of cooking equipment was well worth the weight. During a week long backpacking/canoing trip to Canada with several other guys we ate a lot of freeze dried meals. The Jetboil would out boil the other guys' stoves and be ready to make another run before most of them ever even got the water very hot."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by TravMan, Oct 13, 2007

"Love the Jetboil PCS! It has made its way into my daypack for lunches on the summit. Brilliant design, the little extra weight is a fair trade for the ease of operation and the compact storage in your pack."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Brett Bowers, Sep 05, 2007

"I have used the Jet Boil on my past few outings. I decided to use it for backpacking in Glacier National Park. We wanted to keep the weight down so we only used it for boiling water. No extra pans, only dehydrated food. If you go this route it is very good at what it does, boil water fast without using lots of fuel."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by rfdude, Aug 26, 2007

"Purchased earlier this summer for 1-3 day hikes in Utah area. Excellent for short trips, for boiling water for a few of people. Also purchased tripod stand and coffee press for an additional $20 a piece; Both are well worth the xtra $. Coffee press is nice for morning coffee."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by DtEW, Jul 16, 2007

"I will admit that I was at first very resistant to the point of bias against the Jetboil PCS. When I was stove-shopping, the MSR Reactor and Primus EtaPower EF both had just been released and I was looking very hard to get my hands on one of these "2nd generation" integrated stoves."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by David Appleby, Jul 01, 2007

"Had my Jetboil for about 3 years now, and still love it! You know its limitations when you buy it, and survival trips at 5oooft in -20c is not where this wants to be! But for camping, hiking, fishing, motorcycling etc the Jetboil excels.

Lights first time and boils water in a couple of minutes."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Chingas22, Apr 16, 2007

"I received this as a gift this last Christmas. Since then I've used it twice. The first time I used it was on Wildcat in January. It was really cold, but not windy where we took lunch. I tried to boil some water for soup, but could only get it to bubble a little."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by tripp, Jan 30, 2007

"This little beast is awesome! I get about 15-20 boils per canister, depending on weather conditions. It is a little slow to boil in cold weather conditions. I was out last weekend and the weather was around 20 degrees or so. Not extremely cold but it had a little trouble getting going."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Will, Dec 13, 2006

"Fantastic system! It boils water in nearly the time claimed on the packaging. The only complaint I have is with the French-press coffee making insert. I bought mine separately at significant cost (but hey, fresh coffee is worth it). The press is cheaply made, doesn't work very well, and the coffee inevitably leaves your JetBoil wreaking of."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Stormen Norm, Dec 02, 2006

"I got this stove as a gift already used and loved my MSR Wisperlite. Then I went on a short trip only planning on boiling water for freeze dried meals. After that trip I never looked back not even sure were the Whisperlite is anymore. This little stove is amazing."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by joe grizzle, Oct 17, 2006

"The Jetboil system is unique in that it forms one unit. It is very efficient at boiling water. With minor modifications (a zip tie and some string) the Jetboil can be hung while cooking. This approach is much more stable than trying to sit it on the ground."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by JamesS, Oct 06, 2006

"This is an amazing piece of equipment - if all you're gonna do is boil two cups of water and pour it into the ubiquitous two serving Mountain House freeze dried dinner then this is the unit for you! It boils water twice as fast as my second favorite Snow Peak GigaPower stove which tells me it's using half as much fuel (it is!)."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by CaptLemuel, Aug 19, 2006

"I give it one star for ease of use, and one for both its efficiency and its weight.

The first time that I used Jetboil was the last time that I will ever use Jetboil, that is, that I will ever use Jetboil with the cozy-covered aluminum cup. I will now use Jetboil only with the pot stabilizer sold by the manufacturer."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by ubermick, Aug 17, 2006

"This took the place of my beloved MSR Whisperlite Internationale. It was getting old, needed cleaning far too much, and it was starting to get a little dangerous, so I sniffed around for something new. This won't be an extensive review - others here have covered those bases."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by nomad, Jul 06, 2006

"I L-O-V-E my Jetboil!!!!! It is the most amazing stove. I used to be a big fan of the MSR stoves (particularly the Whisper Light), but when I heard about this gem, I had to check it out. It boils water MUCH quicker than any other stove I have used, and is lighter/more compact."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Mike "CLOWN", Jun 18, 2006

"The Jetboil is a great stove for someone that likes things simple. The stove and fuel and measuring cup all fit into a package about the size of a Nalgene bottle. It sets up quick and boils water faster than any other stove that I have used. I work at an outfitter so I play with alot of gear."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Prelucir, May 07, 2006

"I am impressed with the reviews here. So I bought one.

I love it. It is now my favorite way to prepare foods when I am hiking, backpacking (which I just started), motorcycling, and boating.

I have read several reviews that say it does not work well in above 12,000' in the cold."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by John Green, Mar 25, 2006

"Bought the JetBoil a couple of years ago and loved it, the concept is fantastic and the boil time as good as it says on the box.

However I have hit a problem that has rendered the unit useless The JetBoil uses a burner from Primus that has a fabricy type disc in the middle of it."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Paul Marx, Feb 17, 2006

"Just like American Express, you should alway have one in your vehicle, cabin, or fanny pak. I've cooked at least 12 full meals with simmering on one canister of fuel. I'll be purchasing the group cooker next month because I love cooking in the field so much."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Paul, Jan 14, 2006

"I've had the Jetboil since March and have been on three backpacking trips with it. It's simple to use, reliable, and it boils water fast. Two of the trips have been in the winter here in Minnesota and even then it will boil water faster than just about anything else."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by jasperbr, Sep 15, 2005

"I've been a fan of MSR stoves for some time and they would still be on top of my list if not for this gem of a stove. It is lightweight, fuel efficent, has a built in igniter, and packs within itself. I have used mine on numerous hikes and climbing on Mt. Rainier and various other spots in Washington state. It goes in my pack every time I go out."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Charles Austin Miller, Oct 22, 2004

"In the months before the Jetboil hit the market, I was kind of discouraged by the preview commentaries--"Jetboil probably won't live up to its hype in real world conditions," I remember reading somewhere. I hope that writer didn't make any wagers on his accuracy, because he would have lost BIG time."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Stacey, Sep 28, 2004

"Holly Cow. . . can you say "best bang for your buck"?

SERIOUSLY though, this thing gives you 2x the prof. in usage in fuel. That's awesome for those long tour hikes. Not to mention, it's an all-in-one. When you are done, you just pack it up inside itself, instead of trying to pack the pans, fuel, burner, and other gear hap-hazzardly around your bag."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Yar, Aug 18, 2004

"I'm not a postmodern ultralightweight minimalist, so I can say this with pride: this thing goes in my daypack every time. It heats fast, the small cans last seemingly forever (20 boils), and despite what the manufacturer says, you can boil a liter of fluid (if you're VERY careful)."

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Personal Cooking System
Reviewed by Dan, Aug 07, 2004

"For my review, you should know that I do not have a NASA calibrated scale nor thermometer so don’t expect me to tell you that the stove will use 12. 2 grams of fuel to heat 875. 0374ml of water to a temperature of 102. 7836 deg C after 98. 401seconds at an altitude of 78."

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