After a long day in the mountains you may be cold, tired, and in no mood to cook. Lucky for you, the Jetboil Group Cooking System Stove makes it easy for you to set up, cook up and refuel. It’s a worthy solution for simple, one-pot meals for soloists or small groups.
Overview…
Our friends at Sierra Trading Post asked us to put the Jetboil Group Cooking System (GCS) through the paces and share our thoughts. What better place to test the system than in Yosemite National Park? So we grabbed the GCS and headed for the hills, with a canister of fuel, some food, and our best appetites. What we found was a lightweight cooking system (1 lb 3oz) that offers simplicity and versatility.
On Design and Performance…
A really useful tool can do more than one thing, and that is the philosophy behind the design of the Jetboil Group Cooking System. The 1.5 liter pot is capable of both boiling liquids and serving as a frying pan. Moreover, it serves as the housing for the entire cookset, providing convenient and easy compact storage. The overall design not only ensures all your cooking necessities are in one place, but leaves more room in your pack for the things that matter – like that extra layer of wool, or small pillow for comfy nights.
The key to the Jetboil pot is a fuel-efficient FluxRing heat coil. Attached to the bottom outer edge of the pot, the FluxRing efficiently captures heat to cook food and boil water faster using less energy. The system brings two cups of water to a boil in about two minutes so you can get right to the business of cooking up a meal. That’s a time frame we appreciated for those evenings that the sun started to fall behind the ridgeline and the hunger pangs started to rise.
Simply screw the burner base into the fuel canister (sold separately), push the igniter button, fire up a meal in the pot and prepare to feast. The flame is adjustable so you can regulate heat and show off the diversity of your backcountry culinary skills to your camp colleagues. And whether your cooking up quinoa, oatmeal or pasta, the lid doubles as a plate which means there’s one less piece of equipment you need to pack in.
Notes from the Trail…
Our review period didn’t provide the opportunity to use this setup for winter camping. Yet, by design, the Jetboil Group Cooking System is an ideal option for winter camping when efficient snow melting is important to save fuel and time. Because let’s be honest, you can’t melt much snow in those tiny one-man systems.
While the Jetboil Cooking System is a great nested system, it’s worth noting that there isn’t enough room in the pot to also keep your fuel canister. That being said, the rest of the system along with some extra cookware all nests perfectly within the 1.5 liter pot. The only other critique we had from using the system, is that we did have some difficulty cooking in strong winds. Otherwise, it’s a solid system that will serve you and your camping friends well for years to come.
Bottom Line…
All told, the Jetboil Group Cooking System is designed with simplicity and efficiency to accommodate all of your backcountry cuisine needs.
Want one for yourself? Head over to the Sierra Trading Post Social Hub where they will be giving away a free Jetboil product as well as offering a 20% off Jetboil coupon.
*Gumption Gear Review received the Jetboil Group Cooking System featured in this review from Sierra Trading Post at no cost and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The item featured was provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.