Summary

The Jetboil Flash Personal Cooking System is a lightweight, high performance Personal Cooking System (PCS).  It is designed to provide efficient heat, such that you can boil two cups of water in 2 minutes. The Flash is equipped with a simple electric igniter to make lighting and operating the compact equipment quickly and easily. It also comes with an external temperature indicator. The uniquely designed Jetboil cooking cup, which is made of insulated and hand-anodized aluminum, keeps food and beverages warm, even after the heating process. It also has a temperature indicator through a color-change window that lights up when the contents are very hot. It uses a Jetpower Fuel canister, separately sold, to provide heat energy to boil up to 12 liters of water.

The Jetboil Flash is fantastic for heating water, but can also be used as a full cooking system.  You can attach compatible Jetboil pots and pans to prepare your meals.  Like the cup, these fix on directly to the cooking system’s FluxRing, providing you with a highly stable set up.

Built for the outdoors, the Jetboil Flash is compact and lightweight to be stowed in backpacks and other camping gear.  All parts of this personal cooking system packs up inside the 1-liter cup.

 

Product Snapshot

Amazon Price:      $73.46

Amazon Ranking:

Sample Customer Reviews

Some quotes from reviews of the Jetboil Flash Cooking System on Amazon:

“Minimalist backpacking at its best.”
“The best personal cooking system on the market.”
“Simple and efficient.”

 

Features

The Jetboil Flash is a high performance burner and an efficient but simple cooking container fused into one compact and lightweight device. It is fueled by Jetpower butane fuel canisters.

The Jetboil Flash is an upgraded model of Jetboil’s original Personal Cooking System (PCS), with some new features and a different design. Everything used in this cooking system can be easily packed inside the specially designed 1.0-liter container, known as the Liter FluxRing® cooking cup. This cooking cup is built with a color-change heat indicator so you know if the contents are hot. This is an added safety feature to avoid spills or burns.

The cup, or any compatible Jetboil pots or pans, attaches directly to the cooking system via the FluxRing, making for a very stable cooking environment.  You certainly do not need to worry about pots moving around.

The Flash has a push button igniter as part of the adjustable stainless steel burner, so you do not need matches. The newly designed burner also protects the igniter from accidental knocks and bumps when traveling. In two minutes after clicking the igniter button, this portable burner providers campers and other outdoor enthusiasts two brimming cups of hot coffee or cocoa, steaming instant soup, or a freeze-dried dinner.

The Jetpower canister tripod base is part of device’s design in order to add stability during use. And, of course, the heat indicator changes color if the contents inside the cooking cup are hot.

• Weight (without stabilizer) 14 oz (397 g)

• Volume 32 oz (1 Liter)

• Boiling Time 16 oz (1/2 Liter) = 2 minutes

• Water Boiled 12 Liters per 100g Jetpower cannister

• Dimensions 4.1″ x 7.1″ (104 mm x 180 mm)

• Available in orange, purple, blue, and black

 

Pricing

Amazon.com is a great place to start if you are looking to buy online.  I find that their prices are almost always lower than the manufacturer’s recommended price.  Also, Amazon does your comparison pricing for you; their “More Buying Choices” feature lists best prices on the web from their thousands of retail partners.

 

Amazon Best:           $73.46

Manufacturer Direct: $99.95

 

Assessment

Pros

The Jetboil Flash is an incredibly fast system for heating water.  You can have your morning coffee ready in about 2 minutes.

It is also easily expanded for all your cooking needs, with Jetboil pots and pans.

The Flash is lightweight and compact, but also sturdy, durable, and able to withstand rough handling during tough travelling through mountain trails and other extreme conditions. In addition, the Flash is easy to clean.

Cons

Jetboil is a proprietary system that works great with other Jetboil products, but does not work well with other brands.  Non-Jetboil pots and pans can work, but these are quite unstable and not recommended for prolonged use. You are much better off sticking to the Jetboil line of compatible accessories.  You also need to stick to the Jetboil fuel canisters.  There are plenty of additional Jetboil accessories that you can buy to use with this cooking system, such as a fry pan, cooking pots and so on, however, these are not always cheap.

The plastic cover that protects the burner would be better if made of titanium or aluminum for more durability.  I have not had any problems with mine after a couple of seasons of use, but I am probably a little more careful with it than I would be if it was a bit more durable.

 

Tips for Using the Jetboil Flash

The Jetboil Flash is especially popular for preparing coffee first thing in the morning.  For this, use the Jetboil coffee press accessory.  This works essentially like a Bodum coffee press — put the ground coffee beans into the water and push down slowly with the press.  I tend to boil the water first and then put in the ground coffee.  It spills over very quickly if you try to boil the water and ground coffee beans together.

 

Alternatives

MSR Pocket Rocket Stove

The MSR Pocket Rocket Stove is a good alternative to the Jetboil Flash. It is also small and lightweight, weighing around 3 ounces. It is powerful enough to boil one liter of water in under four minutes. This portable cooking stove has user-friendly knobs that can control and stabilize flame strength. In addition to its portability, the Rocket Stove uses clean burning IsoPro fuel. ($39.95)

Coleman PerfectFlow 1-Burner Stove

Another portable stove to consider is the Coleman PerfectFlow 1-Burner Stove. The PerfectFlow provides good cooking performance even in extreme weather conditions or high altitudes. It is equipped with a 10,000 BTU burner which can last up to nine hours in low heat. This stove can easily boil a quarter of water in less than five minutes. At less than $20, it is significantly cheaper than the Jetboil.

 

Conclusion

The Jetboil Flash is one of the best personal cooking systems available on the market today. It is compact and everything can be stored inside the cooking system. It is easily assembled in a few seconds. It also has new safety features such as the heat indicator and the push-button starter. The tripod stabilizer adds to overall functionality of the new and improved Jetboil Flash.

While the Jetboil Flash works with a range of Jetboil pots and pans (sold separately) as a full cooking system, the Flash is at its finest when boiling water.  It can boil water in no time at all — making this a wonderful device to prepare your morning coffee or tea.