This is ideal for my solo trips. Astonishingly low fuel consumption, very, very fast boil time.

I also have the coffee press, and frying pan adaptor for those times when I want to fry up a fillet.

Had it in the Quetico last week (May 4-9). Due to the cold weather (27 degrees at night) it took 5 minutes to boil water. I have the french press and it worked great for coffee. But I'm not so sure that is all it is good for. 2 cups of water won't go far for a group of 6 who needs rice. I guess that is why it is the "personal" cooking system. Other than that, I was impressed. The heating indicator on the side of the cup was nice for heating coffee water.

Very quick to boil water and convenient to use. All of the pieces are housed in the cooking dish. My biggest dislike it that the pot would probably not fair well if it was used to cook over the fire.

Name says it all, fast boil. Compact. Great if you're cooking a lot of freeze-dried / dehydrated food. A bit tricky to unlock the container after the water has boiled, but a great stove.

I have the original Jetboil PCS, as shown in the pic. There are now many models and variations available for different needs in the field.


Pros-
I love this system. It packs nicely, is easy to use, it is 'trip durable' and has yet to suffer from getting banged around in either the canoe pack or backpack. It is both fast and efficient for one or two people who need water boiled. You can grab the kettle of boiling water like you're holding a water glass and you won't burn your hand on the neoprene cozy. You can carry one small (100g) canister of fuel in the kettle, while packed.


Cons-
The older model (in photo) has a small knob for fuel control. This is not a problem until water is boiling over and you are trying to shut it off. Jetboil's original solution to this problem was to tell people to only boil a half kettle at a time. Obviously, most people who need more water are going to 'max' it out and take their chance of getting burned. Their newer models now have a wire valve handle that sticks out away from the burner.
Most kettle sizes are too small to hold a 220g canister in the kettle. The 220 is my size of choice for two reasons. It is cheaper by the gram, and the 220 provides a much better sized base for the stove. Jetboil now sells the Sumo cup (see added review below) which has the same stove/flux ring base, but is sized to hold about two cups more water and also holds the 220g canisters.


Added review for Jetboil Sumo Cup/Kettle


I have one of the first Jetboil personal cooking systems that came out. After using it and seeing how much more efficient it was than standard blended fuel stove systems, I got to wonder why they didn't size the cup to hold a 220g canister. It's close, but not quite. I emailed Jetboil telling them how much I liked their design, but also asked them why they didn't make the cup a hair larger. Their answer was that since the stove was so efficient, all that I should need was the small canister.
WHAT?!?!
Keep in mind, that at that time Jetboil only sold the small canisters... with their name on it. They now sell large canisters AND the SUMO cup , which by the way, holds the large canisters. Imagine that!


This past paddling season I teamed up twice with someone who cooks as I do... rehydratables only. We shared my Jetboil PCS, and oh how I longed for a larger cup! About two weeks ago, I discovered that they now have the Sumo cup, and ordered one.


The Sumo cup is quite a bit larger than the standard cup (about six cups total), it has a lid that will both pour water and strain noodles, you can fit your whole other Jetboil system inside it. At best, you can boil about three cups with the standard cup (about 6 minutes), but you can boil five with the Sumo (about 9.5 minutes). The new Sumo actually fits my stove better than the original, that tends to stick. This can be a bit hairy when it's full of boiling water. The neoprene cozy on the Sumo actually has little straps underneath that keep it from sliding off the cup. The cozy has a built in spork holder and a temperature guide that is made to tell you when the water is hot. This guide might tell when the water is hot enough to make coffee or rehydrate your meal, but it doesn't indicate when the water is about to boil, as some believe. The handle on the cozy seems whimpy, but it appears to be hypalon, which is very strong, and should never break. The protective cup on the bottom is large enough to actually eat a meal from, and the Sumo lid actually fits this cup, to help keep your meal warm.
The newer Jetboil stoves are a bit smaller (and lighter) than my original, and I believe that I could fit two 220g canisters AND one of the new stoves inside the Sumo, for more efficient packing.
I had already tried the Jetboil 1.5 Liter cook pot with my system, and didn't like it for two reasons... a loss of efficiency when packing, and a loss of efficiency when cooking. Basically, the kettle didn't work well with the small burner that was designed for the cup.
I do believe that I will be very happy with the larger Sumo cup when sharing with another paddler, but will still just bring my 'PCS' cup when traveling and cooking solo.

Does what it claims: Boils water quickly and efficiently. Doesn't do much more though.


Ideal for situations when you need something hot and quick but can't make a fire. For instance,last week my 8 and 9 year old and I were waiting for our tow out of Ensign. We had a 2 hour wait. It was pouring rain. They were cold. I put the canoe up over a branch. We sat under it. Set up the jet boil. Made hot oatmeal and cocoa. Kids were full, warm and happy. Another family was very jealous when they saw how quickly and easily I fed the kids some warm oatmeal (I think they were jealous of my kids rain gear also....their kids had on jeans and ponchos :(

This thing boils water FAST!!!! Just be careful and watch it closely or it may boil over. Also be careful not to overfill it as this will cause it to boil over as well.

The system works well.
It can be a bit top heavy when the fuel canister gets low on fuel. The tab on the lid could be bigger, hard to get off without scalding your fingers when the water starts boiling. Usually I leave it loose and don't put it on tight for that reason.