Comments about Jetboil Sol Advanced Cooking System:

This is one of those deals where one of my sons was way ahead of me on the curve. At first I kind of thought of The Jetboil as a bit gimmicky. I changed my mind on that a few years ago.

The whole family was on a back pack trip, hiking above the timberline at about 10,500 ft elevation one summer. A horrid storm moved in out of no where; very heavy rain with pounding, painfull hail, and lightening and thunder hammering down everywhere all around us. I have never seen so much rain. Areas that don't hold water had two inches of water - just running across it. By the time we got down into cover everyone was wet, some more than others - even with rain gear. Most of the gear inside the packs was also wet. Out of the eight, three did NOT have hypothermia - and it was still coming down hard. We three were only cold to the bone, but not shivereing - thanks to better gear. With most of the group huddled up under a tree, we put up a tent - fly first, then tossed in a lot of people, and what little dry gear we had left. As we zipped the last of the really cold ones into the tent, I was thinking "dry wood is going to be a trick". Then I hear That Jetboil "pop" as it lights up. I turn around and there's the kid with His Jetboil; grin across his face. In less than two minutes hot drinks are are in a lot of shaky hands.

We came out OK, but I learned a few things that trip. First; all packs get covers and all gear goes into water proof/resistant bags. Second; A Jetboil is no gimic. It's a hard working, feather weight, highly efficient, well built peice of gear, that has become my "go to" stove. I don't even have to bring pans any more.

It's best use is boiling water. It does this better than about anything elce out there. You can cook with it using other pans, but it's a bit tricky managing the heat. My sons say it's hard to buy the fuel in Europe - and you shouldn't take the fuel on an airplane. The "Sol" holds less than some of the other models - easier to reach the bottom of the cup with a spoon. Also, most of the time you really don't need the extra volume. I'll think you'll like this one.

Old Guy