For over two years now I’ve been my airsoft teammates’ JetBoil cooking systems (god there are probably at least 10 of them on the team) to boil water for the food I carry with me out to games and while they’re all very generous, I’ve always wanted one for myself. I generally don’t like having to rely on others, the system is not super expensive so I figure it was about time I stop leaching and get one for myself. 🙂

In late December, I went down to MEC and picked up a JetBoil SOL (aluminum version) along with 5 100g tanks of fuel. Initially I wanted to just order everything online but the fuel cannot be shipped, that’s why I had to go to the store.

Included in the package is an orange plastic mounting base for the fuel tank, handy when you want more stability, the burner, a pot/pan support bracket that locks into place, a measuring cup, the aluminum cooking container and a sippy lid. Not included is fuel and again since it can’t to be shipped, that’s something you have to pick up in person. The nice thing about the JetBoil SOL (and all JetBoil units) is that all the components pack up either into or onto the aluminum cup including a fuel tank! That makes organization extremely easy, once everything is set just throw it into your pack and you’re ready to go!

To set up the JetBoil SOL first extend the legs to the orange plastic stabilizer and install it onto the bottom of the fuel tank (snaps on and off). Once that’s done flip out the fuel valve adjuster and screw the burner onto the tank. Now you have a choice, if you want to use a different/larger cooking pot you can install the pot/pan support bracket if not the burner by default supports the cooking cup with no additional tweaks. Note in the fourth picture my thumb is on the igniter, simply release some gas, press the black button and bam the system should ignite and you should have your cooking flame. If not press the black igniter a few times and you should be good to go.

If you’re having trouble igniting a flame close the fuel valve, look at the starter close and press the black button. Do you see a spark? If you do perhaps your tank is empty if not then perhaps you need a new starter.

On the bottom of the JetBoil cup you’ll see the “FluxRing” which is suppose to spread heat more evenly along the bottom of the container and “concentrates the heat”. After putting the cup onto the burner, turn it so the cup locks into place. You’ll also notice that inside the cup there are some measurement levels so you know how much water you’re putting into it.

The JetBoil SOL aluminum cup is wrapped with a neoprene insulator which JetBoil calls a cargo cozy and at one side is a nylon loop that acts as a handle. Even when the thing is full of boiling water the cozy and handle allow you to handle the cup and with the sippy lid installed you can drink coffee or whatever with out too much worry about spilling. The third picture shows the measuring cup which can also act as a container to eat food if you don’t want to eat out of the aluminum cup though it’s not insulated so it could get hot to hold and don’t let it near the flame or else it’ll melt.

Finally is a picture of the 100g fuel tank, according to JetBoil it’s suppose to be able to boil 10L of water though I can’t verify that value… It does boil water 800ml of water pretty quickly, in around 2 minutes from previous experience with other JetBoil systems. There are two larger fuel tanks that you can purchase, the 230g & 450g tanks however they’re obviously much larger and cannot be packed away into the system and will have to be carried separately. The JetBoil is also compatible with other brand fuel and worked just fine with a 450g North 49 Butane/Propane tank I had laying for another burner but note it is not compatible with Coleman propane tanks!

Heh I’ve had the luxury of bumming hot water from friends for the last couple of years but that’s no longer necessary now that I have my own JetBoil SOL cooking system! To be fair I haven’t used this particular unit yet but I am familiar with JetBoil’s products as there are many of them on the team. The JetBoil SOL retails for $119 CDN and the small 100g fuel tanks cost $5, for that price it’s really a no brainer to get for people who are outdoors a lot and want to eat warm food. Mmm I’m already looking forward to the next mil sim in April, that’ll be the first time I actually use my own JetBoil.

I’ll report back about the JetBoil SOL then and post further updates when there are new developments but yeah I’m pretty happy with what I got. 🙂

The ice storm in late December really opened my eyes to the holes in my disaster preparedness plans. The family has lots of warm clothing (though only one low temperature sleeping bag…), water, non perishable foods & wood for my fire places but had I lost power there was no real way for me to cook anything! When Henry went to Lebaron, I asked him to pick me up a portable butane/propane burner and a few fuel tanks just in case and just over a week later I also picked up a JetBoil though the latter more for airsoft use.

Anyway both burners require fuel and while I have a decent supply of that, it got me wondering what would I do if even that ran out… Looking online I found the Solo Stove which is a small portable wood gasification burning stove that runs completely on bio fuel, pretty much anything I can scavenge from the environment. If I’m stuck at home and run out of fuel for the other stuff, I have at least a week’s supply of firewood so that could be used with the Solo Stove. Anyway I’m impulsive so I ordered one along with Solo Pot 900 and the Swedish FireSteel fire starter.

There was apparently an issue with the manufacturer’s ordering system and after two weeks with no word, I emailed them. It was quickly resolved and I received my order today. 😀

Everything is made of stainless steel, at least according to Solo Stove though I have absolutely no way to verify that claim.

The wood sits on a raised grate platform that allows ash to fall through and the holes allow the Solo Stove to draw in air into the burner. I don’t know how wood gasification works but yeah it does that too which is suppose to boost efficiency. On the side of the Solo 900 pot are measurement levels so you know how much fluid is in the container.

The Solo Stove burner fits perfectly into the Solo Pot 900 but then again they’re made for each other and as you can see I put the fire starter in the stove. From what I read and saw online, other people put kindling (dryer lint & cotton balls soaked in vaseline into seems to be popular) the storage area too. The pot then goes into a small pouch that allows it to be packed neatly away. Note the Solo Stove also comes with a storage pouch if you decide to just get the burner.

I think I paid ~$140 US for everything and lol for the record I’m not nuts. Haha I didn’t buy the Solo Stove because I’m worried about a disaster striking, rather Maggie and I have talked about going camping in 2014 and If we go out for an extended period of time I thought something like this could be more useful than hauling the JetBoil (need to write a review on that too) and many cans of fuel. 😉 I mean there is also the added benefit of being useful in times of need but I’m looking forward to using this thing when I’m relaxing instead. 🙂

That’s all I got for now, when I actually use the stove I’ll update or make a new post on its usability.