Jetboil Sol Stove

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

Four Stars and I'm likely to return it? Read on....
I have one of the original JetBoil PCS stoves and have been using and loving it for years. There were only two things I didn't like about it:
1)It was a bit on the heavy side at about 15 oz's.
2)For use when solo hiking, the cup was really much bigger than it needed to be. I just use it to boil water for coffee, tea and my freeze-dried or dehydrated meals, so at most I would only boil 16 oz. of water at a time. The 1 liter cup was overkill. I had always wished that JetBoil would offer a smaller cup to save weight and space for us semi-ultra lightweight backpackers.
……well, I guess they heard us.
I was thrilled when I saw this new offering and jumped right on it.
I haven't had a chance to do extensive field testing on it yet but this is what I can tell you about it so far.
The Good:
1)Boils water as fast as ever.
2)Lighter than ever. Stated weight is 10.5 oz's. I didn't know if that was supposed to include the weight of the pot adapter and tripod for the gas container (included with the stove) or not, but weight on my scale without those accessories is a tad over 10.5 oz's. Since I never carry those two things while using just the cooking cup, I was hoping that it would be less than the stated 10.5 oz. without them. No such luck. Nonetheless, it's still over a ¼ of a pound lighter than the original PCS system.
3)The .8 liter cooking cup is the same diameter as the original- just shorter. It is also interchangeable with the original cups. Good for those that have friends that bought the "companion" cups to use on your stove.
I still find the .8 liter size a bit larger than necessary for my needs of just boiling water- but not too much. I think a .7 or maybe even a .6 liter size would be ideal.
4)The burner head is totally different than the original. It is now flat and a larger diameter than the original. Probably better for cooking "real" food as the flame is more dispersed. With the original, the burner was so small and concentrated that it tended to scorch food right in the middle of the cup.
5)Wire flame adjustment handle replaces the old style knob. I didn't really mind the knob too much, but prefer this new handle. If you tend to use this stove in temps that require gloves, you'll definitely prefer this one.
6)New piezo igniter. Jury is still out on this one, since I haven't used it enough to say- but at least it's different. The old style piezos were such junk that after I replaced the first one after it broke after only a few uses, and then the second one broke after only a few uses, I just started using a lighter and never looked back. I don't know if this new style is any more durable or not but at least it is different, which means that there's at least the possibility that it could be better. It certainly can't be any worse. Personally, I don't plan to find out. I'm going to keep using a lighter and hope the piezo works if I find myself later with a wet lighter or no matches.
The Neutral:
1)In order to save weight (I assume), the cooking cup is a made of a slightly thinner gauge aluminum than the original. The original cups seemed pretty much indestructible to me. Not so much with these new ones. I think they're still plenty strong- but not like the old ones. If you're the type that likes to sit on their pack at rest breaks, I'd be careful not to sit on the stove because I think you'd probably bend the top part of the cup.
2)Whole burner head assembly. They saved a lot a weight here by using slightly thinner metal on the ring where you screw the cup on, as well as much less plastic in the areas that hold the whole burner head assembly together. The original felt pretty much bombproof to me and this one is far less substantial. You could definitely crush or break this one if you weren't careful. I'm not saying that it's not good enough, it's probably fine, just remember that there is generally price to be paid with lighter weight gear, and that price is usually a sacrifice in durability. I think this will be ok if you're careful.
3)Heat indicator on side of cup. Total gimmick as far as I'm concerned. When the water heats up on a JetBoil, it makes a distinct sound. When it makes that sound I know it just the right temperature for coffee or tea. If you let it continue cooking, as soon as that sound stops and it becomes quiet, the water is boiling (not to mention the steam coming out the lid). Never needed an "indicator" to tell me that before. But hey, whatever. FWIW though, the indicator is spot on. As soon as it turns orange, the water is right for coffee or tea. I guess the indicator could be useful for those folks that are either deaf or like to listen to tunes through headphones while cooking. Other than that……I don't know.
The Not-So-Good:
1)Neoprene sleeve. The material is thinner than the original and gets really hot when you boil water and pick it up by the handle. Even using the handle there's no way to avoid touching the neoprene without at least part of your fingers. This wasn't a problem with the original thicker material, but it's almost unbearably hot with this thinner stuff. Despite the thinner material, it still seems to retain the heat pretty well, although I'm sure not quite as well as the thicker material. If I end up keeping this stove, I'm thinking about cutting the sleeve down on my old cup (or buying a replacement sleeve) and using it on this one. Also, the neoprene on this reeks. I don't know what they're using in the manufacturing of it but it stinks. It's about half as stinky as it was after I washed it and I'm hoping that enough heating cycles will finish the process of outgassing.
2)Not made in the USA like REI's description states. My older model was made here in the states and the older style ones may still be, but the 'Sol' is made in China according to the packaging. I was very disappointed to discover this and this may be the 'Sol' reason I return it to REI. Without getting too political, I like the idea of supporting American manufacturing and always do so when I'm given the option. I'm going to check with JetBoil directly and see if their 'Zip' stove is made in the US. It appears to be nearly identical to the 'Sol' although about an ounce heavier. I'll be happy to carry an extra ounce to help save an American job.
3)Price. Less materials and made in China. I would think that JetBoil would have kept the price about the same as the 'Flash' PCS. The 'Sol' does have the addition of the regulator, which supposedly makes it work better in lower temps (haven't tested that) and at higher elevations but I'm not sure how much it helps. I've used my old PCS at well over 12,000 feet without too much in the way of performance problems, and as far as colder temps are concerned, I've always just kept the gas canister warm in my jacket or sleeping bag until I was ready to use it. Never tried it at 15 degrees as claimed though.
4)Value(?) At nearly twice the cost of the 'Zip' PCS, I'm not sure it's worth it(to me anyway). The only difference that I can see is that the 'Sol' is 1 oz. lighter, has the fuel regulator and the wire fuel adjustment handle. I just can't see the justification in price between the two. And now that they're being manufactured in China, JetBoil is really increasing their profit margin this pricey little stove.

My Bottom Line:

If you don't care where your stuff is made(I do), don't mind spending the extra dollars to shave some weight off your back(I don't), need the lower operating temperature this stove may provide(I don't) and are willing to baby it a bit more than the original(I am) then I think you'll like it. If the 'Sol' turns out to be as dependable as my original PCS model (only time will tell) and is a ¼ pound lighter, you can't hardly go wrong.

As a side note to those seeking even lighter weight than this- JetBoil's website has a titanium version of the Sol. 2 oz's lighter- but not yet available as of this review.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I bought this stove for a 7-day snowshoe trip around Crater Lake after returning an MSR Dragonfly liquid stove that failed on two preliminary trips. The addition of a pressure regulator in the Sol, plus the included pot support and stabilizer convinced me to give it a try.

As an engineer, I really appreciate the elegance of this design. But most of all, this stove just worked, day after day, in all conditions. I used the included pot support with a 2-liter aluminum pot to melt snow. Combined with the canister stabilizer stuck in the snow, it was rock solid.

Melting snow takes a lot of fuel, but this stove seems to get every last bit out of the canister. The stove kept running long after I thought the canister was empty, even though it was covered with ice and it was 15 degrees.

I carry a 24-oz stainless water bottle to keep warm at night. This is the same size as the Jetboil cup, so I just pour the water into the Jetboil, boil it in a few minutes, and then pour it back in the bottle with a wool sock around it. I keep this under my arm next to the baselayer and stay warm all night. In the morning, I use the same water to boil again for tea.

I'm not going to nitpick any minor inconveniences. This is a great stove, the best I've seen so far. I'll never use anything else (at least until the next Jetboil comes out).

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

This is an excellent stove. Although it doesn't appear much different than the older model (that I've use for four years), it is considerably lighter, having removed excess material and height (from both the cup and the burner). The new cup is the biggest improvement. The old style was too deep to be practical, and wasted space. With the new shorter cup (but only a 20% decrease in capacity, with no real functional loss), a spoon will reach the bottom without getting your hands covered with crud or burned. Its just small enough now that it packs much easier than the old model. It has the added benefit of being more stable than the old model (even without the included tripod base). This is really a tremendous system. Its the only thing that I will carry (no need for any other cups, pots, pans). Haven't yet used it in real cold temps, but the old model was adequate down to about 0 F, so I have no worries about this one (which is advertised to have a new heat regulator for better low temp performance).

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I used this for a short backcountry trip where I was camping solo. Recent reviews criticizing the build quality and thickness of the neoprene sleeve had me quite worried, but I thought the weight savings would be worth it. In short, none of the issues I was expecting were a problem for me.

The materials might be less robust than the Flash, but I never felt like I was in danger of breaking anything. I threw the stove in my pack with everything else, and didn't treat it with special care at camp. It held up without a scratch.

The pot is difficult to remove from the burner when it's hot, but only if you really lock it tightly to the burner. If you lock it gently, removing it is no problem, and it's still very securely attached while boiling.

I really didn't have a problem handling the pot when it was hot. I'm not sure if Jetboil has changed the neoprene or perhaps other reviewers left their pot on the heat longer. I would remove the pot as soon as the water boiled, and I had no issues whatsoever holding it with bare hands. I even used it as my cup for tea in the morning. I am not one of those people with asbestos hands - it just wasn't that hot.

The only downside is the lid did pop off in my pack during the hike up. That did not happen on the hike down. If it becomes a problem I might just secure it with a rubber band. It would be nice if the lid had a tighter fit, but overall it's a small issue.

I'm quite happy with the stove, and I will be keeping it.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

Well being an avid backpacker that spends roughly 30 to 40 nights in a Hammock each year I have found the Jetboil to be one of my best friends outside of my Hennessey Hammock. I purchased my first unit within a few months of them coming out and until 3 months ago it worked flawlessly. Finally the burner mechanism fell apart and I needed to pick up a new one. I was a bit disappointed that the burner was not serviceable, but knew I would only buy another one as nothing else on the market comes close to its efficiency and ease of use.
The SOL so far is working flawlessly; I have used it now for 9 days in the woods and in sub freezing weather. As with any isopropane stove I have owned, I still put the canister in a sock and place it in the bottom of my sleeping bag at night to keep it warm enough to cook on cold mornings.
This new unit seems to work better than the older model when the tank is almost empty, not sure why that is but is a huge plus.
My son has an original model that is only a 2 years old and we swap canisters when his is almost empty as his does not perform as well as mine.
The color changing temperature gage is a joke and I wish I could buy a sleeve without it. Not that it doesn't work as advertised, I just don't think it is necessary.
I would highly recommend this stove to anyone that is looking for a stove to boil water for dehydrated food, coffee and the such. If you are more of a pan cooker, it is still a good stove but would not get as high of a recommendation.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I found this stove while looking at the Jetboil Flash and was excited to buy it from REI as they were about the first place that I could find that was selling it.

Out of the box I was very impressed with the size of this stove, Jetboil cut out some of the height from the cup and from the burner, the stove when compacted is no taller than a pint sized glass. In addition to this Jetboil has also switched up the way all of the elements fit inside. Instead of placing the fuel canister in first (which from reading other reveiws about the Flash, can create a rust ring at the bottom of the cup), the canister is actually the last element to go in besides the pot stabalizer. This should fix the rust problem. I feel much better about this fix.

It does seem that the flame can be adjusted for different cooking styles. Water boiled at just under 4/12 minutes on the lowest setting (simmer) and around 2 minutes (room temp.) at full blast. The ignitor works well and sure beats the pumping and priming of my older whisperlight stove.

Two things that I'm not real crazy about:
One: The handle on the cozy is thin and flimzy as another has said. I like the handle on the Flash much better......
Two: This is the one that could be a problem. The lid is small in comparison to the older Jetboil models meaning when you slip the lid onto the cup it does not extend down the outside of the cup like the older versions, it just barely clips on. You could have a problem if you make pasta in the cup and go to stain the water out. I think the weight of the pasta could pop the lid off when you go to pour which would result in pasta on the ground! Also this lid is a problem when packing the Sol in your bag. I had a hard time keeping the lid on.

Other then these issues (Mainly the lid) the Sol is a great stove for backpacking and will be coming with me for years to come.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

So far, so good. First, the weight-- this is a nicely pared-down version of the original jetboil design. To get down to the advertised 10.5 ounces, you'll need to remove the pot adapter (if you're just using the cup, you don't need this anyway) and the folding stand. The stove seems reasonably stable without the stand-- the stand is probably also intended primarily for use with the pot adapter and a larger pot, so leaving it behind is no big deal either.

Using a full fuel cannister, it brought a half-liter of water to just-barely-boiling in two minutes, and a serious rolling boil in 2:30. The little indicator turns orange just a bit before actual boiling is reached. Probably just about right for coffee.

If all your backpacking cooking consists of is heating water to dump into a dehyrdated meal, this little stove is fantastic. Sets up fast, lights itself quickly, boils quickly, and the neoprene "cozy" means you don't need anything extra to handle the pot after a boil.

My only gripe is that the handle is pretty floppy, so your knuckles will touch the relatively thin neoprene when picking it up. Even with the neoprene it's a bit too hot to touch for long if it's full of boiling water. Probably wouldn't be an issue if you were wearing even a thin pair of gloves, and it's tolerable for long enough to pour-- but a tiny bit of extra fabric on the inside of the handle would have been nice.

All in all, very nice.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I know it is pretty light and boils water fast but ...
It is just too flimsy. The insulation is insufficient on the cup so you have to be very careful when it is hot. The top lid keeps slipping, that a big problem when you have boiling water in it, and also a problem when you try to package it inside of your backpack. The overall construction does not inspire confidence in long term durability either.

I have a lot of light weight gear. This is the only time so far I wished for something more solid, even if it mean two extra ounces.

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I purchased this stove a couple weeks back to join on the jetboil craze... And well I am really happy with my purchase, I took it on a weekend excursion on the north shore of minnesota. I found it takes a bit more time than the 2 minutes to boil water in really cold conditions, and much longer when doing snow melt.(obviously) I left the stove outside over night and it got an inch of heavy snow poured onto it from mother nature, I had two different stoves I brought with, and with just shaking the snow off the stove the jetboil lite up with just the igniter.(The pot stabilizer was on it making the element open to the environment)

Overall I am very pleased with the performance of this stove, plus the fact that everything can be contained within the cup and doesn't rattle is huge for me!

Comments about Jetboil Sol Stove:

I've been itching to replace my nearly five-year-old PCS (which I really like) to cut down on size, weight, and to get something with a working igniter for a while now. After reading about the Sol, I decided to give it a go. Initially, I planned to wait for the titanium version, but in the end felt I could save an ounce-and-a-half for less money by cutting down elsewhere in my pack. Here's my initial take on it in comparison to my old PCS:

The Sol definitely offers improved size and weight savings. Straight from the package with all the included components--pot stand, tripod stabilizer, cup, lid, burner assembly, and skirt cover (bottom cup)--and with a nearly full (2 extremely brief prior uses) canister, the Sol weighed in at about 20 oz. Without the tripod stabilizer and pot stand, but with the same canister, the Sol weighed slightly over a pound (about 17 oz). My old PCS weighed 22 oz with the same fuel canister and without the pot stand or tripod stabilizer. Notably, the Sol cup is a bit over an inch shorter than my old PCS too. So, the Sol is shorter and weighs about 5 oz less than my old PCS, a decent size and weight savings.

It also seems to boil water faster than my old PCS, which takes about three minutes to get a full boil going. In two outdoor tests on a windy, rainy day with temperatures in the upper 40s, I boiled 16 oz of water (slightly over 16 oz in the case of one test) in two minutes. The heat indicator actually indicated that the water was boiling at about a minute and fifty seconds in both tests, but I did not lift the lid to confirm this until I saw steam venting (as I would do with my old PCS). As a result, it appears the Sol offers a marked improvement on boil times (and possibly fuel savings) over my old PCS.

As for its construction, the Sol seems a bit more fragile than my old PCS, particularly the burner assembly. I was able to toss my burner assembly into the cup of my old PCS pretty much without concern; however, with the Sol, my initial take is that I'll have to be somewhat more cautious. That said, to me, a bit of caution seems to be a reasonable sacrifice for the improved weight efficiency of the Sol.

The aforementioned is all preliminary since I have yet to take the Sol to the backcountry. That said I'm anxiously waiting to leave my old PCS at home to give it a real test run.