Jetboil  HalfGen Base Camp Cooking System

We just took this on a camping trip to Iceland. It packs down well for car camping (and being checked in luggage). It did a great job of warming up food, frying eggs, etc. The pan is kinda meh. It worked fine, but I can tell it will die before the stove does (and much faster than I'd like it to). The stove actually dented the pan when it was packed and checked in our luggage (they nestle together). We'll still use the pan as the dents are small, but those dents will kill the teflon coating quicker. So I wish there was a better way for it to be packed down together, but that's not enough of a downside for me to dislike this at all. Looking forward to taking it car camping.

Compact and we’ll built stove that has really good flame control in both directions. Lightweight and everything fits in the carry case including my own reusable plates and a collapsible kettle/pot.

This stove is no better than your average Coleman, but if you are like me and only have room for a single burner that has a low profile and can attach to a small bulk propane tank, Ii know of no other choice. Cheap single burners that screw on propane bottles have better flame control than this- this stove annoyingly makes you turn the knob many times to adjust the flame, but it does not provide better control. I've only used it daily for a month, so I don't know how long the regulator will last, which is the first thing to fail on these stoves, so frequently you can buy them at your favorite big box store. I don't know if I can easily replace the one on this. Yes, the removable grate does make your pots tip, but what is more alarming is when they slide off the grate. Be careful with full pots. I won't use the fry pan- the coating was knicked down to metal at the time of purchase, but I don't live close enough to an REI to return it. In short, you can buy a lot of cheaper, equivalent stoves and replacement parts for the price of this- save your $$$$ unless you are like me and have no other choice.

I have been a loyal jetboil flash user for 10 years. When it came to buy a camp stove I thought I could trust jetboil and supplies that REI carries. This stove stopped working 2 months outside of the 1 year limited warranty. Tried new gas tanks, tried new fuel line and nothing works. The stove piece itself is flawed and it's disappointing that a camp stove this expensive has no one standing behind it when it just stops working. I wish we would have waited longer to buy it to the see the above negative reviews and not trusted the jetboil name or REI carrying the product.

I do not recommend this product. My wife and I used the HalfGen for about 2 years and initially we were out camping and the regulator broke leaving us without a stove. I contacted Jetboil and they sent me another regulator. On our last trip the regulator again malfunctioned however this time flames came out of the top of the regulator melting the plastic on our tacoma. I contacted Jetboil and they offered to give us ANOTHER new regulator #3 but we have decided to try another more reliable product instead. I do not feel safe using the HalfGen and do not recommend this product.

So after forgetting the car camping stove again we decided to get a stove that would fit in the downsized camping cooking box that one can actually carry by themselves. The half gen was a perfect fit and we could fit our plates in the bag that comes with it. The only thing I wish it had was a lid for the pan which I would pay for. The wind screen was a little awkward getting on at first but it works at least in 20-30 MPH gusts. Construction is solid, the lighter works and due to the shape there is no cooking splatters to deal with on the stove itself. The gas control is good too. Yes it was not cheap but a great size and it works well.

This is an expensive little stove, which I don't mind, if it works well. The largest problem is that the wind screen is cheap and useless. The plastic is flimsy and doesn't stay in position easily. Had they gone with aluminum, it would have made a big difference. I found the position of the valve that the regulator attaches to a bit awkward to use. I understand that they are trying to keep the profile contained but I would have made it more accessible. The stove itself seems nicely constructed. I did not attempt to pair it with another one of their stoves for expansion, because the wind screen was a show stopper for me. It does pack down nicely. Finally, it needs a storage bag, to protect it from the wear and tear of camping. At this price, for a single buyer, with 10K BTU capacity, they missed the mark.

The HalfGen is cleverly designed and nicely constructed. The parts fit well and are robust. Its easy to take apart and clean if something boils over. The control valve is the best I have used on a propane burner and lets you set at a true simmer. The pezio ignition is a killer design being simple to operate even with a glove on. Including the 5 liter pot (not included with the halogen) the entire setup fits inside the provided compact storage bag. Its small and compact for storage and provides good protection. The stowed configuration doesn't rattle so pack animals won't get spooked! My only complaint is that the rigid brass fuel line is designed with a couple of bends to prevent the 1 lb propane canisters from dispensing liquid fuel. Ok, I get the requirement but the setup could be much better when used with a large capacity propane tank as is typical for a basecamp setup. As an option they should offer either a short rigid section that remains on the burner (even while in storage which would reduce the setup time) or a flexible connection similar to what feeds gas to the Luna. As it is the rigid line takes up a lot of room on the camp table.

I’ve had the base camp stove for a while and I was excited to find out they had a single burner model. The half gen is slightly smaller in diameter as well so the large pot and skillet from the base camp are not the same size. The skillet with half gen is smaller. That said, this is the best single burner I’ve used when considering propane stoves. Cold weather performance doesn’t seem to miss a beat either. It’s definitely heavy for backpacking, but this thing simmers like nothing else on the market. If you’ve got limited space in a vehicle, this is a great option.

We bought this unit for a canoe trip thinking it would be great for a large group. We own other jetboil products and know the qualify and design are great. However when we reached our site we soon discovered the control knob had broken off the unit. It was now useless. It was packed as per the exact way it had been bought. We found out that when the stove is packed the in the same orientation, the knob is prone to being bend and breaking. It runined most of the trip because now we had gear that was just dead weight, including the fuel we purchased for the unit. I love jetboil products, but this was a big disappointment.