MSR Windburner/Jetboil/ *edit - Alpkit Brukit*

[hoppy58]

Does anybody have experience of these..or similar jetboil cookers. for simple meals and making a brew they seem quite efficient and a lot less hassle than other stoves, particularly when its a windy day!

[PH]

I'm a Jetboil fan, mine imported from Ebay USA before they were available in the UK and dismissed as a gimmick by some of the "serious" campers
It's no surprise to me that they've spurned so many imitations. It's a neat and easy way to boil something up, if you want to do some proper cooking there are better systems. It can be beaten on any single criteria, there are faster, lighter, smaller options out there. Where it wins is simplicity and portability, I've often made a brew sat on a park bench, you can hold it as it boils. I don't only use it camping, I'll sometimes take it on day rides where I used to take a flask. The windshield factor is better than nothing, but it's still a good idea to shelter it as much as possible, easy to do for the short time it takes to come to the boil. I have tried cooking on mine, even went as far as buying the saucepan and converter, really don't bother, it's poor to simmer and the heat spot is too small, stick to boiling stuff up.
Of the imitations, I know someone with an Alpkit one and it seems as good as the original, not in stock for a couple of weeks though
https://www.alpkit.com/products/brukit

[pjclinch]

Does anybody have experience of these..or similar jetboil cookers. for simple meals and making a brew they seem quite efficient and a lot less hassle than other stoves, particularly when its a windy day!

If your idea of "simple meal" is one that only needs water boiling (and that's not unreasonable) then they look pretty good. They're designed to do one thing well, where most stoves are more flexible but not so good at that one thing.

Pete.

[robc02]

I agree with the two posts above, best for boiling only.

I have cooked a pasta and sauce meal where the pasta was boiled, left to stand, and reboiled a couple of times over 10 minutes or so before tipping into another bowl - thereby approximating a simmer. The sauce (out of a jar or packet) was brought to the boil and then mixed with the drained pasta.

A friend tried to simmer porridge in his ........ removing the burnt remains from the bottom of the pot was, by all accounts, a lengthy task!!

[hoppy58]

Have ordered the Alpkit Brukit and will report back when I've tested it! The latest version has a pot stand which you can lock in place instead of the brew pot and also a canister stand to make the whole assembly more stable on rough ground.

[hamster]

I've had a jetboil for a few years - as an all-round package they are hard to beat but best for simple cooking of dried food etc. You have to turn the burner down low and stir almost continuously to avoid burning. But for instant noodles etc they are excellent, combined with minimal weight and space.

Cooking for more people than one or with more complex food (i.e. things in sauces) then I prefer MSR Whisperlite or Coleman Peak 1 running white gasoline (Aspen 4T). The main reason is excellent flame control and that they don't tend to blow out at low levels compared to gas. The fuel is also more compact. I realise that many people are totally terrified of petrol stoves, I've used them for 25+ years without incident.

[hoppy58]

We went (car) camping for 2 nights at the weekend and took our new Alpkit Brukit as our only cooker, so this is the feedback!

It boils a mug full of water (approx 0.25 litre) very fast - although I didn't time it! ..probably 2 minutes or just under. Very fast and efficient although there was no wind on the saturday. On sunday it was very blustery and I set it up by the car wheel to offer some shelter and the time to boil 0.25 litre was about the same. On saturday night we used it to make couscous to which we added chorizo and peppers which were cooked on a mini trangia pan using the brukit pan adaptor, whilst the couscous was soaking. I was able to adjust the flame enough to avoid burning and it cooked it all very well without burning. The gas cannister stand holds the whole unit very firmly and safely due to the wide feet.

In the morning we also cooked quick-porridge very succesfully without burning! - again using a mini trangia pan and the pan adaptor.

The quality of the cooker is really good and the pot handles are nice and sturdy, whist the neoprene pot cover is an excellent insulant and allows you to hold it whilst hot, without fear of burning. The lighter worked first time, althugh we did have some matches, just in case. The whole packs into the stuff-sack which will also take a 230ml cannister. With a 100ml cannister, cooker unit, pot and gas cannister stand, the weight is approx 0.7 kg and pack size is 16cm high x 12 cm diameter - it fits nicely in a Gorrilla cage or a Caradice Barley.

Conclusion - Very efficient, safe and easy to use with minimal fuss. Not the lightest or most compact, but small enough for over-nighters or longer tours, or even day rides when you want to stop and brew up off the beaten track. If I would question one thing it's whether the pot needs to be 1 litre, which is quite large, certainly for 1 or even 2, if you are mainly boiling small volumes of water for a brew or rehydrating meals.

Finally for the money £45.00, this can't be touched by MSR or Jetboil and includes the cannister stand and pot-adaptor as standard, which as far as I know, are extras on the others.

[PH]

If I would question one thing it's whether the pot needs to be 1 litre, which is quite large, certainly for 1 or even 2, if you are mainly boiling small volumes of water for a brew or rehydrating meals.

It can boil quite fiercely with the lid on, the Jetboil's max fill line is well below the top and I have occasionally got it wrong by over filling and had boiling water spurting out the lid.
A tip I picked up some time ago - if you're using propane/butane cylinders the propane is likely to burn off first and the remaining butane doesn't burn as hot. For some reason (I've had it explained but forgotten) if you stand the canister in a couple of cm's warm water this doesn't happen and the performance remains constant. On a Jetboil the plastic part that covers the burner in transit is ideal for this, I'd expect it to be the same on the Alpkit version (Though it stops you using he support)
Glad you're pleased with it.

[Brucey]

primus 'power gas' contains

25% propane
25% Isobutane
50% butane (n-butane)

The boiling point (at 1bar) of these gases is ~ -40C, -10C, and ~0C respectively. Given that for the gas cartridge to push gas out at a useful rate means several tens of psi at least must be present, the boiling points of the gases inside the canister are elevated somewhat. The gas cartridge cools itself as the gas is used and can easily get so cold that n-butane and then isobutane no longer boils. If you keep the canister at ~10C or higher by standing it in even lukewarm water, the gas vapour in the canister will contain butane as well as propane, and the cartridge will perform more consistently over its life.

I can only describe traditional Camping Gaz cylinders (100% butane, isomer unknown) as being 'almost completely useless' in cold weather. Even with propane/isobutane in the mix the performance in cold weather is not as good as a decent liquid fuel stove, but there are other facets of the gas cartridge stoves which make them convenient.



cheers

[st599_uk]

Has anyone tried the PlanetX bikes variant?

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CPFMSTR3G ... em---green

[PH]

Has anyone tried the PlanetX bikes variant?

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CPFMSTR3G ... em---green

No, but the photos show the pot stood too high above the cooker. I suspect the photo is wrong, but I wouldn't trust a retailer who didn't know what they were selling.

[PH]

If you keep the canister at ~10C or higher by standing it in even lukewarm water, the gas vapour in the canister will contain butane as well as propane, and the cartridge will perform more consistently over its life.
cheers

Thanks.

[st599_uk]

Has anyone tried the PlanetX bikes variant?

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CPFMSTR3G ... em---green

No, but the photos show the pot stood too high above the cooker. I suspect the photo is wrong, but I wouldn't trust a retailer who didn't know what they were selling.

I've looked at a couple of videos on YouTube, and it comes with an additional ring for using generic pots. I think they've mistakenly added that in the photo.

Dropped to £19 online, so I've bought one and will feed back.

[PH]

I've looked at a couple of videos on YouTube, and it comes with an additional ring for using generic pots. I think they've mistakenly added that in the photo.

Dropped to £19 online, so I've bought one and will feed back.

I thought it was probably an error with the photo.
I think you've hit lucky with PX's variable pricing, it's back to £30 when I just looked.
After praising the Jetboil, mine broke at the weekend, a split in the base of the cup, still usable but no longer a firm attachment to the burner, after the use it's had I've had more than my monies worth, though the imitations are cheaper than a replacement cup. I might go for the Alpkit version, it's a company I like and they're local enough to go pick one up.

[andrew_s]

I can only describe traditional Camping Gaz cylinders (100% butane, isomer unknown) as being 'almost completely useless' in cold weather. Even with propane/isobutane in the mix the performance in cold weather is not as good as a decent liquid fuel stove,

One thing to bear in mind is that the proportions of gas in a canister aren't constant, so those curves only apply to new or pure butane canisters (pure propane isn't usable in a lightweight context).

If you are using a regular 70% n-butane, 30% propane liquid gas mix canister (Coleman etc), at 10°C, and reading the curves above, the gas coming out of a new canister is n-butane at 0.7 x 1.5* bar plus propane at 0.3 x 6.5* bar, which works out at a gas mix of 35% butane + 65% propane at 2* bar.
Since you are using the propane nearly twice as fast as the butane, the liquid gas mix changes, as does the mix and pressure of the gas going to the stove. As it gets warmer, the proportion of n-butane to propane increases, but not drastically so (0°=33/67, 30°=39/61).
* the graph uses gauge pressure (i.e. relative to atmospheric), so you've got to add one to get absolute pressure. The "butane" is also n-butane, not isobutane.

By the time the canister is less than 2/3 used, there's very little propane left, so the performance of the stove falls right off, enough not to run at all if it's down close to zero.
This affects all gas stoves that use an upright canister.

Solutions include warming the canister by body heat, a handwarmer, or warm water saved in a thermos, or, if there's enough gas to actually light the stove, pepping up performance by (carefully) redirecting heat from the burner to the canister with a close fitting windshield or a strip of copper or aluminium taped to the canister at one end and in the flame at the other.
The real answer is to use a remote canister stove that allows the use of an inverted canister (i.e. with a preheat loop), so you burn gas in the same proportions as in the liquid, and retain the propane content through the life of the canister. Suitable stoves include the MSR Windpro, Optimus Vega, Edelrid Opilio, Primus Express Spider, Alpkit Koro (and other versions of the Fire Maple FMS-118) etc.