[Closed] Cheaper amazon 'jetboils'

Millets have some good savings on decent branded stuff at the mo, including the Jetboil Flash https://www.millets.co.uk/15895308/jetboil-flash-20-camping-stove-15895308
it's not IMO the best/most versatile Jetboil for cooking as well, but if you literally just want to boil water, then it is!

£28 more for the real thing rather than some unknown-quantity knockoff would be a no-brainer for me.
EDIT: about a fiver cash back if you go through Quidco as well!

I've been using one of the Planet-X knock-offs that I bought a couple years back for about £30 - looks like they don't have it anymore though. Looks very similar to the Amazon one.

Only used it for making tea at the beach/BBQs, but works very well.

car camping? I'd just use one of these and a kettle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASAB-Portable-Camping-Automatic-Ignition/dp/B07439QHHH/

Not sure if the alpkit one was improved later but wasn't there tests done that showed the first one was much much slower to boil than a real jetboil?

I see that Fire Maple do one, I think some of their stuff is decent but no idea about the jetboil copy.

That looks identical to the one PlanetX sold with their Jobsworth brand, they recently issues a recall and told everyone to stop using them due to the body potentially cracking when attaching the gas can. Apparently the pin was too short, which meant you had to tighten them up too much. Mine's worked great though to be honest, no issues, aside from the threads being a bit crap on first use.

Boils water miles faster than the normal gas stoves you see about for cheap, especially when trying to heat it in a breeze.

Apparently they're going to get a new one released soon. I wonder if the above is the revised design.

That looks identical to the one PlanetX sold with their Jobsworth brand, they recently issues a recall and told everyone to stop using them

Do you have any more details on this recall? I have one but haven't seen any info about this.

I see that Fire Maple do one, I think some of their stuff is decent but no idea about the jetboil copy.

The Alpkit Brukit I bought earlier this year is a rebranded Fire Maple. Boils a litre in around 5 mins. No idea if that's good but it'll do for me.

I bought one of the affected PlanetX stoves in May. When I first used it gas was leaking between the gas cylinder and stove. The text of the recall email I received is below:

<div dir="ltr">

Dear XXXXX

We are contacting you as a valued customer who has ordered a Jobsworth cooking system on sales order SOXXXXX

As part of our absolute commitment to the safety and well-being of our customers, Planet X are undertaking a product recall of the following items: CPJOX2CS-BLK, CPJOJX2CS- BLK, CPJOX3CS- BLK

We have been notified from our supplier there is a safety concern with the above product.

As a result, we must advise all customers who have purchased this item since January 2021 to please return your item for a full refund and do not continue to use your product with immediate effect.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please contact us for further assistance.  Our contact information can be found in the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section on the Full Safety Advisory Notice.

Best Regards

The Planet X Team

</div>

Jetboil Zip for £68 at this link  https://www.alpinstore.com/en/marque/171-jetboil

Not used the site but looks legit

I also had a PlanetX one that I sent back as part of the recall. I have also used the Alpkit one which is better, boils at a simila rate but just seemed better made.
I used it alongside a JetBoil and there didnt seem to be much difference in speed of boiling.

I own Brukit Wulf and Jetboil, I prefer the Brukit as it is more controllable and nicerer.

I have a brukit, jetboil minimo, tbh there's no a huge amount in it, but the JB is definitely better. A lot of the brukits packed in too, mine is fine, but tbh it's no seen a huge amount of action. I only bought the jetboil as my work paid for it for a charity trek, wouldn't have bought it with my own money.

If you want something that pisses all over both of them, get a Soto windmaster and a decent ti pot and lid. It's the one I always take out of them all.

I own Brukit Wulf and Jetboil, I prefer the Brukit as it is more controllable and nicerer.

Minimo is far nicer, and more controllable than my brukit, you must have one of the boil only jetboils?.

I had the Brukit. It did work well initially then died, the replacement died, I gave up after the third one.
I’ve  got an Optimus pan and burner. Faster and smaller in you need to use it for bikepacking etc.

Fair point, as i've already got a ti pan and a ti pot...
Might just get a simple burner and boil water in the pot...

DrP

I've a wee MSR pocketrocket you can have, tenner?

Those briefcase cookers are fine, but it takes ages to boil a kettle. The pocket rockets are fast, cheap and convenient but a bit (a lot) unstable and prone to falling over or the kettle falling off. I'm about to get a £10 bbq bucket from B&Q and adapt it to hold the pocket rocket in place. I'm also looking at the Vango folding gas stove. Like a Pocket Rocket but sits on adjustable feet.
I bought a Trangia last week but it was slow and not for us. It's on eBay now.

The pocket rockets are fast, cheap and convenient but a bit (a lot) unstable and prone to falling over or the kettle falling off.

Never really found that, tbh I usually take the wee jetboil plastic stand if I'm using the 100g can, 200g one doesn't need it, obviously.

Speaking of fire maple this looks quite handy. Like a pocket rocket but with a wider base for pans so more stable. Could combine with the little foldable gas canister holders.

https://firemaplegear.com/products/116-t-titanium-backpacking-stove

I've found the tiny titanium pocket rocket type things pretty good but not very stable. Actual pocket rocket is slightly better but not by much.

@Cletus - thanks for the email body. I never received that, but did find the recall on their website. Oddly I only recently used mine and it was great. I have the bigger size and it was perfect for making teas for four on a recent camping trip

Speaking of fire maple this looks quite handy

IME convex burners are poor in the wind, and by the time you pay taxes on that, you could buy a windmaster (check trek lite forum if ye wanna nerd out!), which also has ignition, that doesn't. 8cm across when unfolded, plenty stable.

At £63 for a 'cheap' option I'd think either be buying the real thing or using a Go Outdoors cookset. I have the predecessor to this and it's brilliant for the money.

car camping? I’d just use one of these and a kettle.

Those things are astonishingly shit and I'd avoid at all costs. In a week you could've bought a Jetboil for what that'll cost you in gas.

@cougar that go outdoors set - what is the heat exchanger used for? why wouldnt you put the pan on top of the flame?

The HE is for the big pot and rapid boiling, the wee pan is a fry pan, and gentle cooking of foodstuffs.

Cheers for the advice..
I actually jsut went for the Coleman Fyrestorm setup...

It'll use the same cannister as my BBQ, and as well as using to boil water in the mug, I can use the with my ti cookware too...
£62.50 from Millets, so not too bad!!

DrP

what is the heat exchanger used for?

It's part of the mug, not a separate component. What it does if anything beyond marketing I don't know. Seems to work though, that and a little Coleman version of the Pocket Rocket and I've got coffee on the go in a couple of minutes and a meal ready in another five.

I’ve bought a vast amount of terrible camping gear over the years but that little cookset is fantastic for twenty quid.

It'll boil water about 20% quicker*, if that's important to anyone....

*Mibbe about 30s.

This is what I use. Carries water and boils quick enough for me with a handful of twigs you can usually find nearby. YMMV.

https://www.ghillie-kettle.co.uk/product-page/mkettle-silver

On a positive note about the PlanetX recall, I sent them a message asking if I'd explode if I ignored the recall and used it anyway. They told me it was an issue which only affected a few stoves, they then sent me a refund without me having to return the stove. A service you certainly wouldn't get with a random Chinese brand on Amazon, I'll deffo buy another one when they list them, until then I'll risky fiery explosion.

I have both a Brukit and Jobsworth. The jobsworth is smaller and actually more ideal for my needs size wize, being slightky smaller than the brukit.

Sadly unused as the recall was issued a month after purchase....they're refunding but asked me to dispose of it.

The brukit's igniter let me down this weekend as did my MSR backup igniter!

Alpkit are sending me a new igniter module which says a lot for their service.

I will get a new Jobsworth when they come out for solo missions.

Search "APG stove" for the same item on Ali Express. I have one and it works really well. Delivery time is a bit random,

I have a brukit, my mate has a jetboil that cost twice as much. The JB is nicer, but I’m not sure it’s twice as nice. We’ve tested them outdoors, using a measured amount of water in each, side by side, there’s virtually nothing to separate them, except the £45 I still have in my bank.
I fancy one of those coleman jobbies though.

I own Brukit Wulf and Jetboil, I prefer the Brukit as it is more controllable and nicerer.

Minimo is far nicer, and more controllable than my brukit, you must have one of the boil only jetboils?"

I didn't know there was such a thing! It sounds like it. That's all it's ever been used for, but why would you deliberately limit the options?

 

Some folk just want boiling water, so no need for a gas regulator, and as such they're a wee bit cheaper. I have the ridiculously overpriced Jetboil frying pan (managed to get my employer to pay for that too!), which is bloody brilliant tbh. Fried egg banjos for a camp brekkie is now a thing, so the regulator one suited me (apart from the fact I use the Soto now and not the jetboil!)

Not sure if the alpkit one was improved later but wasn’t there tests done that showed the first one was much much slower to boil than a real jetboil?

I had a Brukit and sent it back. It was ok but not outstanding on the top half of the canister but once you got below half full it wasn't just slow, it physically would not boil a full pot. Alpkit said this was to be expected but refunded me any way which was nice of them.

TBH I really don't understand the jetboil thing for many applications. They (sometimes) boil water quickly but what's the rush? They are heavy, bulky, wasteful (empty canisters) and not at all versatile. I suppose people just like the neat, simple package which is understandable for a quick brew.

TBH I really don’t understand the jetboil thing for many applications

This.

They're far from the best, heavy, bulky, but like many things, they're a brand leader so folk want what they think is the best.

They (sometimes) boil water quickly but what’s the rush? They are heavy, bulky, wasteful (empty canisters)

Amazon sell a 'Firemaple' version prime delivery tomorrow. I have one and no issues, mine even came with a fold down spork in titanium.

People are missing one of the most important features of the jetboil.

The logo on the insulating cover on my jetboil gradually changes colour as the water gets hotter.

I know that the water is boiled when the logo has completely turned orange.

Inferior products produced by competitors rely on the user to look for steam to determine when the water has boiled. They do not change colour at all.

Inferior products produced by competitors rely on the user to look for steam to determine when the water has boiled. They do not change colour at all.

I have an MSR one that boils 2 litres in about 3 seconds. Ok, maybe a minute maximum. I think you get what you pay for.

Trangia works for me. I know they’re slow but as soon as I even think about morning coffee, I need a poo. I come back and the water’s boiled.

I have the Fire Maple Star 2 and it's excellent. Boils water super fast (not a lot in it between the Fire Maple and my electric kettle at home). Also, the design is, IMO, an improvement on the Jetboil they've, ahem, taken inspiration from. The pan has a really sturdy handle with a nifty quick release button. When locked in place it's completely solid and you can tip the pan with complete confidence. When folded up it swings over the pan lid to secure it in place. Manufacturing quality is great too. Oh, and contrary to what someone stated above it does have push-button ignition.

A quick update on the recall mentioned above for the PlanetX jobsworth jetboils. I contacted them last week as I hadn't been notified of the recall and it apparently only affects stock that they received from January this year.
So it looks like I can happily cary on using my £20 bargain from last year 🙂

As an aside, the version I have is the larger one they did which has a pan design just like arogers describes above for the Fire Maple stove. I'm pretty sure they are from the same manufacturer

How are you storing your jetboils?

I've got a Flash and the canister and burner sit nicely inside. However there was still a bit of moisture when I packed it away yesterday - made a brew today and noticed the bottom of the canister had rusted and left a ring of oxidisation in the bottom of the mug.

Made sure it's properly dry today and put it in upside down