I'll vote for the jetboil any day. Many a time I've made a brew from scratch and pretty much cleaned up while others are still trying to get their stove lit. Good thing about the jetboil is that its self contained I.e. the cooking receptacle is part of the stove. Slightly larger than your compact stoves like the primus but saves you having to carry mess tins or extra pots
 
What Wolf said. Jet boil is fantastic for quick brews and convenience, amazing bit of kit. It's only limitation is availability of gas.

I also have a primus multifuel, runs on gas, kero, petrol and diesel with different nozzles. A lot better for sustained trips, it does require getting used to and you can't just fire it up and then pack away.

Have you thought about knocking up a solar cooker?
 
jetboils are cool, but if you have the room i'd go for a kelly/storm/ghillie kettle. Purely because you can use any old dry thing as fuel. you can buy small ones for trekking, and you can cook on them if you buy a lil stand.

I'd probably also travel with a lil trangia/clone meths burner.
 
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JetBoils are great if you want to make a cuppa or need boiling water, but if you want to cook anything, they are severely limited.

Have a look at the following web page, this is a primus compact stove that works exactly like a Jet Boil, but in far more stable (You don't have pots balanced ontop of the gas cylinder) and it also enables you to use it as a stove as well as being able to boil water in record time:

Search Results for "Primus Eta PackLite Stove" within busyoutdoors.com

I have just bought one and it is far more compact than it looks in the picture and if I just want hot water then it does that as quickly as a JetBoil, but I can also use it to fry bacon or make a stew as well if I want to.
 
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Maybe as a very last resort.

And nonsense you're limited to what you can cook in a jetboil. I've cooked soup, beans, pasta, ration packs etc... In mine with no problems

"LIMITED" being the key word, yes boil in the bag, beans, soups etc can all be done, but what about fried eggs, bacon, sausages - real mans food that you can't eat using a straw ;)

The problem with the jet boil is not the burner (which incidently is identical to the primus ones) its the diameter of the cup which limits cooking anything that is not liquid based or boilable.

You can of course buy special pans for the jet boil, but have you seen the price of them!!
 
I've got a metal ring that clips onto the burner and you can sit any pots or pans onto it you like. It cost me all of a couple of quid and increased the versatility of my jetboil
 
Hmm, thanks, some mixed results then.

I think the Kelly kettles, etc are great, but, when weight isn't an issue and access to gas cylinders, etc. isn't a problem, then, I think there are better options, I'm also not sure how much stuff i'll find to burn in the middle of a desert...!

The Jet boil with conversion to allow you to cook anything on it sounds like a potentially good option...
 
Hmm, thanks, some mixed results then.

I think the Kelly kettles, etc are great, but, when weight isn't an issue and access to gas cylinders, etc. isn't a problem, then, I think there are better options, I'm also not sure how much stuff i'll find to burn in the middle of a desert...!

The Jet boil with conversion to allow you to cook anything on it sounds like a potentially good option...

where will you find the gas cylinders in the middle of the desert? Do they grow on trees too?;):D:D:D
 
Hmm, thanks, some mixed results then.

I think the Kelly kettles, etc are great, but, when weight isn't an issue and access to gas cylinders, etc. isn't a problem, then, I think there are better options, I'm also not sure how much stuff i'll find to burn in the middle of a desert...!

The Jet boil with conversion to allow you to cook anything on it sounds like a potentially good option...

If on foot, for weight and size, I'd probably say a meths burner then. will take a lil while to heat water up, but i think you should be able to carry more fuel than gas cans, size wise. Will be heavier though.
 
Hmm, thanks, some mixed results then.

I think the Kelly kettles, etc are great, but, when weight isn't an issue and access to gas cylinders, etc. isn't a problem, then, I think there are better options, I'm also not sure how much stuff i'll find to burn in the middle of a desert...!

The Jet boil with conversion to allow you to cook anything on it sounds like a potentially good option...

Bear in mind that the jet boil with the conversion kit and an ordinary pan is the same as using any old gas stove as you do not have the benefit of the flux ring/heat exchanger which is what makes the jetboil/primus eta so efficient. The primus stove already incorporates the flux ring with a pan whereas to get a jetboil one is another £50+ just worth considering.
 

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