Jetboil Flash Stove - Review 2023

Jetboil Your Way Through the Backcountry

Fuel Source & Efficiency

The Jetboil Flash is arguably one of the fastest and easiest ways of boiling water and cooking food in the backcountry. Although Jetboil now has ten models on the market, the Flash is still the most efficient.

Jetboils are integrated canister stoves, meaning, the pot or cup is part of the stove construction. They are generally more portable and simple to use. They are typically more efficient because their design traps and channels more heat from the burner onto the base of the pot or cup, allowing water to boil faster.

What stands out most about the Jetboil Flash is its ease of use. This stove was built for lazy and impatient people like me who want to put minimal time and effort into making coffee and oats in the morning, or to boil water to add to dehydrated meals in the evening.

For those who want to fry up eggs and bacon or sear a piece of salmon in a pan, the Jetboil Flash has also got you covered. The stainless steel pot support allows you to use a larger pot to cook up a stew or flip pancakes in the morning.

I’ve tested a lot of backpacking stoves in my backcountry career, and it’s hard to justify taking any other stove on my backpacking or sea kayaking trips. For ease of use, efficiency, versatility, and packability, you’ll be hard pressed to find another stove that compares.

I’ve always said, if I could only travel to one country in the world, it would be Italy. If I could only own one backpacking stove in this lifetime, it would be a Jetboil Flash.

Jetboil sells their own branded fuel canister, which is a combination of Isobutane and Propane, but you can use any brand of canister containing the same fuel type. The advantage of fuel canisters is they won’t spill or leak and are sold in a variety of different sizes depending on the length of your trip.

The disadvantage to fuel canisters is gauging how much fuel is left, and quite often people will purchase a new canister when there is still fuel left in their old canister. Fuel canisters also create a lot of waste and may not perform as well in very cold temperatures.

Weight & Portability

The Jetboil Flash weighs 13.1 OZ, not including the gas canister or any of its attachments. As a long-distance hiker who is cognizant of weight, I would still choose the Jetboil Flash over more lightweight options like the BRS 3000T Stove because it’s so easy to use. It also means I don’t have to bring an additional pot if I’m only planning to boil water or cook simple food like noodles or pasta for one.

I like how the burner fits inside the 1L cup with additional space left for the stainless steel pot attachment, canister stand, and silicone coffee press. The plastic bowl and measuring cup that screws onto the base of the cup is also very convenient. It’s not very big and is made of a thinner plastic, which I have accidentally cracked in the past. But it’s large enough for a cup of coffee or a small bowl of oats in the morning, and if you’re wanting to travel super light, you can simply eat out of the pot.

Boil Time

As mentioned above, the Jetboil Flash is the most efficient stove in the Jetboil range, boiling two cups of water in 100 seconds. The efficiency motivates me to pull out my stove on shorter breaks when I’m sea kayaking to make a warm cup of tea, when normally I would wait until the end of the day.

The Jetboil Flash is so efficient I often don’t have enough time to prepare my mug with my tea bag and powdered milk before the water is already boiling. The disadvantage to this is if you fill your Jetboil over the fill line and it starts to boil out of control, steaming hot water can bubble out from the lid and burn your hands when you’re rapidly trying to turn it off.

Ease of use

I find most integrated canister stoves like the MSR WindBurner Stove System easy to use. I think where the Jetboil Flash excels is that every feature has been designed with ease in mind, from the silicone lid with its spout and strainer, to the illuminating flame on the side that shows you how close your water is to boiling.

I love the simple one-push igniter system of the stove. What I don’t love is when this igniter fails and you have to light the stove manually. I’ve owned two Flashes in my backcountry career. After four years I replaced the first one because after getting the stove wet many times with salt water on kayaking trips, the burning system was affected and it began to boil very slowly.

On my brand new Flash the igniter started failing after a small number of uses. I could have sent it in for a warranty return, but because I’m lazy (which is why I love the Jetboil Flash), I’ve been using a lighter to ignite the burner instead.

Versatility

Until Jetboil designed the stainless steel pot adapter, I accepted the Jetboil Flash had strict limitations of only boiling water or cooking very small and simple meals for one in the narrow 1L cup. The pot adapter has changed the way people think of Jetboils, increasing its versatility to compete with almost every other backpacking stove on the market.

One downfall with the Jetboil Flash burner is that it wasn’t designed to simmer food like the MSR Whisperlite Universal Stove. Yes, you can turn down the intensity of the flame. But I find that even on the lowest setting, the heat is too intense for a gentle simmer.

The other major difference between canister and liquid gas stoves is how they perform at altitude and in colder temperatures. White gas burns better in colder temperatures, which we talk more about in our [Backpacking Stove Buyers Guide].

Stability

The Jetboil Flash is a very tall and narrow top-heavy stove that needs to be placed on a flat surface for it to be safe. I was pleased that my latest Flash came with the canister stand, which adds a lot of stability to the stove. I would highly recommend purchasing this stand if it doesn’t come with the stove as I’ve witnessed Jetboils tip over in the past and it isn’t pretty.

Safety

The Jetboil Flash is a safe and easy stove to use in the backcountry. There is very little chance of the pot or cup falling off the burner if it has been attached correctly. The use of the igniter also means you shouldn’t need to put your hands near the flame at all.

The insulated cozy around the cup prevents you from burning your hands, and the strap allows you to wrap your hand securely around the cup when pouring.

One thing to watch out for is the lid. It’s important to ensure that the lid is securely attached before pouring boiling hot water out of the cup. I have had the lid come off unexpectedly because I had only pushed it on lightly.

The other thing to note is don’t overfill the cup and aim to turn it off as soon as the water starts boiling to avoid steaming hot water from bubbling out of the lid and down onto the burner when you’re trying to turn it off.

Price/Quality Ratio

I find the Jetboil Flash reasonably priced in comparison to other integrated canister stoves on the market like the MSR Windburner Stove System. The Jetboil Flash retails for just over USD $100 and is a little more when it’s sold as the Java kit with the silicone coffee press.

There are many canister stoves on the market that retail between USD $25 – $50. But you need to remember these stoves don’t come with a pot and will burn through fuel less efficiently than an integrated canister stove like the Jetboil Flash.

Do we recommend it?

Yes! I love my Jetboil Flash because it’s easy to use, efficient, versatile, packable, and affordable. There’s nothing a Jetboil Flash can’t do that a canister or liquid gas stove can, other than simmer and perform well in extremely cold temperatures.

It’s the most convenient grab and go stove in my collection. If I’m going uber light, I probably wouldn’t carry a stove at all, but I’ve never once regretted the extra weight of my Jetboil Flash. If you want to cook more complex meals for more than one person you will need the stainless steel pot attachment. But if you’re simply looking to boil water fast and make simple meals for one, you can take the Flash as it comes.

I also highly recommend the silicone french press. I thought it might be a little gimmicky, but it allowed me to go from carrying instant coffee to freshly ground coffee on my backcountry trips, which absolutely enhances my experience.