25 Oct 2020 14:17
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We got our mitts on a Jetboil Sumo Group Cooking System in the spring and we want to tell you about it. The Jetboil is a system—and that has its pros and cons. Everything fits together perfectly if you follow the program but you can’t really mix and match with all other offerings from Jetboil.
I have had an MSR Whisperlite for about a decade (see our review of the current “Universal” model here) and I was always challenged with the conflagration that would inevitably come with starting the thing up (as well as the lack of a good simmer).
Make sure to check out Must Have Jetboil Sumo Accessories.
The Jetboil is easily one of the easiest stoves to ignite—never a need to phone the fire dept.
The company came to be in 2001 in Manchester, New Hampshire, when the two founders began experimenting with the most efficient way to transfer heat. The flux ring represents the fruits of their labour and it succeeds in heating liquids very quickly.
Jetboil’s makers also claim that the stove uses half the fuel of traditional stoves. I’ve definitely noticed that water heats up super quick. One litre reaches a boil in 4 ¼ minutes.
The Sumo is sold as a group cooking system but, from my experience, I say it’s a small group. Say you are heating water for three freeze-dried meals, you’ll use 1 ½ litres of the 1.8 litre capacity. I picked up a Jetboil fry pay too.
It’s big enough to accommodate a mid- rather than full-sized tortilla. Such are the decisions one has to make when heading off into the mountains. Judging from the recipes on the Jetboil website, the cooking possibilities are almost endless.
I cooked one of those New Orleans pre-packaged jambalaya rice dishes and threw in a little sausage to “meat up” prior to a big hike out. The stove performed extremely well (though the stank was a little hard to exorcise). What impressed me most about the stove in this instance was its ability to deliver a steady, even simmer as well as a full crank.
If you can get over the steep walls and “depth” of the cooking vessel (bring a long-handle spoon) you can cook just about any liquid-based meal in there.
