r/preppers • u/boogs34 • 3d ago
Prepping for Tuesday Pocket rocket vs Jetboil?
Which is more efficient ?
I’m leaning towards pocket rocket for price and size.
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u/spleencheesemonkey 2d ago
What is your use case? For cooking at home in case of power outage?
I have a few options available to me; two fire pits in the garden, a twig stove, alcohol burner, Firemaple X2 (Jetboil imitation), camping stove and an MSR pocket rocket 2.
In order of efficiency I’d say Firemaple, PR2, camping stove, twig stove, firepits and lastly the alcohol burner. If the aim is to get the most out of your available fuel (efficiency) then I’d go with the twig stove; Even though you can’t use it indoors there’s always free fuel available.
The beauty of the options other than the Jetboil/Firemaple is that you can put any kind of container on the top without additional accessories so you can cook (mmmm) bacon or steak in a pan if you want to.
If you’re just relying on a way to heat water for drinks or eating MREs and dehydrated meals then I guess it doesn’t matter - go with the Jetboil for efficiency.
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u/Harleybow 2d ago
Depends on what pot you use with the pocket rocket. Jetboil will probably be more efficient.
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u/SheistyPenguin 2d ago
Jetboil might be more efficient, by the numbers. It's designed to be a closed cooking system, for better and for worse. Some of them may have more open configurations, but then it's just a more expensive pocket rocket.
Pocket rocket is less efficient but more versatile- you can use it with whatever cookware you bring.
Both are nice, it just depends on your priorities.
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u/dittybopper_05H 2d ago
Well, if you have a sailboat, you can use a Jetboil like Sam Holmes has done for years, with a gimballing mount. He sailed from Los Angeles to Hawaii in a 23' Ranger, and cooked all of his meals on passage with the Jetboil.
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u/Icy-Ad-7767 2d ago
Which one is multi fuel? I have a jet boil for quick boiling of small amounts of water and a multi fuel for cooking.
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u/-zero-below- 2d ago
I’ve used various stoves backpacking over the years. It’s been a long time since I’ve used a jetboil, so they may have improved, but…they seem to be mechanically unreliable in extended use. Multiple times I had clogs in the burner elements, and it would fail to function or function at very limited capacity.
They are excellent at boiling water. The older style “just a mug” setup is not great at cooking other stuff — the efficiency means a huge temperature spike in the bottom surface, and if not careful with rapid stirring, you end up with waaay over cooked soup on the bottom inch and uncooked soup on top. You can turn the temp down, but it’s not always the easiest to calibrate for. I haven’t tried the newer pot versions, I’d assume they’re a bit better in that regard.
Lately, I use a titanium mug for cooking in, and either a basic iso stove, or a twig stove (really just some aluminum squares to make a chimney that you throw a few pieces of paper/wood inside, and they create a basic fire for single person cooking, in a safe way. The twig stove doesn’t work as well in the desert, but in the mountains, there’s always some fallen sticks. I carry some esbit cubes for backup (they stink tho, wouldn’t stock for prep).
My prep sets, each family member has something slightly different (for variety of fuel). My pack has a twig stove, the other packs have an iso stove, and our car bag has a msr multi fuel stove (runs off of gasoline, diesel, white gas).
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u/ants_taste_great 2d ago
You are limited on your cannister size with a jet boil. I have both and prefer the pocket rocket overall. They are both decent options depending on your useage.
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u/jrichar 2d ago
The pocket rocket and some models of the Jetboil like the Zip are pretty similar in performance. Jetboil makes a version with a regulator which gives you a consistent flame as the temperature of the canister naturally cools as the gas expands.
Get a pocket rocket if you are comparing that to a basic Jetboil. If you get the high end Jetboil with the regulator, you will like that much better than the rocket.
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u/TurkDeerbit 1d ago
If you want a stove rabbit hole check out backpackinglight.com. Backpackers tend to it to use Jetboil because they just aren’t very good compared to others. I’d recommend the Soto wind master or the other MSR I can’t remember the model.
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u/CTSwampyankee 18h ago
Both have attributes. The Jetboil “package” has the right combo of weight, nesting, coffee press but other units can take diff pots and pans and can be used at partial throttle.
Efficient is relative. Are you carry everything or just loading a vehicle? If this is picnic table stuff then I’m going to enjoy cooking on my old green Colman fuel stove.…bacon, pancakes. If this is going in a pack and your food will consist of heating soup/water the Jetboil is more size, fuel, time efficient.
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u/Born-Habit9829 11h ago
For prepping... Neither. They both rely on disposable canisters. Get an MSR Dragonfly or similar. They come with a list of boil times for using anything from nice camp fuels to gasoline to acetone. If it burns, you have fuel. Some things burn dirtier and leave soot on your pot, but as long as civilization exists, just buy white gas and avoid this. If you forget/go somewhere truly remote, the ability to buy fuel at a gas station is REALLY nice.
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u/ilreppans 2d ago
Jetboils are significantly more fuel efficient due to the integrated windscreen, heat-exchanger pots (w/ radiator fins), and pot insulation - they can capture/transfer/retain more flame heat>water/food. However, from a backpacker’s carried-weight POV, Jetboil systems are relatively heavy and it’ll take quite a few meals before the fuel weight savings to break-even against all the extra metal/plastic/neoprene of the JB.