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Something warm in your stomach strengthens morale and gives back energy. When outdoors, it is important that warm drinks or meals can be prepared quickly, consuming little energy, and adding as little weight to the baggage as possible. The international military still relies on the good old Esbit cookers, as well as some places use gasoline stoves - not to forget - the heaters from the MRE (Meal ready to eat), which are a brilliant concept due to their heat signature and low susceptibility to wind. The company Jetboil has been in the cooker business since 2001, but as far as we know, they have not yet signed any contracts with the military. Nonetheless, the cookers definitely have their justification, and we have taken a closer look at the Flash PCS (Personal Cooking System) model.

As mentioned earlier, desirable features of a cooker are low weight, energy efficiency, compact size, and fast cooking times. The Jetboil Flash delivers all of that and performs quite well in every discipline.

The Jetboil Flash is, like all Jetboil cookers, a gas stove. Gas is cheap, fairly available, but tends to become liquid at low temperatures. This naturally decreases the performance below 0° C permanently. However, if you still want to use the gas stove in sub-zero temperatures, you can buy special gas from manufacturers like Snowpeak or Coleman, consisting only of propane and isobutane. This allows it to be used up to -15° C.

But back to the Flash. Flash = Lightning - and that's true: The Jetboil Flash boils half a liter of water in 2.5 minutes: Enough water for a Travellunch meal or coffee/tea for one person.

Actually, we are not talking about a cooker here, but a cooking system. The PCS includes not only the actual burner but also the clever aluminum pot with a liter capacity. Clever because the bottom of the pot is equipped with the so-called Fluxring™. This ensures better heat distribution and acts as a windscreen at the same time. Furthermore, the pot comes with a neoprene cover (removable) so you don't burn your hands. There is also a heat indicator on the side that changes color when the pot is hot, and a handle is also present. The pot is designed to accommodate almost all other parts of the system for transport - including the gas canister. To protect the fins of the Fluxring and to have an additional cup, the PCS also comes with a plastic bowl that seals the system at the bottom in pack mode. The weight of the PCS is 488 grams without a gas cartridge.

The burner itself is equipped with a piezo ignition and is adjustable. To operate, simply remove the lid from the pot, take out the burner, cartridge, and feet, then screw the cartridge onto the burner. Next, attach the feet to the cartridge and place the pot on top. That’s it, and you're ready to go. With a 100g screw cartridge, you can either boil 12 liters of water or cook for 1 hour. That's quite efficient.

We have used the cooker over an extended period both indoors and outdoors and found no defects in autumnal temperatures. The soft lid, however, gets very hot and cannot be removed without tools, otherwise, you'll burn your fingers. But since the lid has a loop and a slot, you'll surely find a way to remove it without pain.

To give it a little more depth, we pitted the Jetboil against a few other cookers at an outside temperature of 1°C. It's not an exact scientific experiment since we didn't use the same pot shapes, but it does show how well the Jetboil performs. Especially when considering that with this cooker, you can cover 3 seasons effortlessly, and even venture into sub-zero temperatures with a bit of patience and a warmed gas cartridge.

Here are the cookers compared:

- Jetboil Flash PCS 1 Liter

- Primus Multifuel (powered by petroleum) + Snowpeak Titantopf 2 Liter

- Trangia Spirituskocher (+ modified Esbit Trockenbrennstoffkocher) + Esbit Topf 585ml

- Out of competition: Hobokocher with wood

To make the comparison somewhat fair, all pots were filled with 400ml of water to accommodate the smallest pot.

Despite the outdoor temperature, the water boiled fastest in the Jetboil - it took just under 6 minutes. The gas canister had not been exposed to the outdoor temperature for a long time, so the result would have been slightly worse if the gas was very cold.

In second place is the Primus Multifuel (o.) with just one minute more cooking time. After 11 ½ minutes, the spirit burner (u.) was the last to finish.

We didn't measure the Hobo (u.), but it also eventually finishes and has the advantage of being able to be fueled with wood. This is usually available outdoors, and with its pack size, it's always a good idea to have such a cooker as a backup if you don't want/can't/shouldn't cook over an open fire.

Observations/Insights from the test: As mentioned earlier, the cooking performance with gas depends on the outdoor temperature. In this regard, the Jeboil did an excellent job. Additionally, it burns quite quietly and with minimal visible flames, which is certainly a factor. The Primus burns with a loud noise, being an older model (there are now quieter options available). Furthermore, the nozzle needs to heat up first, which means burning with a bright flame until the system is hot enough to switch to a blue flame.

During cooking, a slight wind blew, which affected the spirit burner and the Primus cooker more than the Jetboil.

When packing, it's clear that despite the optimized setup with the Primus, the Jetboil is more compact and much lighter. The spirit burner also performs well here, especially when using a small pot.

Jetboil also offers an optional attachment that allows you to use regular pots and pans with the system.

CONCLUSION: As a personal cooking system for three seasons, there is nothing faster and better than this. The Jetboil Flash PCS shines with its compact size, low weight, and good gas consumption when it's not cold. A clear recommendation from us!

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