Throughout my years of backpack hunting, I’ve fired up a stove or two…or 10 and Jetboil has always been a top performer in this category. My first stove ever was a Jetboil. So, when I got word that they released their most ultralight stove yet, I just had to get my hands on it. The Jetboil Stash will be getting at least a few backpack rides in 2025 from me. Right off the bat, I have a few thoughts and one concern.
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The Jetboil Stash is what I’d call an open-flamed stove. Meaning the flame is completely exposed under the pot, unlike most other Jetboil stoves. Like most Jetboils, everything you need conveniently fits right into the cooking pot. Inside the pot you’ll find the stove and support legs for your fuel canister. The stove folds down into a small bag for storage and the fuel canister actually attaches to the underside of the lid. Everything comes in at 8.2 oz without a fuel canister. This stove does not have an ignitor. Because of that, I added in a small piezo ignitor of my own.
Right upon receiving the Stash, I liked how small it was packed down when compared to my Jetboil Zip, which is the stove I’ve ran for years now. It was slightly wider but seemed about half of the height. Just the pot itself felt extremely ultralight as well. It’s not nearly as beefy as other Jetboil models. Whether that will hold up over time remains to be seen, but just my observations.
Overall, I really liked the design and thought that was put into this. When you’re trying to cut weight, without losing too much functionality, you need to get creative and Jetboil did that. The fuel canister attached to the lid is a prime example.
All of that said, there was a test in order of course. I needed to see how quickly this thing would boil water. Jetboil advertises 2.5 minutes for 16 oz. of water.
I ran the stove with no wind and 16 oz of water in the pot. And just like advertised, the stove boiled water in 2.5 minutes. Pretty impressive and an absolute torch of a little stove. You can cut time off of that too, because most meals these days are requiring in the realm of 10 oz of water, unlike the standard that was 16 oz from back in the day. To help the pot from slipping off of the stove, there are cutouts that the pot sits in on the stove wings. This is a bomber stove no doubt, but I do have one concern.
My one concern with the Jetboil Stash is its ability to perform in the wind. These open-flame designs tend to suffer when Mother Nature whooshes her way through camp. I’ve had stoves take in upwards of 10 minutes to boil water in these conditions. When there is no wind, they crush. However, when the wind blows, you’re just not getting as concentrated of a flame on the bottom of the pot.
There are some tricks of course to mitigate this. Things like setting your stove up on the leeward side of a boulder, cooking on the leeward side of a hill, or even using your backpack as a wind barrier while you cook. Another thing you can do is pack some tinfoil and build a wind barrier around the stove.
The Jetboil Stash is about to get some game time here this coming January. So far I like what I’m seeing, despite my one concern. It’s lightweight, packs down small, and boils water quickly. I’m all about getting more efficient in the backcountry. Time will tell if it’s more efficient, or just more lightweight. There is a difference and I have high hopes.
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