Most cookers roar, which might give the impression they're doing the job. With a name like Jetboil I thought it would be the same. However Jetboil purrs and is all about conserving the heat and concentrating it. A neat little flux ring yields fuel efficiencies of 80%, unlike 30/40% for a conventional cooker. Which translates into a weight saving on fuel. The blurb says a dinky 100g gas canister can boil 12 litres of water. Also the integral pot, with insulating surround, canister and electric igniter packs up neatly like a Russian doll and weighs in at only 400ish grams.

Did I verify these figures? Of course not, I chucked it into my pack and took it up a mountain to see if it worked for real. Two days and a couple of feet of new snow later the canister still had life left in it. A cuppa took a minute. Perfect for bivouacing when tea and boil in the bag meals are all that's needed. It was fine for two. My only gripe, the igniter failed (we carried a lighter) with a chill despite keeping the canister in a sleeping bag overnight, maybe the spark needs to be bigger?

It can easily be turned into a hanging stove without the need to drill holes or make other time consuming adjustments. Simply tie a jug-sling knot with a length of 2mm cord around the lip of the top. The knot is a bit fiddly and needs adjustment to get right but once tied it holds robustly. See how to tie a jug-sling knot here at youtube.com

MSR have a similar product due out soon and I'm sure other manufacturers will follow suit with this energy conserving type stove, which is ideal for the mountaineer. It will be interesting how this/these compare...

From the manufacturer: Jetboil PCS – the original Jetboil – has sparked a revolution in outdoor cooking. Boiling two cups in two minutes at 75-80% efficiency, the PCS is twice as fast and uses half as much fuel as conventional stoves. The PCS boils up to 50 cups (12 Liters) of water from only one Jetpower isobutane/propane micro-canister. Such outstanding performance results from the patent-pending FluxRing™ heat exchanger, which captures and focuses the burner's heat.

More information at: jetboil.com