There are 2 ways to make things lighter. You can remove parts of the gear like built-in lighters on a stove. Removing the materials that make that part will make the gear lighter. 

The other way is to build the same thing with lighter materials. 

When you do both, you can make something really light. But sometimes that sacrifices performance and it doesn’t work as well as it used to. 

It’s very rare when an item can maintain the same performance and get smaller and lighter at the same time. 

Jetboil has done just that with the new Stash stove (in some conditions…).

Summary

The quick boil times of the Jetboil Stash Stove are very welcome on a cold morning on the trail and fitting the pieces together is so easy. I usually leave the fuel stabilizer behind and save a few grams. The pot pours well without burning your hands or having to remove. Highly recommended.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Very packable and nests well with fuel
• Pot pours well

Cons

• FluxRing fins a bit sharp on the bottom
• Stove rattles a bit inside the pot (can pack with toilet paper)
• No regulartor

The Jetboil Stash Stove

The Stash stove is a titanium stove burner with a .8 liter anodized aluminum pot that nest together. The stove, fuel and fuel stabilizer all fit inside the pot. Metal FluxRing fins along the bottom help the pot keep it’s 2.5 minute JetBoil-like boil time. 

The plastic lid has an air hole in the middle and a small pour spout to one side. The rubberized metal handle snaps over the lid and keeps it shut. The lid and nice handle let you pour immediately after the water is done boiling.

The whole thing weights 200 grams or 7.1 ounces.

• 200 grams (7.1 ounces)
• 2.5 minute boil time (for 500 ml)
• .8 liter pot with FluxRing heat exchanger
• 4500 BTU titanium burner
• Fuel stabilizer included
• $169.99 CAD ($129.95 USD)

Let’s dig into what we like and then what could use improvement.

What we like

Lightweight

The whole kit comes with an anodized aluminum pot, titanium burner in a protective fabric bag, plastic lid and plastic 3-legged stand for the fuel canister. 

All this comes in at just 200 grams (7.1 ounces).

Jetboil says it’s the lightest Jetboil ever. 

Gram counting your gear is an interesting game of cutting whole items out or cutting features from other ones. For me personally, I cut all the grams I can so I can pack camera gear as well and not kill my back.

The Stash pot and stove nest well

The Stash has been designed from the start to nest and pack well. The fuel stabilizer and stove fit in the bottom of the pot. 100g fuel canisters (the smaller ones) snap into the lid upside down which then fits snugly into the pot leaving just enough room for the stove. 

There’s room for a small BIC-sized lighter between the bottom of the fuel canister and the lid and the whole lid is held down by the rubberized aluminum handle that flips up and holds the lid on. 

The whole thing packs up to just the size of the pot. Inside there’s still a bit of room around the fuel canister for other tiny items you’re packing.

Fast boil time

The boil time is as advertised at exactly 2.5 minutes for 500 ml of water. I was testing around 200 meters above sea level at about 5° Celcius (41°F). 

The FluxRing around the bottom is made of aluminum fins that connect to the bottom of the pot. The fins increase the surface area that can be heated transferring more heat into the water in the pot.

I haven’t gone through an entire canister yet but Jetboil says the fuel usage is about 12 liters of water per 100 grams of fuel. So one small canister will boil 12 liters of water.

Lid could snap better onto the pot 

This is just my own feeling of it. The lid really does snap onto the pot well but it just doesn’t look like it’s going to hang on there.

But it does without any problems. I filled the pot to the brim with water, put the lid on and shook the pot like crazy upside down to see if I could get the lid to come off. Water comes out the spout but the lid stays on. It just doesn’t look like it will. 

The handle flips up and over the lid so it stayed shut in my pack no problem. 

What could use improvement

No regulator

Stoves with no regulator in the valve will drop in performance as the fuel gets low in your canister and in cold temperatures. They also help limit the output of the stove to a steady amount so you get a similar cooking temperature during most of the fuel canister. 

For fair weather backpackers eating backpacking meals, this doesn’t really matter. Crank the stove to boil water and that’s it. For those wanting to use the stove in the freezing temperatures or to nicely simmer ingredients to a finer meal, it’s not going to work that well. Using a MightyMo or MicroMo that are regulated might be better in those cases.

FluxRing edges could snag lightweight gear

The insides of the FluxRing metal aren’t sharp but could still snag very thin gear. I haven’t had an issue with it but I wouldn’t pack thin puffy jackets, tent flies or sleeping bags against the bottom of the FluxRing.

Open to the wind

There’s little protection to the wind on the sides. This goes back to the idea of cutting parts and features to make gear lighter. Removing material around the burner makes the Stash lighter. It’s also more open to the wind. If you are often in situations where you need to get the most from your stove in the wind and can’t protect it, then this might not be the stove for you. I have never had a problem sheltering my stove from the wind with logs, trees, rocks or the tent so I’m happy to have the weight savings. 

But there’s no igniter?

Nope. If you really like built-in igniters then you’ll have to look elsewhere. 

I’ve never liked them built-in. Any that I have used just break after a while. I prefer to take my own lighter and ferro rod. 

Conclusion

Verdict: Highly recommended.

Lighter gear with better performance always has a place in my bag. 

I’ve long used a SnowPeak Litemax titanium stove and Snowpeak Ti 700 titanium pot. They’re just enough size to boil water for food and coffee and don’t weigh much. My only issue with the pot has been that the lid doesn’t stay on and has to be removed to pour. I have to carry an elastic band to keep the lid on and fiddle with utensils to get the lid off. Not a big deal but can be a bit of a hassle.

The quick boil times of the Stash are very welcome on a cold morning on the trail and fitting everything together is so easy. I’d probably leave the fuel stabilizer behind and save a few grams. Being able to pour the pot without burning your hands or having to remove the lid is really nice.

More photos of the Jetboil Stash Stove

Note: this post was originally published April 1, 2021.

Disclaimer: We received the Stash for free from Jetboil to review.

The post Jetboil Stash Stove Review: Light and Packable first appeared on Pack & Trail.

The LiteMax is one of the lightest canister stoves I’ve ever seen. It’s easy to carry because of that. Pair it up with a small titanium pot to boil water in and you’ve got a very lightweight cooking solution.

The LiteMax is a canister stove and uses iso-butane canisters. You can use any iso-butane canister like Snowpeak or MSR.

Boil time is a little slow at over 4 minutes.  Some other canisters can boil a litre in 3.5. It gets the job done fast enough for me.

I used it on my 6 day West Coast Trail hike and loved it. Lightweight, reliable, hot. Never had any problems with it. We also had an MSR pocket rocket which worked great as well, it’s just a bit heavier.

What I like about the LiteMax

Lightweight – The LiteMax is very lightweight and small. It’s easy to pack up into a pot or throw in it’s little carrying case and tuck somewhere in your pack. Without it’s case it’s only 54 grams (1.9 oz). It’s not the very lightest in canister stoves but it’s close.

Cools quickly – because it’s titanium, the metal arms that hold up the pot cool very quickly. This is a nice “feature” if you want to pack up your stove soon after you are done cooking.

What I don’t like about the LiteMax

Loose Arms – The arms unfold and then rotate around the burner. This makes it easier to fold up and store. Sometimes the arms don’t stay rotated where you put them though, the connections are a bit loose. As soon as a pot is on them they stay put for the most part. Having a bit tighter connections keep them in place would be nice.

Remember to close the valve – The valve handle folds back onto the bottom of the stove for storage to make it smaller. You have to open the valve a bit when folding it. When you unfold it you have to remember to rotate it closed all the way so fuel doesn’t start leaking when screwing it onto the canister. Being able to fold the valve handle in a completely OFF position would be nicer.

Conclusion

I love hiking with the LiteMax. It’s small, light and easy to use. I haven’t had one issue with it yet (knock on wood!). I would be interested in trying out some stoves with a lower boil time, if you’re trying to save space and only have one stove for a group, you want that water to boil as fast as it will go.

Photos of the Snowpeak LiteMax

Other Reviews

Backpacker.com review

Camping Stove Cookout review (video)

Trailspace reviews

Campsaver.com review

REI reviews

HikeLight review

The post Review: Snowpeak LiteMax Canister Stove first appeared on Pack & Trail.