JetBoil Flash 1-Liter Stove Review
Hello, fellow trekkers! I’m Kyle, a full-time guide with Wildland Trekking, and today I’d like to talk about backpacking stoves. There are endless stove setups and cooking preferences scattered across the backpacking industry, and it can be tricky to lock in a stove that meets your needs and pack requirements. This is especially true in the age of quality freeze-dried meals, where the classic pot-and-stove combo needed to just boil water may seem unnecessarily bulky and inefficient in the backcountry.
Enter the JetBoil Flash 1L. First and foremost, this stove is designed to boil water as quickly and efficiently as possible for a hot drink or dehydrated meal. As a connoisseur of dried meals in the backcountry, I was delighted to take the latest Flash 1L on a series of tests to see what it has to offer. So let’s find out!
Award Winning Trekking Adventures
Since 2005, Wildland Trekking has been providing all-inclusive, guided hiking and backpacking trips across the USA and the world. Explore your world with the hiking experts!
JetBoil Flash 1L Quick Look
Let’s look at the Flash 1-Liter’s basic characteristics to get our bearings as we dive deeper into this review.
- MSRP: $144.99
- Weight: 13.1 oz. (not including fuel)
- Number of Burners: 1
- Fuel Type: Propane canister
- Boil Time: 120sec per .5 liter
- Includes:
- 1-Liter FluxRing Cup + Cozy
- Burner Assembly
- Fuel Can Stabilizers
Intended Use
First and foremost, the Flash 1-Liter is designed to boil water as quickly and efficiently as possible while minimizing weight/bulk. Therefore, this stove is targeted toward hikers who primarily rely on dehydrated meals in the backcountry and only need hot water to prepare those meals or make a nice warm drink. The Flash can also work for basic dishes, such as soup or pasta. However, backcountry chefs who enjoy preparing elaborate or in-depth meals will find the Flash lacking, as it offers less temperature control and versatility with the included 1-liter pot. But note, the Flash can be used with other skillets or pots.
Flash 1-Liter Notable Features
There are a few features that make the Flash stand out among the crowd of stove options. Let’s take a close look at these features to better understand what this stove has to offer.
- Secure Pot Connection – allows the pot to lock into place for a snug, tight fit for maximum heat efficiency.
- FluxRing Heat Exchanger – features a formed metal ring on the bottom of the pot in a tight wave pattern. This ring increases the pot’s surface area exposed to heat, allowing the water to boil faster.
- Fuel Can Stabilizer – features small, stabilizing legs that can be attached to your fuel canister. This increases the overall stability of the (top-heavy) stove assembly, giving you more flexibility to work on uneven surfaces.
JetBoil Company Background
JetBoil exploded into the backpacking and hiking world in 2004 with their original all-in-one JetBoil stove design, revolutionizing boiling water in the backcountry. Since then, JetBoil has introduced a huge selection of cooking solutions for any scenario, from a family car-camping event to a snowbound alpine camp on the side of Mount Rainier. Additionally, JetBoil offers several cooking implement options, including pots, pans, utensils, and coffee presses. Over the last twenty years, JetBoil has reliably demonstrated a panache for well-built and feature-rich stoves that have earned the brand an excellent reputation among hikers.
THE TEST – QUICK OVERVIEW
My testing took place during backpacking trips to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.
Overall, the weather was mild and quite pleasant. I encountered moderate winds in the mountains, and temperatures in the 70 to 80 Fahrenheit range along with an occasional drizzle. Therefore, I didn't push the Flash stove to any extremes, but I had ample opportunity to test its functionality in the backcountry.
The Review
Now that we’ve covered the basics of the JetBoil Flash Stove, it’s time to dive into the review and see how it actually performed in the field. Below, I’ll cover the main performance categories for a camping stove and give the Flash a rating from 1 to 5. The key to these ratings is below, and I’ll back up each rating with information from my test that influenced my scoring.
Rating Key:
1/5 = Poor
2/5 = Tolerable
3/5 = Fair
4/5 = Good
5/5 = Excellent
SETUP – 5/5
Easiest stove set up I’ve ever used!
JetBoil made it so easy and convenient to set up the Flash. Just open the stove, screw it onto the gas canister, twist the pot into place, turn the gas lever, and the stove is lit and ready to cook. I particularly like that the pot smoothly clicks and locks into the stove base and has clear visual indicators confirming that it is locked. Additionally, the included instructions are equally simple and straightforward.
So, top points to set up the Flash 1.0. This stove is a breeze to get started. What’s more, all the pieces, the stove, the stand, and the gas canister, nest into the pot for easy packing.
Ease of Use – 4/5
Cooking was a breeze with the JetBoil! I can make easy dishes on the go in a “FLASH.”
The source of this ease of use is, in large part, due to the integrated ignitor-gas lever. As I turn the dial to get the gas flowing, the ignitor automatically triggers and lights the fuel. No finicky button to push while also turning on the gas or fiddling with a lighter. Just a smooth, one-and-done mechanism that’s so easy to operate.
I will say that the heat distribution could use a little work. It’s difficult to keep the stove from blasting a powerful flame. Therefore, it’s very easy to develop a hotspot that makes low-heat simmering a bit trickier. Therefore, I felt a lower power setting may be beneficial.
But the powerful flame definitely helps boil water quickly. I tested JetBoil’s claim to boil 0.5 liters in two minutes, and I can confirm it does!
Weight/Bulk – 4/5
The JetBoil is among the lightest systems out there! The MSR Pocket Rocket is definitely the lightest, but this Flash system can compete with the best of them.
At only 13 oz for the stove and pot, this is quite a lightweight system considering the heavy punch it packs.
But the main drawback to such a lightweight and packable system is that it lacks capacity cooking. What I mean here is that you can’t cook for multiple people with just this stove. It’s designed for one person, maybe two, eating comparatively simple or dehydrated food. So, for more complicated dishes or more hikers, this stove just doesn’t have the capacity or capability.
But for the lightweight, powerful cooking performance the Flash offers, it’s absolutely perfect for the backcountry!
Durability – 4/5
Durability is quite good!
We’ve come to expect uncompromising reliability in propane camp stoves, and the Flash lives up to that expectation. Liquid-fuel stoves tend to be much more finicky and require regular cleaning to function properly, but the propane-fueled Flash burned through my durability testing with almost no problems!
The stove itself seems rugged and well-suited to the rough-and-tumble world of backpacking. The only potential weak component I can see is the wavy FluxRing on the bottom of the pot, but this is well-protected by the pot’s locking mechanism, and I don’t foresee any issues there.
The one and only durability issue I encountered is the inside surface of the pot (where the water/food goes). While cleaning, I noticed that this surface is very prone to scratching, and can quickly look weathered and “tired.” This issue doesn’t affect the stove’s performance one iota, but it’s something to be aware of, and I’d recommend washable plastic or wooden utensils (instead of metal) to help mitigate this problem.
Cleaning – 3/5
Luckily, the stove’s unique locking function – to securely lock the pot in place and maximize heat transfer – has the added benefit of easy cleaning.
With classic camp stove setups, it’s easy for food or water to splash over the pot’s rim, trickle down the side, and dirty the stove. But with the Flash, the pot and stove lock together to form a single unit. Therefore, a messy pour or overzealous stirring is much less likely to gum up the stove. The included cozy is also straightforward to wash and keep looking fresh.
My only gripe with cleaning is, again, the inside pot coating. I found that food chunks delight in sticking to the inside coating, making cleaning more tedious as I scrubbed off those food remnants. This issue also joins hands with my single durability note above: the inside pot surface is prone to scratching, and aggressive scrubbing can lead to scratches.
Overall Quality – 4/5
Overall, I think the JetBoil Flash is one of the best systems out there for backpacking and quick meals.
The build is precise, high-quality, and extremely effective for the target purpose of boiling water quickly. From setup to ignition to cooking to packing up, this system performed almost flawlessly. Additionally, the thoughtfulness of designing this entire system to nest perfectly into the pot (including the fuel) for easy packing is outstanding.
Apart from the somewhat temperamental coating inside the pot, which I discussed above, the overall quality of the JetBoil Flash is top-notch!
Price – 5/5
To be clear, I didn’t give the Flash a 5/5 score for price because it’s cheap. To the contrary, the Flash is a comparatively expensive backpacking stove. However, I firmly believe that the value it brings to your kit makes that price well worth it. With that in mind, I gave the Flash a top score for price because it delivers exceptional quality and effectiveness in exchange for the steep price.
Honestly, this stove boils water so quickly and efficiently that heating up a quick dehydrated meal at the end of a long hiking day is a breeze. Getting dinner ready is no longer a production, and you can be eating in just a couple of minutes with this system. I can’t put a price on that utility and usefulness, so top marks to the Flash for price.
Bringing It Together
Whew, we’ve covered a lot of facets of the JetBoil Flash. Therefore, I’ve compiled all the main pros and cons of my test below to help bring all the performance categories together.
Pros:
- Boils water ridiculously quickly
- Quality, durable built
- Sleek design
- Entire system (pot, stove, gas, and stabilizers) all nest together for easy packing
- Very easy and intuitive to set up and light
Cons:
- Pot interior scratches easily
- Expensive for a backcountry stove
- Designed to boil water as fast as possible, so precision cooking is not its forte.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the Flash 1-liter lived up to the hype around the JetBoil brand. This backpacking stove system is truly outstanding at boiling water as quickly and effectively as possible. Within that targeted use, I can easily recommend the Flash for any backpacker utilizing dehydrated meals or simple soups/ramen as their primary calorie source.
The Flash is incredibly straightforward to set up and use. I particularly enjoyed the integrated ignitor-fuel dial, which automatically ignites the stove as soon as you twist it to start the gas flow. Overall material quality and design are rugged and sleek, producing a pleasing balance between utilitarian and eye-catching. Once the meal is over, the Flash is very easy to disassemble, and all the components nest into the pot for easy packing. So, from start to finish, my testing showed the Flash to be a stellar cooking system for quick boils.
However, it’s important to point out that the stove’s purpose of boiling water quickly does make it harder to use for more precise or involved cooking. The stove flame is less adjustable than others, and it’s easy to produce a “hot spot” that will quickly scorch food. Additionally, I found the pot’s interior lining to be a little scratch-prone and more vulnerable to sticking food. But on the whole, these are minor critiques, and the Flash’s stated purpose of boiling water as quickly and effectively as possible is certainly accomplished and worth adding to your kit, in my opinion.