Jetboil MightyMo Hiking Stove – Reviewed & Tested

Tim took Jetboil’s not-a-Jetboil across to Tasmania for a week’s worth of hiking and car camping. He’s here to tell you if its crack at a traditional backpacking stove is as well thought out as its cooking systems.

In biology, there’s this thing called ‘convergent evolution’. It’s the idea that similar traits can evolve from different places, things like wings, opposable thumbs, or even our eyes, which are similar to those of an octopus or squid, yet developed independently.

Since the early 2000s, Jetboil has been known for its ‘personal cooking systems’. By integrating the pot with the stove and adding a ‘FluxRing®’ they made setups that boiled water more quickly and saved gas doing it. They also got pretty good at making regulators, which help performance in the cold or at altitude, and allow you to simmer.

So I’ve been pretty curious for a while about the Jetboil MightyMo which, in an example of convergent evolution (stay with me!), has come back to the humble hiking stove design that has developed over time. Seriously, there’s a whole Wikipedia page about it.

Anyway, Jetboil sent me the latest version of its MightyMo before I drove down to Tasmania to hike the Overland Track, and car camp around for three weeks over summer. With a fiendish coffee habit and a rucksack full of freeze-dried meals and noodles, I was ready to give it a good walloping.

Lunch coffee at 11am? It’s not wasting fuel its ‘gear testing’

Why am I the right person to do this review?

I’ve been hiking and camping for 20 years now and have experienced pretty much every type of hiking stove there is. In particular I owned a Jetboil MiniMo, which is an integrated pot system with a bunch of similarities to the MightyMo, for about 8 years until it died and I’ve used competing stoves like the MSR Pocket Rocket 2, Soto Amicus with Igniter, the humble 360 Degrees Furno, and even the BRS-3000T.

I’ve done multiple comparisons, talked with many a hiker about my stove preferences whilst my meals rehydrate, and thought way too much about how to hone my setup into something light and efficient, without compromising usability.

The author’s passions include hiking and trail fashion

Quick Specifications

Dimensions: 10.4cm x 9.5cm
Weight: 98g
Power: 10000 BTU/h
Fuel: Propane & Iso-butane canister
Ignition: Push Button
Regulator: Yes
RRP: $149.99

ANOTHER lunch coffee?

Performance

Now if you’ve come here for a second-by-second comparison to other stoves I’m going to disappoint you, we don’t get quite that nerdy here at We Are Explorers. What I will do is tell you how the Jetboil MightyMo feels to use, and whether it lives up to its claims. Spoiler alert: it does.

Jetboil claim the MightyMo puts out 10,000 BTU an hour. That’s British Thermal Units for those playing at home, spiffing I say. That’s the same amount of heat as a bunch of car camping stoves, including the Jetboil Genesis. In hiking stoves, it’s about the middle of the range but, to a degree, it’s more about how you use it.

The wide burner head and regulator make good use of every bit of gas

Why’s a regulator important?

This is where the regulator comes in. On many gas canister based hiking stoves your options amount to ‘on’ or ‘off’. That’s fine if all you’re doing is boiling water, but can make it difficult if you need to simmer for any reason, or if you hate the roaring sound of a stove going full bore.

The ‘Mo’ series have regulators and igniters, making them very different to simpler stoves like the Jetboil Stash. The MightyMo regulator needs four full turns to reach its maximum, giving you more control than most at home setups. Two full turns are needed to light it, with the next turn taking the flame from decent to powerful. For the most part, this was where I set the stove to boil water, while I made good use of the simmer function when cooking some Strive Meals that needed five minutes on the boil to cook properly. Nothing burnt or stuck to the bottom, which was dreamy compared to some hiking stoves that I’ve used.

That final turn takes the flame to full power which is pretty turbo. It wrapped around the edges of my TOAKS Titanium 750mL pot, the pot supports glowed red, and a distinct roaring sound could be heard. It wasn’t as loud as an MSR Pocket Rocket 2, but it’s enough of a pet peeve that I was happy to keep it at about 80% power. The time to boil wasn’t noticeably affected either.

Full power was a bit much to be honest, simmer down alright?

The regulator also allows you to get optimal performance at altitude or in cold conditions. Jetboil say that it’ll be consistent down to -6°C, which tracks with the Jetboil MiniMo (which still boiled me some water at 4000m above sea level. Regulators also help with fuel efficiency and one 230g canister (the middle size) lasted us for five days and nights on the Overland track without being stingy with the gas (lunch noodles, second coffees? It’s a yes from me).

Wind Protection

Or lack thereof. This is the most surprising thing about the MightyMo, there’s no wind protection unless you decide to buy a Jetboil pot with FluxRing® on the bottom. Most hikers buying the MightyMo instead of a personal cooking system (including me) probably won’t do this, so the stove is exposed to crosswinds, which definitely hurts efficiency.

My solution so far, if I can’t get my body between the wind and stove, is to just turn it up to full power. This overcomes the issue pretty well but does waste fuel, the cost and weight of which might stack up on really long expeditions.

Durability

My first Jetboil MiniMo packed it in within the warranty period – gas just stopped coming out. I got a replacement and it lasted over 8 years before dying the same way. One critique I’ve had for a while of Jetboil is that they don’t give you much room for servicing. It’s all rivets and plastic, not bolts and screws. Stoves aren’t super complicated, so it’s a pity that repairs are hard, if not impossible. I’m not convinced that my first stove (or even the second) couldn’t have avoided landfill.

I haven’t tested this stove for long enough to know if it’ll last but so far it’s been perfect. The piezo ignition is usually the first thing to go and reviews online agree, but I love the convenience of having it there. I always pack a small lighter in my pot or first aid kit anyway so it doesn’t feel like a big issue.

All that being said, the ignition is definitely more solidly built than on the MiniMo and the pot supports are nice and solid, I don’t have big concerns about this stove lasting for many years to come.

I’m expecting many years of this from the MightyMo

Design

I wanked on a bit about evolution at the start of this review and here’s where I think it’s relevant again. Jetboil made its name through great design and a bunch of integrated cooking systems that understood the pain points of hiking stoves.

But there were still people out there using more traditional, smaller and lighter weight stoves, and, as a big name in hiking stoves, Jetboil couldn’t resist focusing its approach at improving the traditional stove design. Was it possible? Or was the design already honed to perfection, like a shark or a horseshoe crab?

First up, I LOVE how it folds up. The MightyMo gets quite small, with no dead space and no fuss to unfold it. The pot supports are wide enough to handle larger pots, but also allow me to see that a smaller pot is centred. The ignition is easy to grab and use one handed and the four turn regulator is brilliant. Full marks in this department.

Folds up super compact without any fuss

It is a little larger than some competitors, leading to a weight of 98g and larger packed size. But it still easily fits in my pot which I try and pack to avoid dead space anyway. Part of the size is due to the large burner head, which produces a broader flame that helps with simmering and utilising fuel with a consistent flame.

As for the extras, the little bag to protect it will be ditched by weight weenies, but I’ve kept it in to cushion the stove from rattling around in the pot and to use as a pot gripper. It’s thick and tough enough to allow me to handle fairly hot metal, which is surely intentional.

The bag is great and doubles as an oven mitt

As for the square pot support, which you might need for stability if you’re using a 100g canister, why is it so big? And why does it have four legs now instead of three? It just seems heavy and bulky (it doesn’t fit in my pot) and in need of a redesign.

Overall though, I think Jetboil’s attempt at convergent evolution has been a success here. The MightyMo is light, compact, powerful, efficient and easy to use. So what else does it have to do?

Sustainability

The Jetboil MightyMo arrived in plain cardboard box with a little plastic window, but had admirably little plastic inside once I got it open. Tick tick, no need to plastic wrap everything. Jetboil itself is a part of ‘Johnson Outdoors’ and there’s a section under ‘Positive Impact’ on its site about how they help out. So far I can see a thing about trail cleanups (the Clean Earth Challenge) and some non-specific stuff about supporting research organisations and leave no trace.

It basically boiled down to inspiring people to get outdoors, creating quality gear, and innovating, which are all great things to be doing, but not really the concrete sustainability initiatives we expect to see from premium outdoor brands in 2025.

I was surprised that Jetboil appeared to be doing so little in the sustainability space

Price

That’s the other thing, it’s not that cheap. The RRP is $150, though you’ll definitely get it for less than that, especially as the USD RRP is $60. Can we stop with the Australia tax already? It’s a lot more than the Soto Amicus with Igniter which is around $90, but it’s less than MSR’s PocketRocket Deluxe (the one with the igniter) that comes in at a cool $195 RRP. 

I’d love to see an effort to bring the price down a little, but I don’t think it’s outrageous given the quality and design the MightyMo has on offer. While it’s not winning weight and power output comparisons, it does everything well and without compromise, which is arguably more important.

Alongside the famous BRS-3000T which costs $26.50 and weighs 26g, but is known to be inefficient and can have reliability issues. It also doesn’t have a regulator or igniter

Final Thoughts

I love my Jetboil MightyMo. Even controlling for the bias of ‘it makes me coffee and snacks’ I can’t help but find the whole process of using it rather pleasing. From its quiet operation at a high output, to its efficiency, stowability, and the ability to simmer things really lightly when needed, the MightyMo has me considering more adventurous trail snacks beyond simple freeze dried meals, without compromising my compact and lightweight setup.

FAQs Jetboil MightyMo Hiking Stove

What stoves does the Jetboil MightyMo compete with?

The SOTO Amicus with igniter, SOTO Microregulator, MSR PocketRocket Deluxe, and 360 Degrees Furno stove with igniter are all comparable, as well as the Jetboil Flash and Jetboil MiniMo cooking systems. Not many hiking stoves combine a regulator and igniter in such a lightweight package though, MSR’s PocketRocket Deluxe is the closest comparison.

Do I have to use Jetboil’s jet fuel with the Jetboil MightyMo?

No, the MightyMo is compatible with standard butane canisters which have a Lindal B188 valve. This very standard valve type is often called EN 417, but this isn’t quite correct. It’s a 7/16″ threaded valve and you’ll be able to use fuel available from any brand stocked by hiking and outdoor stores.

Brands who make the fuel canisers include Jetboil, Mountain Safety Research, Optimus, Gasmate, Companion, and Primus. It’s usually some blend of butane, isobutane and propane.

How much water can I boil?

In optimal conditions Jetboil reckon a 100g canister of their fuel will be enough to boil 12 litres of water. In practice one 230g canister lasted my wife and I five days and nights, we cracked into a new canister for the final day of our hike.

Can I take this stove on a flight?

Some airlines get pretty weird about hiking stoves, even if there isn’t any gas bottle present. I’d always take it in my checked luggage and if you’re flying carry on only, bring documentation, clean it of any gas residue before you arrive, and be prepared to lose it.

Why should I buy a Jetboil MightyMo over an integrated cooking system?

You might want to save weight, utilise pots and pans that you already have, or spend less money upfront. Its biggest benefit is how little space it takes up.

Now You’ve Got the Stove, It’s Time to Cook

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