Jetboil Minimo Cooking System Review

The Jetboil Minimo is Jetboil’s most popular individual camp cooking system. Kate Donald bought one for herself recently and can already see why!

The first piece of hiking equipment that I ever purchased was a stove.

Not hiking boots, or a hiking backpack. Nope, as a food orientated person, the first thing I bought was kit for my camp kitchen.

I wanted to sip hot coffee on mountain peaks, and warm cups of soup on those cold trail days.

8 years on, I felt it was time to upgrade my original cooking set, and the ‘Jetboil Minimo Cooking System’ was my immediate choice.

While there are plenty of camp stoves to choose from, the Minimo is a short 1L pot, with Jetboil’s characteristic all-in-one stove design.

From the ‘Precision Cook’ range, it has a bunch of cooking specific features, to make the creation of camp meals even faster and easier.

First ‘hot takes’ and heating capacity

Jetboil entered the camp kitchen realm in 2001, and immediately developed a reputation for quality stoves. Check out another review we did on the Jetboil Stash.

They are particularly known for this ‘all-in-one’ stove design, where the burner and the cooking pot are combined and almost enclosed.

Jetboil’s FluxRing technology is what makes the Minimo heat so fast, whilst using less fuel than the regular stove attachment piece. It involves waves of metal that increase the surface area on the bottom of the pot, to improve the efficiency of the heat transfer.

This creates one very impressive boil time at only half the typical fuel consumption. It can boil 0.5L of water in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, with a 100g fuel cannister able to boil up to 12L of water.

Due to the semi-enclosed design, this performance is also guaranteed in cold weather down to -6˚C

How about that inbuilt pot!

The pot is notably shorter and wider than other Jetboil systems.

It’s described as being ‘optimized for low spoon angle’, which really just means that it’s easier to get your spoon to the bottom of the pot in search of food.

Insulated in a neoprene cosy, you can handle the outside of the pot whilst its contents stay warmer for longer and there are additional foldable and insulated metal handles on the side.

The lid is made of a lightweight thermoplastic that snuggly slips onto the pot. It has a strainer and a drink-through pour spout, which turn the pot into its own drinking cup.

The Minimo also comes with a plastic bottom cover to protect the Fluxring, that doubles as a measuring cup or additional bowl. I find this is also a great place to store your cleaning sponge after use.

More extra neat features

The feature that makes the Minimo such a great cooking system is certainly the simmer control.

The heat of the stove is incremental, so the flame is adjustable; from a simmer to a rolling boil. Like most gas stoves that heat over a single flame, it is still important to keep an eye on the contents whilst cooking and frequently stir to avoid burning food and having it stick to the bottom of the pot.

Advertised as the perfect size for one person, I’ve found it’s more than large enough for two. On our last trip, we rehydrated two serves of my Tex-Mex Rice with plenty of stirring room.

There is also a built-in push button igniter, that makes lighting the stove an absolute breeze, but I would recommend still carrying a backup lighter just in case.

I am yet to try igniting the stove in strong winds, but like most gas stoves, it’s wise to set it up in a protected area to reduce the amount of fuel needed and stop the flame from blowing out.

@jetboil

Design, Packability and Portability

The Minimo is a clever little design that packs away nicely.

The included fuel cannister stabilizer fits neatly into the lid, with the burner plus a 100g fuel cannister stowing away perfectly inside the pot.

Alternatively, a 230g gas cannister can fit in the pot, sacrificing the burner to be stored separately in the included storage bag.

Weighing in at 415g, it is on the bulkier side as far as hiking stoves come. For a lighter alternative, you’d be better off checking out the Jetboil Stash.

Upskill with a skillet, seriously!

The pot is absolutely fantastic for rehydrating meals, and boiling water. But if you want to lift your camp kitchen game, the additional Jetboil Skillet is a must.

I’m talking about camp Pad Thai and pancakes for breakfast on the Main Range!

The Minimo includes the pot support required to stabilise the Skillet, so it is instantly compatible without any additional purchases.

For $79.95 on Wild Earth, the Skillet is so worth it!

Price

Compared to a basic camp kitchen set up, such as a Trangia or 360 Degree Furno Stove, the Jetboil Minimo is expensive, retailing for $249.95 on Wild Earth.

However, the benefits of fast heating with efficient fuel use, outweigh the hefty price tag for me and I think anyone who is looking to upgrade their camp kitchen and create gourmet meals on the trail.

Kate purchased the Jetboil Minimo herself and this article is in no way sponsored by Jetboil. We Are Explorers does use affiliate links. If you buy anything through our Wild Earth links we earn a small commission, which helps keep our site free!