Jetboil Zip 0.8L Fast Boil System – Reviewed & Tested

After years feeling left out of the Jetboil crowd, Jack got his hands on the new and improved Jetboil Zip 0.8L.

 

‘Maybe I should upgrade?’, I wonder as I carefully balance my 360 Furno, trying not to knock it off its burner, again. As I wait for my water to boil, my mind wanders, ‘is it just the distinct Jetboil look? Or is boiling water a minute forty quicker really worth dropping an extra 100 bucks?… The Jetboil owners are already tucking in.

I’ve long envied the Jetboil crowd, their distinct pot cosies, always being beaten to the boil, everything all neat and integrated. Not to mention the obligatory tales of escapades.

Fast forward to now, and it’s my chance to see if they’re worth the hype. Although they look similar, Jetboil has three products in its Fast Boil range, and the Jetboil Zip 0.8L Fast Boil System is the most affordable of the bunch. It’s been revised to become lighter and faster, but for me, it’s missing just one thing.

Can you guess what’s missing?

Why am I the right person to do this review?

Ever since my first overnight hike, my trusty 360 Degrees Furno has joined me whenever I’m sleeping on the trail. It’s simple, reliable and gets the job done – which is all I want from my outdoor gear.

I bike, hike, trail run, surf, snorkel, the list goes on, and I have a bunch of random camera gear to capture it all too. While also wanting to keep it simple, it means when a new obsession comes along, I ask myself, ‘what do I actually need, and can it be used across all of my activities?’ I like to avoid getting carried away, accumulating the latest whiz-bang kit for tiny feature upgrades.

Are the features of the Jetboil Zip 0.8L worthy of upgrading my stove? Let’s find out.

‘spose I better get up and test this stove

Quick Specifications

Dimensions: 10.8 cm x 16.51 cm
Weight: 324g
Capacity: 0.8L
Output: 4500 BTU/h
Fuel: Iso-butane / Propane canister
Ignition: None
Regulator: No
RRP: $189.99

Packs up smaller than my Nalgene!

Performance

The Jetboil Zip 0.8L has a simple, yet critical mission: boil water. And it accomplishes that mission extremely quickly.

If you’re on a multi-day trip and boiling water for two, this is where the Zip performs best, boiling two cups of water in about two minutes.

It’s thanks to the patented Fluxring technology that’s used across the Jetboil range. The corrugated aluminium ring increases the surface area of heat transfer, optimising the heat thrown from the flame, making it faster and more efficient than other stoves on the market.

Twist, lock, boil!

When I timed it for this review, on a wintery 12-degree celsius day with cold tap water, 500mL reached a rolling boil in two minutes and forty seconds. My 360 Degrees Furno in the same position took three minutes and forty seconds. A whole minute saved!

This speed of boil is quicker with less water, so if you’re just making a coffee for yourself, you’ll be caffeinated pronto.

It might say 0.8L in the name, but max fill is 500ml

While this is great for the impatient, it’s also a win for weight-conscious and fuel-efficient Explorers, as the Zip claims to burn through a Jetboil 100g fuel canister in 40 minutes, or boil 500mL of water twenty times.

The Zip is the lightest of the Fast Boil range, and the 342g pot and stove are easily shoved into the pannier hanging off the back of my bike as I rattle along gravel roads and singletrack into the forests of the Adelaide Hills.

Compact, lightweight and easily stowable

Despite, being advertised as a boiling water device only, on the particular overnight bike trip pictured, I couldn’t help but stick to my usual routine and see if I could get away with cooking some noodles in the pot.

While my noodles boiled to success, it wasn’t without difficulty. The 0.8L pot is reasonably skinny, so while eating out of the small pot with a standard fork was manageable, getting my hand in to clean it was difficult. Although I could turn the stove down with the Zip’s upgraded easy-turn valve, it wasn’t enough to prevent the rice noodles from sticking to the bottom.

On a crisp winter morning, ready for a second day in the saddle, I fired up the Jetboil Zip and before I’d finished hand-grinding the beans for my aeropress coffee, the steam was whooshing through the spout. The speed caught me off guard; you want to keep an eye on this thing. Luckily, the insulating cosy could keep the water warm while I continued prepping my coffee.

Essential bikepacking nutrition: caffeine

I then moved on to my oats, which I was able to boil the water for, turn the stove off and then place the oats in to cook and eat out of the pot. The insulating cosy even kept them warm as I chowed down. While this time it didn’t stick, cleaning would have been easier if I had just boiled water in the pot, as it’s intended, and used a bowl.

Read more: Sea To Summit Frontier Ultralight Collapsible 1L Pot Cook Set – Reviewed & Tested

Comfortably clasped with one hand for easy porridge scoffing

If you like eating ready meals, such as Offgrid or On Track Meals, designed to be reheated by submerging the packet in boiling water, you’ll find the Zip too small and will be better off looking at the larger versions like the Jetboil Flash.

With my rogue testing of things the Zip is not advertised to do complete, I now know what it’s designed for. I’ll be adding a bowl to my kit along with an expensive dehydrated meal.

Don’t forget to buy a gas canister

Design

Unpacking the Jetboil Zip from my pannier is a delight. The lid with a drink/pour spout peels back to reveal the 100ml Jetboil fuel canister and stovetop sitting millimetre-perfect within the 800ml pot, while the Jetboil-orange pot stand – a colour that won’t get lost in the dirt – neatly clips around the stove.

‘Aah Chris, it’s perfect,’ the voice in my brain-rotted head recites in the Kardashian voice that’s been trending on Instagram. As I loathe the impact social media has had on my brain, I’m further frustrated by the one thing Jetboil have missed on the Zip: an ignition.

As I fumble around retrieving my lighter, I’m surprised that Jetboil hasn’t included the piezo ignition that’s found on their other products. Is it simply Jetboil wanting a point of difference for their more expensive options? While I always carry a lighter or flint with me, it’s not a dealbreaker, but it seems an odd oversight for an extremely well-thought out product. I understand it’s one less thing to break in the field, but if it did, that’s when I’d prefer to reach for my lighter, not every time I want to fire it up.

The lighter also doesn’t fit into the pot amongst the stove and gas canister, which is odd considering they’ve made it essential. Despite that frustration, it has everything else Explorers have come to expect from a Jetboil.

Lose this and you’ll go hungry

The heat-resistant neoprene cosy allows for easy handling when the pot is hot, and the width of the pot allows it to be grasped with one hand as the stitched-in handle is large enough for you to slot your hand through for stability.

The twist-and-lock system that attaches the pot to the burner keeps the unit sturdy when cooking and the fuel can stabiliser is on hand for even more stability when required. To operate, you’ll need to light the stove before the pot’s attached – the new contoured grip underneath the stove allows for an easy and safe spot to grip and attach the pot.

The gas burner of the stove is raised from the twist and lock ring, limiting the use of other pots without purchasing Jetboil Pot Support 2.0.

Want to use another pot? You’ll need an accessory for that

Using an external pot is where the oven-like control valve may be most useful. Its easy-to-grip design appears identical to the control valve on the Jetboil Flash 1L that Amy reviewed, which adds to the disappointment that it doesn’t include a piezo ignition in its twist functionality.

The Jetboil also comes with a lightweight black cover that twist-locks to the base protecting the FluxRing®, and doubling as a measuring bowl. The second use case shows the precision Jetboil takes to product design, but I can’t see it being that handy. It could be your bowl and it’d be much easier to clean than the pot, but given it’s only a little bigger than 250ml, it’s quite small. Maybe a wide-mouthed cup?

The cover doubles as an awkwardly sized bowl

Unlike the larger Flash, there’s no heat meter on the Zip, to check when the contents inside has boiled. For me, I had no problem determining when it was at full boil as the steam abruptly bursts through the lid’s spout, but this could be handy to determine if the contents inside are still hot, and adds a level of safety.

Big thumbs appreciate big control valves

Sustainability

It’s hard to know if Jetboil give a shit. The Jetboil Zip 0.8L arrived in cardboard-only packaging, which was impressive, but really should be a benchmark for all manufacturers. Still, eliminating plastic is important and it’s good to see.

For many brands, a scroll to the website footer is where you’d normally find a link to their sustainability or other corporate social responsibility initiatives, but for Jetboil, it wasn’t that easy to find.

A deeper dive into their parent brand Johnson Outdoors, shows there is some action being taken. They’ve created the Clean Earth Challenge which encourages outdoor enthusiasts to collect rubbish in the outdoors, and have decreased their operational emissions from specific factories, as well as reduced plastic packaging across all the brands they manage.

However their sustainability report barely mentions Jetboil and is missing the kind of specific carbon targets or third party audits or commitments we’re looking for to give a brand a passing grade here.

One website called ‘DitchCarbon’ gave Jetboil a score of 3/100 for its efforts to assist in the reduction of carbon emissions, while other comparable brands, like Primus, scored 27/100. Work to be done.

You’ll know when it’s ready

Price

At $189, there are cheaper ways to boil water, but they don’t often come with the premium design features of the Jetboil, which packs succinctly, is lightweight, and extremely fast and efficient.

If you’re looking at getting into multi-day hiking, a cheaper alternative, like the 360 Degrees Furno, will get the job done and give you more flexibility to find the type of meal you like to whip up on the trail.

If you’re more experienced and looking to save weight and fuel on a multi-day hike (and have a go-to dehydrated meal) with a simple, reliable stove, then this is the cheapest way to acquire the Jetboil experience.

How fast do you need your coffee?

Final Thoughts

The Jetboil Zip 0.8L sets out to do one thing, boil water fast and efficiently, and it does both of those things extremely well. It’s perfect for a multi-day adventurer living off dehydrated meals and coffee, which will be whipped up faster than you can rustle through your pack to find a lighter.

FAQs Jetboil Zip 0.8L

What’s the difference between the old and new Jetboil Zip?

According to Jetboil, the old Jetboil Zip boiled 500ml of water in two minutes and thirty seconds, while the new Jetboil Zip boils 500ml water in two minutes. The new version also has rubberised grips around the base of the stove, a stronger burner and a new easy turn valve.

How much water can you boil in a Jetboil Zip?

The Jetboil Zip pot marks a max fill line of 500ml.

Is Jetboil Zip good for backpacking?

The Jetboil Zip is great for backpacking and multi-day hikes where Explorers intend to eat dehydrated dinners. The Jetboil Zip is best at boiling water rather than using the pot for cooking in, so it’s great for dehydrated meals and coffees that hikers usually take on backpacking trips.

Can you simmer with Jetboil Zip?

The Jetboil Zip is best for boiling water in the pot to add to a cup, bowl, or meal. However, it can be used to simmer water or food, thanks to the new large dial. However, without a regulator, the gas flow and flame consistency is dependent on the temperature and pressure of gas in the cannister, so it won’t always have a reliable amount of heat.