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Primus EtaPackLite

• Pros: Entire system contained in one 1.2-liter pot; Has spring-loaded handle attached; Very efficient
• Cons: Pot smaller than comparable stove systems; Round, flat stove base hard to keep level; Must pack bowl in pot to protect non-stick surface
• Bottom Line: The Primus EtaPackLite is an efficient stove that, via incorporated elements, eliminates the need for additional cooking gear while on the trail. It’s well worth the price.
• MSRP: $115

Primus’ Web site

    Having a pot/stove combination is great when cooking in the backcountry. Digging through your pack to find one unit instead of looking for your pot, stove and fuel separately is much quicker.

    The fuel-efficient Primus EtaPackLite stove is just that and more.

    Not only do all the components, including a windscreen, standalone stove, and bowl fit inside the 1.2-liter pot, a 100-gram fuel canister does as well. However, I’m an advocate for larger fuel canisters (more cost efficient and environmentally friendly), and my 230-gram canister won’t fit inside.

    The Lander, Wyo.-based company claims that the pot’s lid, which easily locks into place, doubles as a colander. You can simply boil your pasta, turn the pot over and dump the water through the holes.

    While the BPA-free ABS plastic lid on my test stove was solid black plastic, which made it hard to tell when water was boiling, the stove found in stores has a translucent grey lid that makes it much easier to see bubbling water.

    The 2-person stove, which weighs 21 ounces (about 1.5 pounds), has a heating ring on the bottom said to make the stove 75-percent fuel-efficient. While I can’t speak to that exact efficiency, the stove seemed to boil water incredibly quickly.

    When stored, that heat ring has a protective cover that I used both as a plate and a bowl, and it’s held in place by a spring-loaded, attached handle that flips up when you’re using the pot. The handle stays put better than those of comparable stoves on the market.

    Then, to protect the pot’s non-stick coating from the stove, windscreen and fuel canister when stored, Primus included a large bowl that slips inside the pot, which I also found very useful.

    The stove itself has a roughly 12-inch-long gas line that screws on to an LP fuel canister and a piezo igniter essentially eliminating the need for matches or a lighter.

    But the base of the stove is round and flat making it hard to keep level when in the backcountry.

    I also found that the 1.2-liter pot was barely big enough to cook dinner for two people.

    While backpacking in Colorado, the pot was filled to the brim with two Ramen packets, some egg powder and some dehydrated veggies. It worked, but it didn’t leave much room for stirring.

    However, the EtaPackLite is less expensive than similar stoves on the market and its pros easily outweigh its cons.

Jetboil Group Cooking System

• Pros: Push-button igniter; Spring-loaded pot handles; Capable of simmering
• Cons: Only a small fuel canister fits inside pot with burner system; Fuel control valve harder to access than other stoves; Doesn’t boil significantly faster
• Bottom Line: The Group Cooking System is a multi-functional cooking system that will prove itself if you want to spend the extra money.
• MSRP: $120

Jetboil’s Web site

    When you’re starving, craving hot chocolate or don’t have much time to cook a meal, the Jetboil Group Cooking System is a good choice.
    It’s a great stove that’s ideal for a small group of hunters or backpackers who need an easy-to-use system that heats up fast, breaks down easily and requires minimal extra supplies.
    I’ve heard quite a bit of hype about the cooking system that supposedly boils water faster than any other and uses less fuel, but that made me skeptical.
    After all, I like my Primus backpacking stove that’s easy to start, doesn’t weight much and has served me well.
    But with its “FluxRing” and F-22-like flame-throwing burner, the Jetboil proved itself on more than one occasion.
    The lid doubles as a plate, the pot has a koozie around it as well as a spring-loaded handle that make it easy to grab when hot, and the inside of the container has lines marking .5 liters, 1 liter and 1.5 liters.
    Besides that, the burner easily screws onto a standard isobutane/propane fuel canister, it has a push-button spark ignition system, and the pot stabilizer locks in place – as it should – to prevent the pot from tilting.
    Weighing about a pound and with most of the necessities fitting inside the pot, the entire system isn’t too clunky to throw in a backpack when hunting or on the trail.
    But not everything fits in the pot.
    Jetboil’s claim to fame is that the fuel, pot stabilizer, fuel canister stabilizer and burner all fit inside the 1.5 liter pot with the lid in place.
    Sure that works if you have a small, 100-gram fuel canister, but many people don’t.
    That being said, because of the stove’s efficiency, a 100-gram canister is said to boil 12 liters (about 406 ounces) of water.
    And it does boil pretty fast.
    At about 12,000 feet above sea level with windy, 35-degree conditions, it boiled 1 liter of water in 11 minutes compared to 15 with my Primus.
    Then at about 5,400 feet with calm, 70-degree conditions, it boiled the same amount of water in 6 minutes compared to 8 with my Primus.
    While it may have been a fluke, the Jetboil did puff out once in the wind while my Primus stayed strong.
    But with a lid that doubles as a plate, its efficiency and all-around versatility, the Jetboil is enticing enough to consider. Though if you need something smaller – a giant coffee cup sized system – check out its baby brother, the Personal Cooking System ($90).