Jetboil SOL (So Outrageously Light) Stove $120, jetboil.com

The Good: Lighter than the original PCS by 5oz. Drastically better in cold weather. A week’s worth of fuel for an ultra light pouch backpacker in one hundred gram cartridge. Fastest cup of REAL coffee in the bush.

The Bad: Nope.

The Ugly: Watch out for over boil. This cook system is fast so pay attention or your cozy will smell of ramen forever.

What brings a man to sit outside in 20 degree weather and burn canister after canister of fuel? Well if you ask me it’s the quest for the ever elusive “perfect stove”. After using my original PCS for over 500 days in the woods as a biologist for 2 different state agencies, I am a true Jetboil believer. I have cooked everything in this little stove from pouch meals to chili, even popcorn.

When receiving my new SOL cook system the first thing that caught my eye was the significant reduction in overall size and weight. I never thought they could make this system smaller and still be able to cook real food. The reduction of .2 liters from the volume of the cup is barely noticeable but the 5oz difference in weight is huge.

Also the original PCS shared one small issue with many upright canister stoves: THE COLD. I’m not a fan of placing a frosty fuel canister in my armpit or sharing the ever-shrinking space in the bottom of my sleeping bag just to get a stove to light. When I need coffee in my system in needs to happen now. The new SOL has Thermo-Regulate technology that keeps the output of the burner consistent down to 20˚ F (-6˚ C) and an ever fuel output to the last gram has expelled from the canister. The auto start-igniter is brilliantly located within the burner surface of the stove eliminating the risk of breakage. I tested this sucker on a trip into the Northern Sierras in mid January. Overnight temps sinking down below zero usually killed my original PCS but the SOL had no problems with these temperatures. At 22˚F I brought twenty-seven 16oz cups of half frozen water to a boil with the 100gr cartridge and had a total burn time of just over 57min. This cook system is a true four-seasons warrior and will be a welcomed addition to my cold-weather pack and mountaineering gear.

Specs taken from Jetboil website.