Backpacking Stove
Jetboil Flash 1.8L
$165, 1 lb. 1.76 oz./504g
backcountry.com
On a recent five-day, 50+-mile backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon, I often arrived at camp exhausted from the day’s hiking. And given the caloric expenditure required by such a trip, that exhaustion invariably came with deep hunger. Being able to quickly boil enough water for the whole group of hungry backpackers—meaning, no waiting in line for food— with Jetboil’s Flash 1.8L helped prevent me from gnawing anyone’s leg off during these trying situations.
The Flash 1.8L packs 5300BTU/1.5kW of power, enough to boil its 1.8L capacity in no more than seven minutes, but often much faster. This doesn’t make it Jetboil’s fastest stove—the Flash 0.5L is more powerful and boils much faster—but it is Jetboil’s largest, and a much more useful option for boiling water for a group (and avoiding trip-ruining acts of cannibalism). Backpacking meals vary wildly in the amount of water required, but we found 1.8L to usually be enough for three to four people, and the Flash can bring another half-liter of water to boil for a fourth person’s meal in about two minutes.
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Jetboil’s signature insulated FluxRing cooking pot and protected burner—which uses both baffles along the bottom and insulation along the sides to dramatically increase fuel efficiency—appears yet again on the Flash 1.8L. While slightly heavier than the lightest backpacking pots, the more-efficient design provides the massive advantage of requiring you to carry less fuel for heating the same amount of water. Jetboil claims that the Flash 1.8L can boil 10L of water per 100g can of fuel; in the Grand Canyon, that actually proved to be an underestimate given our low camping elevations on the Colorado River (conversely, in a high mountain range, it might boil less than that).
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Jetboil’s newest line, including the Flash 1.8L, features turn-and-click ignition, just like a home stove. Arguably one of the biggest innovations in backpacking stoves since, well, perhaps Jetboil’s FluxRing, this made it super easy to get the stove lit, while also providing a very handy actuator for turning down the burner if you’d like to simmer the contents (though personally, I just boil water for freeze-dried meals in the backcountry). We’ve had issues with portable stove lighters wearing out and no longer providing spark; we’ll provide an update here if that happens, but rest assured that the Flash 1.8L can still be lit with a lighter.
The stove rounds out with a bunch of nice-to-have features, including three locking points attaching the stove to the pot; a pour-through lid which allows straining water; all-in-one packing (you can fit the whole stove into the pot); fuel canister stabilizer (which snaps onto the bottom of the fuel can) to keep the whole system from tipping; a thermochromatic color-change heat indicator which visually shows when the pot boils (we found this rather handy, as you don’t have to pull the lid off or wait for the water to produce substantial steam); and a bottom pot cover which doubles as a graduated bowl, keeping dirt off the heating baffles.
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While I’m quite impressed by the Flash 1.8L as an option for large groups on longer trips, it’s important to note that other stoves are lighter for smaller groups (like the smaller flash), and on a short trip where you’re not carrying more than a 100g fuel canister anyway, you don’t need the efficiency and therefore extra weight of the baffled design.
The Verdict
Easy to ignite and operate, even in windy conditions, fast to boil water, with a large capacity, and featuring a nifty home-stove-like ignition, the Jetboil Flash 1.8L is the first stove that I’d recommend to anyone backpacking with 3+ people and carrying more than 100g of fuel.
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Don’t miss our popular reviews of “25 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories” and “The Best Backpacking Gear” of the year.
—Nate Lanza
Note from Michael Lanza: An avid backpacker, dayhiker, backcountry and resort skier, climber, and trail runner—and Michael Lanza’s son—Nate Lanza has spent an inordinate amount of time outdoors since he was a preschooler and has two decades of experience on wilderness adventures. He is The Big Outside’s managing editor, writing stories about trips, reviewing gear, and continuing to spend as much time in the backcountry as he can. At The Big Outside, we review only what we consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See The Big Outside’s Gear Reviews page for categorized menus of all gear reviews and expert buying tips.