The Jetboil Joule – Preview

I've been loaned a Jetboil Joule for the purposes of conducting a review.  I haven't started the review process just yet (I'm still working on the new MSR Windboiler), but I thought I'd post some photos and make a few remarks.

The Jetboil Joule is a powerhouse of a stove, designed for snow melting and cold weather.  It's an inverted canister stove which gives it a 20 Fahrenheit degree cold weather advantage over regular upright canister stoves. If you're not familiar with how and why an inverted canister stove confers a cold weather advantage on the user, please read my article in Seattle Backpackers Magazine, Stoves for Cold Weather II.

The Jetboil Line Up
So, first, how does the Jetboil Joule compare size wise to other Jetboils?

Jetboil stoves L to R:   Joule, Sumo, PCS (the original Jetboil), and Sol

The Joule is quite frankly massive.  It's a much bigger backpacking stove set up than any I can think of except perhaps a two burner rig such as the Coleman Xpedition, but even the Coleman Xpedition doesn't take up as much space in one's pack.

It's fairly heavy too at 28 oz/790 g.  That's over three quarters of a kilogram, which is fairly heavy for a stove, even an integrated stove system like the Joule.

But that weight and size may well be worth it if you've got some serious snow melting to do.  It's very clearly targeting mountaineers and serious cold weather travelers.

The Competition
How does the Joule compare to the competition?  Well, the only other integrated canister stove system that has comparable capacity is the 2.5 L version of the MSR Reactor.

The Jetboil Joule, left, and the 2.5 L MSR Reactor, right.

Also of note is the height of the stove when set up.  Here is the Joule, again alongside the 2.5 L MSR Reactor.

The Jetboil Joule, left, and the 2.5 L MSR Reactor, right.

The Jetboil Joule is as you can see, a fairly tall set up.  I will address system stability in my review.

Well, that's all for today; just a quick preview of the Jetboil Joule.  More to follow.

HJ