March 2, 2018

Best Ultralight Backpacking Stoves Guide

Staying Light While Maxing Out Speed And Performance

For any veteran backpacker, packing light is an essential skill; one that is built with time, experience, and lots of mistakes to really know how to dial in non-essential weight from their packs. Luckily for you, Jetboil has always been the global expert at shaving off weight while maximizing performance and speed, and it starts with Jetboil originating and perfecting the ability to focus every possible BTU directly into the cooking vessel, via its FluxRing technology, to achieve unmatched boil times with less fuel used. When combined with precision fuel regulator valves and ingenious materials construction, Jetboil delivers a range of light weight and ultralight backcountry cook stoves that ensure every ounce you carry goes farther, to enable you to go farther, faster.

We can leverage our deep experience to teach you how to identify the unnecessary weight while ensuring you have peak performance for your most crucial piece of life saving and reward-inducing gear : the best light weight or ultralight backcountry cook stove.

A lightweight backpacking or ultralight camping stove is the one piece of gear you simply cannot (and should not) be without, and going ultralight is easier (and less expensive) than you probably think.

With the expert tips and suggestions we’ve compiled here on perfecting the art of lightening your load, we can start you on the right track towards becoming an expert ultralight backpacker yourself – by choosing the right lightweight or ultralight backpacking or camping stove, and some simple planning before your next trip.

Fast AND Functional Means Cutting the Right Ounces

Pro tip # 1: Not all ounces are equal. Would you throw away your favorite hiking boots just to save a couple of pounds? No, of course not. That’s why you would be crazy not to pack your backcountry cook stove – you have to stay warm, you have to stay comfortable, you have to survive, and you also need to be able to reward yourself with a good cup of java or cook a mountain top gourmet meal when you reach the summit. Alright, maybe the last one isn’t critical, but if you can do it and not take extra weight, why wouldn’t you???

Pro tip # 2: As with all survival gear, buy the very best lightweight backpacking stove system you can afford, so that you know it will work every time you hit the trail, and because it will ultimately save you grief and stress. Trust us, this is not something you want to learn through experience.

So, knowing that every ounce you cut from your pack weight will make you faster, and knowing you have to pack the best lightweight or ultralight backpacking cook stove that your body (especially your belly) depends on, then it is super important to know exactly what lightweight or ultralight cook system to choose, and why.

Which is why we’ve put together the list of the best lightweight and ultralight backpacking and camping cook systems on the planet – with a list of ounces for each stove – for any activity, any geography, and any situation. Because us Jetheads gotta’ stick together!

The Best Ultralight Backpacking Cooking Stove

Jetboil MicroMo Tamale Ultralight Backpacking Stove

Jetboil MicroMo. Ultralight in the pack at a weight of 12 ounces, with a 0.8 liter pot, push-button ignitor, and full simmer control that can cook and boil anything in cold-weather down to 20-degree Fahrenheit, MicroMo is the lightest full cooking (i.e, not just boiling water, but able to cook anything you could cook on your stove at home) backcountry stove anywhere. If you need ultralight and also want a cooking vessel, then MicroMo is the only choice for the best ultralight backpacking stove. Pick it up and pack it up right here.

The Best And Fastest Boiling Lightweight Camping Stove On The Planet

ultralight camping stove

Jetboil Flash. At a 100 second boil time and weighing just 13.1 ounces, no other lightweight backpacking or camping stove in the world can boil faster – which means you’ll be the envy of the trailhead when you’re drinking coffee with the best boiling backpacking stove while everyone else is still waiting for the water to boil. By achieving an unmatched speed of half the boil time with half the fuel, you are able to do much, much more with less weight in stove and fuel carried. In fact, with the new Flash, Jetboil has taken the best-selling backcountry stove on the planet and made it so lightning fast that you can make coffee (or tea, or oatmeal, etc.) faster outside than you can at home. Because slow and steady doesn’t always win the race, do yourself a favor and grab the Flash here.

The Best Ultralight Backpacking “Pro Kitchen” Stove You Can Fit In Your Pocket

jetboil ultralight camping stove

Jetboil MightyMo. At a pocket-size 3.3 ounces and with the push-button ignitor ability to go from a 1 BTU delicate simmer up to a 10,000 BTU raging furnace, the MightyMo ultralight backpacking cook stove literally gives you the only pro chef kitchen range that you can fit in your pocket. Now you can cook to perfection rather than burn beyond recognition like other so called pocket stoves. If you can do it all and keep those ounces down, why wouldn’t you keep the very budget friendly MightyMo as a primary or survival back-up ultralight stove in your pack? With the MightyMo, it just makes sense (cents). 

What You Do Outdoors Determines The Best Ultralight Or Lightweight Backpacking Stove For You

In the end, no matter how much weight you want to save, it is about what makes you get outside in the first place that will determine what kind of ultralight backpacking stove or an lightweight camping stove is the right one and the best one for you and your backpack. But keep in mind, as was said in the beginning, no matter whether you buy a lightweight or ultralight backpacking or camping stove, you will save money and stress by buying the best quality stove you can afford that is lightweight, durable, weather tough, trouble free, easy to use, and of course, simply fun! 

And you can’t go wrong by picking any of these lightweight or ultralight backpacking or camping stoves. Jetboil believes that light and fast design isn’t only for alpinists and ultra runners; it’s straight up fundamental for anyone who wants to push what’s possible in the backcountry. 

Didn’t find what you wanted here? Check out the rest of our lightweight outdoor cooking gear!

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