REASONS TO BUY
Light
Works with many stoves
REASONS TO AVOID
Cables need to be carefully maintained
JetBoil Hanging Kit Review
JetBoil Hanging Kit
Credit: jetboil.com
Our Verdict
The JetBoil Hanging Kit allows you to hang your JetBoil camping stove inside a tent, portaledge, or just about any camping situation that has sufficient space AND access to ventilation. Other than making your own homemade system, this is about your only option to convert your JetBoil into a hanging stove. Luckily it works quite well and weighs so little that there is not much reason not to use it. The main question is whether you are willing to pay $30 for this convenient little device. Truth is, in just about any situation you can get by without it. However, when you do use it in a cramped space, you will love it and wonder how you got by without it.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Likes
We love products that are complex as they need to be and no more. That pretty much sums up this hanging stove kit. It is incredibly simple, light, and compact. It's really only three little cables and three little aluminum poles but that is all you need. It weighs almost nothing and doesn't take up much space. Best of all, it works with many JetBoil stoves (you don't have to buy a different setup for each different stove). It works with the smaller JetBoil Flash as well as the bigger JetBoil Group Cooking System. We even hear this works with the MSR Reactor and some other brands of stoves that don't have their own hanging kits.
Dislikes
This kit is a little fragile. The cables and poles are thin and need to be carefully stowed. We recommend keeping the original packaging this comes in and using it as the storage and transportation kit.
Value
The price seems steep for three cables, 3 tiny poles, and a few connectors. But at least you get an option (many stoves don't come with a hanging option).
Best Application
Hanging stoves excel in tight spaces, especially if your tent does not have a vestibule. Imagine that it's raining and you are trying to cook in a small tent. It is going to be hard to be in a sleeping bag while still having enough room to make sure the stove does not singe your bag. Big wall climbers love hanging stoves because a portaledge is rarely flat AND the hanging kit solves the problem of how to clip your stove in so it doesn't roll off into space. I have climbed walls with just a regular JetBoil and no hanging kit, but it is much more of a pain because you have to always hold the stove, which makes it hard to cook with one person.
Stories
I used the Flash on El Capitan once without the hanging kit and once with. It is definitely a lot better with the hanging kit in a big wall situation… but also works without it. The stove was light, compact, and did everything we needed it to. I can't imagine a better hanging stove for big walls where space plus ease of setup and takedown are so important. I love my old Bibler hanging stove but it is probably double the size and weight. The MSR Reactor would have been a little overkill, especially since it is harder to handle in a hanging situation.
—
Chris McNamara
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