.thumbnail.JPG)
.thumbnail.JPG)
Jetboil Helios Cooking System
The Jetboil Helios Cooking System incorporates the bomber Flux Ring technology into a large capacity cooking pot. The whole system packs into the pot, and weights 28 ounces (without fuel canister). The standard Helios holds 2 Liters, but you can purchase a larger 3 Liter pot. This system can boil 1 liter of water in 3 minutes.
Jetboil Helios Cooking System
The Helios System consists of a 2 liter pot, burner with self igniter and a foldable tripod fuel canister holder. The pot has a neoprene cozy for more efficiency as you cook and to retain the heat after cooking. It's best to let fellow campers know that this pot can only be used on the Helios burner. My father-in-law tried to use a different stove, and singed the neoprene cozy.
Jetboil Helios
The Helios Cooking System was the first item I've gotten for review that didn't work out of the box. Of course I was camping and needed to boil rice. For some reason the self-igniter didn't work and no gas was coming out of the stove. I took the burner apparatus apart and found the gas line going into the burner was clogged. It looked like it had never been opened at the factory. I poked it with a needle, put it back together and it lit on the first try (and has worked fine every since). So now you know it's easy to fix in the field, but hopefully you will not need to.
The Helios is great for boiling water and simmering food if stir often and don't overfill the pot with noodles, rice, ramon, oatmeal, etc. If you put too many solids in the pot, they will burn to the bottom of the pot. I like to boil the water then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and slowly stir in the food. If you're cooking for a large group and have a lot of food, it's best to break up the cooking into a few sessions.
Jetboil Helios Compact Kit
The stove and fuel canister fit into the pot for easy storage. You can also fit utensils in the pot, and the lid and burner protector can be used as plates.
UPDATE: The Canoe 4 the Cure team used this stove every day as they canoe the length of the Mississippi River.
Helios on the Mississippi River: Helios on the Mississippi River
Pros:
- Extremely quick to boil water
- Uses minimal amounts of fuel at high burn
- Never needed cleaning
- Light
- Not affected by sand/mud
- somewhat wind-resistant
- Pan doesn't slip off stand
- Stainless
Cons:
- Igniter was temperamental and often didn't work
- Plastic lids didn't quite fir on the pot/pan
- Bulky compared to other stoves, but made up for it in durability.
- Seems to use up a lot of fuel at simmer
As far as durability goes, this stove is amazing. We encountered everything from sand, mud, dust, continuous rain, extreme heat and cold spells. The stove withstood it all and still works like new.
