Friday, 23 August 2024 13:54

Jetboil Sumo Cooking System

Written by

Over the last decade or two the Jetboil has become an ubiquitous item in camping kits and with the Sumo it's made the transition from personal cooker to family-size essential.

The 1.8 liter beast of a unit looks instantly familiar, perched on its heat exchanging FluxRing, with its branded insulating cozy. We 've been testing the Sumo both as a standard water boiler and a coffee press using the Grande Coffee Press, and although it's been pretty much as you'd expect from a Jetboil  that's still pretty impressive.

What Jetboil say:

The SUMO packs the same regulator control as other Jetboil-regulated cooking systems, but with a higher-capacity cup-to-fuel cooking ratio for you and your friends. Jetboil's large 1.8-liter FluxRing cooking cup with insulating cozy is the ideal cooking vessel for groups. Jetboil's proprietary regulator technology offers incremental heat adjustments from light simmer to full boil, perfect for sautéing greens, simmering sauces, and more. Add the optional Jetboil Coffee Press, pot support, skillet, and FluxRing cooking pot to expand your meal options on the trail. Start heating instantly with the convenient, reliable push-button igniter—regulated for consistent performance down to 20 degrees F (-6 degrees C). Able to store 100-gram or 230-gram JetPower fuel can with burner, fuel canister stabilizer, and accessory pot support; weighs 16 ounces.

Features:

  • 1.8-liter FluxRing cooking cup with insulating cozy is the ideal cooking vessel for groups
  • Jetboil's proprietary regulator technology offers incremental heat adjustments from light simmer to full boil, perfect for sautéing greens, simmering sauces, and more
  • Optional Jetboil Grande Coffee Press, skillet, and FluxRing 1.5L cooking pot expand your meal options on the trail
  • Convenient and reliable push-button igniter allows for consistent performance down to 20 degrees F (-6 degrees C)
  • Ability to store 100-gram or 230-gram JetPower Fuel Can with burner, fuel canister stabilizer, and pot support for expanded meal options on the trail; weighs 16 ounces.
  • Able to store a 100 g or 230 g JetPower Fuel Can with Burner, Fuel Canister Stabilizer and accessory Pot Support
  • Fuel Canister Stabilizer included
  • Compatible accessories
  • Pot Support included
  • JetPower Fuel sold separately
  • Compatible accessories include a Grande Coffee Press, Hanging Kit, Utensils, Skillet and FluxRing Cooking Pot
  • One-year limited warranty

 

 Jetboil Sumo on test:

OK so the Jetboil Sumo isn't new; we know that, but up to now we've only ever tried and tested the assorted smaller units designed for 1 or 2 people. This is a 1.8litre behemoth that has the capacity to rehydrate a couple of dehydrated meals and still have enough left over for coffees - and on the subject of coffee we decided to try out the Grande Coffee Press at the same time, because nothing beats a proper coffee in camp.

Jetboil Sumo pieces

As with all Jetboils one of the great things is that all the bits and pieces fit inside the main pot and they kindly include a nice little bag to stop the sharp bits from scratching the pot inner. As usual, you'll also have room to include a gas canister too.  There's a video above to show you how to pack it all away if you need some help. The pot itself has nice clear marking to show you how much liquid you have in, and again in common with the other members of the Jetboil family the pot has an insulated cosy to keep you from burning your hands holding it.

Jetboil markings

In it's basic set-up the pot sits on top of a FluxRing burner and that all sits on top of a gas canister. To make things a little more stable the gas canister can then sit on a canister stand, which is essentially a small piece of plastic with three arms that have notches in to fit the base of the canister. For some reason we couldn't actually get the stand to accept a Primus canister, but that's a first as we've never had any problems with a stand before. This set-up is all you need for boiling water for drinks, rehydrating a meal  or filling a hot water bottle if the need arises, and it's the way we set-up for the timing test.

Jetboil Sumo

 We ran a series of three tests with tap water at 15 degrees and again with tap water cooled down in the fridge to 8 degrees to simulate colder conditions. With a starting temperature of 15 degrees the average time to boil a litre of water was just 3 minutes 42 seconds, which is pretty efficient for what's a reasonable quantity of water. With the colder water starting at 8 degrees the time went up to an average of 4 minutes and 1 second. Of course these timings would be subject to wind as well as temperature and, as with all gas canister stoves, will also vary according to how much gas is in the canister. Overall, however, it compares favourable with other large capacity stoves of this type.

For making coffee the press worked exactly how a press should work the fit is very exact and the two piece handle is long enouh for the press to reach to the bottom of the pot.

Jetboil Sumo coffee press

 

Jetboil Sumo coffee

If you're a facts and figure person the burner is rated at 6000 BTU/h or 1.75kW.  The output is very consistent, although obviously the intensity can be increased and decreased using the wire adjuster on the side. The built in piezo ignition is pretty reliable, and if previous Jetboils are anything to go by it should be pretty durable.  The pot lid is a good, tight, fit and has a space on the inside designed to hold the canister stand when folded.

For cooking conventional meals using pans, rather than just using as a water boiler, Jetboil provide a simple pan stand that fits on the FluxRing with its arms providing a good pan base. This method makes for a very stable cooker with a decent output via the heat exchanger, whereas the one issue with the Jetboil in its pot boiler setup is the problem of being top-heavy. It's notable that while the canister stand wouldn't fit our Primus canister it will fit all Jetboil canisters and, strangely, fits the slightly larger 240g Primus ones.

Jetboil Sumo for pans

With a price approaching £170, and an extra £17 for the Coffee Press, it's a hefty investment, but what you do get is a tried and tested system that's stood the test of time over a couple of decades. It's simple to use, adaptable to most needs and is very gas efficient - meaning that what you pay in capital cost pays back in having to buy fewer canisters over the years. It's reliable, durable, and everything packs away neatly. That's why it's one of the most popular brands around and why others have followed the style.

 Transparency Notice: Please note that MyOutdoors receives free products for reviews from brands and manufacturers, but we only accept products for review on condition of total independence and no guarantee of endorsement.

 

More in this category: « Fenix HM65R-T tested and reviewed