JetBoil MiniMo Review

The wider pot design and better temperature control on the MiniMo make it a great choice for someone who wants all the convenience of the previous Jetboil models with greater cooking and simmering potential, a lighter weight, and better fuel efficiency.

Performance Comparison

Getting ready for dinner with the MiniMo. It performed well on early season overnights.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Fuel Efficiency

We conducted all our fuel efficiency and boiling tests in our garage "lab" at 5,000 feet in Fort Collins, Colorado. In our wind-free test, the MiniMo used 0.28 ounces of fuel to boil 1 liter of water. This is less fuel than nearly every other stove in our review. The pot's flux ring disperses heat nicely, and the insulated pot keeps things hot. Jetboil claims that this stove performs better in the cold with its redesigned regulator diaphragm and valve. We have used the MiniMo in the snow a lot, and while we did not perform our quantitative tests in a cold environment, we found its cold-weather performance satisfactory.

In our wind test, we situated a box fan on low and tested it with a pocket anemometer to ensure it blew a constant 2-4 mph of "wind" on the stove. In this test, the MiniMo performed like a champion, burning only 0.4 ounces of fuel to boil 1 liter of water. To determine fuel efficiency, we take the average of the percentage of fuel consumed per boil test. On average, the Mo used only 5% of a 4-ounce canister of fuel to boil 1 liter of water. This is pretty dang impressive if you ask us.

When it's windy, find a naturally sheltered spot for best performance.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Weight

The MiniMo sports an "essential" weight of 13.0 ounces. This includes just the lid, pot, and burner, leaving out the cup and canister stabilizer that come with the stove. Our testers almost never use these two accessories.

This is one of the lighter integrated canister stoves in our test. All of the small canister stoves are lighter, but remember: the weight of the MiniMo includes a pot. Our scores in this metric reflect this fact. As a point of comparison, we have also determined the "trail weight" for each of our stoves. For the integrated canister stoves, this includes the lid, pot, burner, and a 4-ounce fuel canister (which weighs about 7.35 ounces). For the small canister stoves, it includes the stove, a 4-ounce fuel canister, and the average weight of the five most popular 1-liter titanium pots (4.78 ounces). This will give you a sense of how it stacks up against some of the featherweight small canister stoves.

We like that we could fit an 8-ounce fuel canister in the wider pot of the MiniMo, though the burner won't fit in there at the same time. You can also fit a 4-ounce canister along with the burner in the pot sideways.

The MiniMo burner can nest in the pot with a 4 oz fuel can (left). An 8oz fuel can fits in with a bit of room left over

Credit: Ian McEleney

Simmering Ability

Integrated canister stoves were not initially developed for cooking; they were engineered to make water boil as fast as possible. While the MiniMo will never simmer as well as the gourmet machines that are small canister stoves, it does better than most integrated canister stoves, making it a bit more versatile than other integrated canister models.

The burner unit on the MiniMo seems to help with its ability to simmer, as does the wider FluxRing heat exchanger. Whatever it is that's improving the simmering, we approve.

The MiniMo simmered better than all of the other integrated stoves.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Ease Of Use

This is another metric where the MiniMo does well. Like all Jetboil stoves, the pot and burner pair securely. This means that you can pick up the whole assembly easily with one hand, even while it's lit. You can even pour from the pot with the burner still attached. And there's no fear of the hot burner falling off while doing either of these things.

We think the wider, squatter shape on the pot of the MiniMo, as well as the more distributed flux ring, help make this stove easier to cook with. We would not try to cook anything more complicated than pasta or dehydrated beans because the burner sits so close to the pot that it will incinerate the bottom of finicky foods. If you're serious about gourmet meals, try a small canister stove. The new pot shape of the MiniMo also allows for easier stirring and eating out of this stove. An extra-long titanium spoon is no longer needed to eat your dinner directly out of the pot.

The newest MiniMo does come with an accessory pot stabilizer that locks into place, so you could pair the Mo burner with a larger pot without melting the bottom of your burner. In our preliminary tests, it boils much less efficiently with the pot stabilizers and our 1.7-quart tea kettle, but in a pinch, this could be a real meal saver.

Pot, burner, and fuel mate as one unit.

Credit: Ian McEleney

The color-changing boil indicator used to be a common feature on the JetBoil stoves, and we would love it if they brought it back. Thankfully, the MiniMo has a long control valve wire because we experienced it boiling over when we weren't paying attention and were able to shut it off without scalding our hands. Jetboil has also improved the handle and added sturdy plastic coated wire handles instead of the flimsy neoprene handle of the past.

Jetboil sells a hanging kit, but we prefer to make our own with cord and a ski strap - it's much more multifunctional.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Jetboil pot lids generally fit well over time instead of losing their shape like some other models. The lid on the MiniMo fits securely and stays put when pouring, but we found that it actually gets in the way of a precise pour. We wish Jetboil would come out with a lid that enhanced pouring precision instead of decreasing it.

The MiniMo is slightly more stable than the taller integrated canister stoves. We think the shorter pot makes it less wobbly when attached to a canister. It also comes with a canister support stand for stability, but our testers rarely bring it in the field.

Early Jetboil stoves were notorious for having the piezoelectric igniters die after a short time. We made a point of using the piezo lighters on all of our stoves repeatedly, each has been tested well over 100 times, and they seem to be better than the older igniters. While this feature does add weight, it's always attached to the stove and is a lot more convenient than a lighter. None of our testers are leaving their lighter (or lighters) at home when traveling with the MiniMo, but we all appreciate the convenience and wish more stoves came equipped with piezoelectric lighters that work over the long haul.

The piezo igniter on the MiniMo made the stove really easy to use.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Boil Time

We tested the MiniMo in our laboratory (ahem, garage) and found that it boils water FAST. In the no-wind test, it boiled 1 liter of water in 4 minutes.

Of course, our 2-4 mph wind test changed things up a bit, but less than we expected. All stoves, including the integrated canister stoves, suffered slower boil times in the wind. With wind, the Mo boiled water in 4 minutes and 50 seconds. The wind barely put a dent in this stove's impressive power.

We were happy with this stove's good boil time when we got into camp late and hungry.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Value

We think the MiniMo is a good value. It has more to offer than some of the less expensive integrated canister models and performs better overall than some of the more expensive ones.

Conclusion

Jetboil has made cooking simple meals easier with the MiniMo and created an easier vessel to eat out of with more reliable handles. The burner is impressively fuel-efficient, and the reliable piezo igniter and reassuring pot-to-burner mating make the stove easier to use than most other integrated canister models. These reasons, combined with the overall low weight of the system, win this stove a highly ranked position in our review.

Spot the MiniMo (and the climber). Overall ease of use, and secure pot to burner connection made this a favorite for big wall climbing. Chad hanging out on the Bismark ledge on El Capitan.

Credit: Ian McEleney