Item one:
I have gotten somewhat dependent on my Jetboil Flash for coffee preparation when on the road. During my recent journey to Brevard and back, the igniter stopped igniting, even though I'm on but my second cannister of fuel. On my return, I found that one cannot purchase a replacement igniter, one has to send the burner back to Johnson Outdoors (who, I found, bought Jetboil in 2012). I obtained an RMA and sent the burner back. I also ordered a spare burner, because I don't like being without my base kit. Yesterday I got a phone call saying repair cost would be $20; I responded that I had sent a receipt and that warranty would be appropriate. They acquiesced.
Item two:
Sometime early this year I (back)ordered a Genesis base camp system. About an infinite time later, I got a call that it had arrived, drove up to Burlington, found that they had stove only. Reminded them what I ordered and went home.
Eventually the system arrived. Drove up to Burlington, picked it up, drove home, and unpacked it. 1) Pots were plain old pots, no FluxRing. 2) Packing was such that stove feet had punched nice dimples in pot bottoms. Drove up to Burlington, returned the kit, bought only the stove.
I used the stove at Davidson River Campground in Brevard. It cooks, but it's an absolute pain in the ass to set up, in particular the connection to the fuel bottle.
Conclusion:
I'm less than sold on Jetboil at this point. The Flash seems a hair fragile and besides folding compactly the Genesis system is just frippery. I don't expect Johnson to take it anywhere. Too bad Dowst and Aspinwall didn't stay in the game.
And more:
After a year and four months or so, the cartridge in the KS LEV Integra dropper seat post that came with the Tracer decided that it was time to start leaking air out the top and oil out the bottom, thereby losing its ability to control seat position.
I contacted KS USA, and they agreed to warranty the seat post. I ordered (the wrong) spare from Jenson, pulled the old seat post and realized my error, ordered the correct post, sent the defective post to KS and, when it arrived, the incorrect post to Jenson, and received and installed the correct post.
The installation was a fiddly pain in the ass involving small pieces and cutting cable and housing to very particular sizes, and a seat clamp with no less than seven independent pieces to juggle, and oh, the pieces have a required fore and aft position and are not recognizably marked.
If you chase down and filter babble on the intarwebz regarding life with droppers, it seems that they have a useful lifespan of between one and two years before requiring major maintenance. A lot of people, perhaps the majority, seem to have adopted the two post approach - use one while the other's off at the factory.
Synthesis?
These toys are all dentist shit.
The Flash costs about $100, and a spare burner $50. This for making coffee.
The Genesis two-burner stove currently goes for $200 to $240 not counting shipping. A perfectly competent Coleman is about $100. At the expense of size and setup time, both make perfectly good coffee.
The Integra seat post costs $325 shipped. It does not make coffee. It does other useful stuff, but one needs to be well off to support the lifestyle.
We now rant regarding useful lifetime.
In three to five years it is unlikely that my seat post will still be available, and factory support and parts may or may not be available.
I'll give Jetboil's fancy stoves about a 50% chance of survival, especially since the company has been acquired. There are other manufacturers in the game, some of whom have a long and respectable track record.
Purchasing and coming to depend on these toys is an expensive crap shoot, but on reflection I guess that it always has been.
I have gotten somewhat dependent on my Jetboil Flash for coffee preparation when on the road. During my recent journey to Brevard and back, the igniter stopped igniting, even though I'm on but my second cannister of fuel. On my return, I found that one cannot purchase a replacement igniter, one has to send the burner back to Johnson Outdoors (who, I found, bought Jetboil in 2012). I obtained an RMA and sent the burner back. I also ordered a spare burner, because I don't like being without my base kit. Yesterday I got a phone call saying repair cost would be $20; I responded that I had sent a receipt and that warranty would be appropriate. They acquiesced.
Item two:
Sometime early this year I (back)ordered a Genesis base camp system. About an infinite time later, I got a call that it had arrived, drove up to Burlington, found that they had stove only. Reminded them what I ordered and went home.
Eventually the system arrived. Drove up to Burlington, picked it up, drove home, and unpacked it. 1) Pots were plain old pots, no FluxRing. 2) Packing was such that stove feet had punched nice dimples in pot bottoms. Drove up to Burlington, returned the kit, bought only the stove.
I used the stove at Davidson River Campground in Brevard. It cooks, but it's an absolute pain in the ass to set up, in particular the connection to the fuel bottle.
Conclusion:
I'm less than sold on Jetboil at this point. The Flash seems a hair fragile and besides folding compactly the Genesis system is just frippery. I don't expect Johnson to take it anywhere. Too bad Dowst and Aspinwall didn't stay in the game.
And more:
After a year and four months or so, the cartridge in the KS LEV Integra dropper seat post that came with the Tracer decided that it was time to start leaking air out the top and oil out the bottom, thereby losing its ability to control seat position.
I contacted KS USA, and they agreed to warranty the seat post. I ordered (the wrong) spare from Jenson, pulled the old seat post and realized my error, ordered the correct post, sent the defective post to KS and, when it arrived, the incorrect post to Jenson, and received and installed the correct post.
The installation was a fiddly pain in the ass involving small pieces and cutting cable and housing to very particular sizes, and a seat clamp with no less than seven independent pieces to juggle, and oh, the pieces have a required fore and aft position and are not recognizably marked.
If you chase down and filter babble on the intarwebz regarding life with droppers, it seems that they have a useful lifespan of between one and two years before requiring major maintenance. A lot of people, perhaps the majority, seem to have adopted the two post approach - use one while the other's off at the factory.
Synthesis?
These toys are all dentist shit.
The Flash costs about $100, and a spare burner $50. This for making coffee.
The Genesis two-burner stove currently goes for $200 to $240 not counting shipping. A perfectly competent Coleman is about $100. At the expense of size and setup time, both make perfectly good coffee.
The Integra seat post costs $325 shipped. It does not make coffee. It does other useful stuff, but one needs to be well off to support the lifestyle.
We now rant regarding useful lifetime.
In three to five years it is unlikely that my seat post will still be available, and factory support and parts may or may not be available.
I'll give Jetboil's fancy stoves about a 50% chance of survival, especially since the company has been acquired. There are other manufacturers in the game, some of whom have a long and respectable track record.
Purchasing and coming to depend on these toys is an expensive crap shoot, but on reflection I guess that it always has been.
