It is no secret that I love the Jetboil System. About the only problem I have with it is that they developed this really great compact system for a backpack and them mucked it up with all these huge acessory pots and pans that make it too bulky to haul. Then one day I got a good deal on the Jetboil 8" frypan and decided to take a chance!
At 8" it fits through my 9" hatch so I can carry the thing. And with the curved and sloped sides, I can cook quite a lot of stuff. (Ever try to get a fried egg from that 4" straight-sided lid they call a mini-frypan in smaller systems? You need size and slope in a frypan)
Yes, it is large and bulky.
Yes, you need to buy the pot support.
Yes,you NEED to remember to remove the flux-ring cover BEFORE you cook.
But when you consider the advantages of a real frying pan in which I can cook almost everything I need, that bulk problem vanishes.
There are a few things I did to mine.
I took the plastic lid from an icecream container, punched holes along one edge with a leather punch and now have a cutting board, a strainer and a cover for the frypan all in one. (I sent this suggestion to Jetboil)
I dislike the Jetboil cutlery so added the MSR folding spoon and spatula which stores inside my frypan. Plus the lid I made keeps the frypan clean. I also bought a second folding spoon so I can drill holes in the thing for a 'slotted' spoon.
I tossed in a small butane lighter with extended flame nozzle in case my igniter fails. You can buy these to be refillabe at RV places.
CONS:
well, Jetboil has made a 10" frypan with straight sides. This is a bad idea on so many levels that counter the advantages of the 8" I describe above. I bought the S2S X-pot and found that it nests with my frypan so I can actually have a cooking pot. I sent the suggestion to Jetboil that they make a folding silicon pot with fluxring to accent their system and replace their large bulky pot. yes, these cons do not refer to the frypan but are relevant.
Bottom line, when I cook, I cook for me and so I don't need a 1.5 liter pot for my single meal. II can easily cook anything I am going to eat in the Jetboil Frypan from a fried egg on bagel to a Knorr pasta meal for one.
The Jetboil 8" Frypan meets all these needs.
