As an outdoor enthusiast myself, working with Jetboil was a dream. I remember picking up the original product in REI when I was just entering the ID world and being so enamored by the design for its utilitarian approach and its clever features. Now, i’ve helped them visualize the next big step for their flagship product! This is the premium cook series - a version of their backpacking stove solution that includes a fuel regulator in order to offer a wide throttle adjustment. This enables the user to control the heat with greater precision and cook more styles of meals on the go. The goal here was to develop a burner system that integrated with the pots in a modular way so that each size cookware could be used on the same compact base unit.
As always, we start with initial concepts then refine to a smaller set of ideas shown here. Then, boiling it all down to a single direction that shows the details necessary to evaluate the design before moving into formal engineering - which was being executed in-house. The nesting of system components as well as the pot interface was the main focus. It was a sort of complex puzzle as the stove needed to fold and collapse in order to fit within the pot when the product is not in use. It was a huge challenge, but the team over at Jetboil was really excited with my “bloom” concept after the second round of design. It neatly nested under the standard fuel canister geometry and maximized the already limited space available. The burner pot supports reduce the chance for mis-use by the curved shape of the unfolded arms - a small design constraint I had that I think is super nuanced but quite brilliant. It minimizes the instances where people would try to use the stove in a dangerous way.
One bonus feature that I developed was the handle mechanism - a unique solution that allows the user to choose from 3 positions - storing, cooking, and eating. A simple rotation of the anchor allows you to flip the handle around and lock into any usage angle. A simple cast part and a spring steel release enables this function and offers an interaction that no other brand has thought up! Pretty cool.
Work completed in June of 2022
Product Launch 2026
Available to Purchase at Jetboil.com