UKH

OK hive mind of UKC, Jetboil Flash or Zip ? Will be used for mountain marathons (we are not placing in classes so weight isn’t a primary concern !) wild camps/bivvy and multi day trips, UK only, boiling water only for dehydrated meals and brews, been using an MSR pocket rocket and Ti kettle up to now but they seem a bit inefficient and difficult if it’s windy, I’m thinking the Jerboil Flash is the way to go ?

C. Neither.

Oh, care to expand ?

Flash is more versatile, and the extra weight isn't significant. Shop around though - the Jetboil designs are a little dated now, and other personal cooking systems do the same job in a different way - or do it better. MSR, Primus, Alpkit and a few other places all do something similar.

My original Jetboil Flash is still going, but it's on its third piezo igniter.

Heavy, bulky, unversatile and poor performance on a less than half full cannister.

Pocket rocket plus windshield plus alpkit titanium mug or a super lightweight meths burner are better options IMO.

The speedster stoves windshield and their little meths burner would give you windproofing at about a quarter the weight and cost of jetboil.   Plus you get to keep your current pot. 

Meths burner, no thanks !

It's looking like making a decent windshield for the Pocket Rocket is the way to go....

As long as you don't overheat the cannister.. 

Yep, of course, was thinking of making one that goes between the stove and canister

Yep, windshield is the way to go; your Pocket Rocket should work much more efficiently with reduced heat loss.

Nip to your local Pound Shop and get a couple of the "disposable" baking trays.  Cut/fold/flatten a tray until you have "V" shaped piece the height of your stove with pan.  Cut wire coat hanger to provide means of anchoring shield in grass.  I use one long piece hooked over the top of the fold on the windward side of the shield, with two smaller "pegs" at the edges on the stove side. 

Folds easily and stores down the back of your 'sack.

Sorted.

I had to make one (used flattened alu foil trays from Wilko edged with Gorilla Tape) to use with the Jetboil MightyMo that I reviewed last year - works great and lighter than the 10 quid folding ones you can buy from Alpkit and similar places. I had a pocket rocket before that and was always precariously balancing boots and rucksacks etc around it to make windbreaks. 50 grams on some aluminium is a much better bet!

I do have an old Jetboil (the first one when there was just one model) and still use it sometimes - its very convenient and packs neatly . I used it bivvying out last night but spilled one pan full of boiling water because I had forgotten how unstable it was when used with a little gas cylinder (100?). It's not very efficient when you have to boil water twice because you spilt the first lot!

I've got one of them and I'm pretty impressed. It has obvious limitations but many advantages too.

What's wrong with a meths burner? Far cheaper to run than gas and you don't have the weight of the canister, or indeed have to lug an empty canister home when it runs out. The system I mentioned completely wraps around the pot so you get very little heat loss and an efficient boil. You can use different sized bottles for fuel depending on how long you're out for.  For an overnighter I can just carry 60ml in a contact lens solution bottle. So much weight and volume saved. 

I guess I’m basing my experience of using a trangia 35 years ago !

how long to they take to boil a Ti kettle full of water ??

The 30ml speedster one does a 650ml mug in about 10 mins. A good bit slower than gas but I don't have a problem with that.

I've done the alpkit 650ml in about 8 mins, no wind. 

Trangias are faffy because of all the components and bits.  A simple windshield/pot/burner setup is relatively quick to deploy and pack away again.