BioLite Wood Burning CampStove

[jbeaumont21]

Anyone seen this before?   Might be fun to try out if you have $130 bucks burning a hole in your pocket.  Sounds cool in theory but if you read some of the reviews it has its cons.  Very interesting. 

http://shop.biolitestove.com/BioLite-CampStove_p_15.html?gdftrk=gdfV25868_a_7c2328_a_7c10666_a_7cCSA&gclid=CM_Q2765ybYCFceDQgodWDYA0A

[swanny]

I own one but haven't used it much. Figured it might be good to have if the power goes out so I can charge a phone. The grill attachment they make for it is real cool

[jbeaumont21]

I own one but haven't used it much. Figured it might be good to have if the power goes out so I can charge a phone. The grill attachment they make for it is real cool

What do you think of the size and weight, is it bulky and heavy?  I'm thinking it would be nice to have hunting but not sure I want to pack one in or use it in place of a jet boil. Sure would be nice to have a small fire to huddle around though.

[swanny]

It's the size of a Nalgene 32oz bottle when it's packed up. It's definitely heavy, 2lbs if I remember right. I'd much rather take my JetBoil for 99% of the backpack trips I take. Boils water faster and is much lighter.

The BioLite I think would be great if you were packing in to a base camp for a week or two and needed to charge devices via USB or if you had food you actually wanted to cook. In all reality it's one heavy ass stove that around these parts might be hard to use because of wet tinder. I would like to pick up some pellets though and see how those burn in it. I'm thinking they would be a great option to pack with you for burnable material in more wet environments.

[Special T]

seen this before. likely a good toy along with some Goal Zero solar panels for trekking... IE Extended hiking/hunting in the boonies. Not great here, but could be a great tool for an adventurer with an extended trip.

[netcoyote]

I'm leery of products that hype garbage like this:
 

"Half the planet cooks on open fires, leading to 2 million premature deaths each year and contributing to global warming. We're using the same technology inside the CampStove to bring clean, safe energy access to families across the developing world."

C'mon, really? This is still an open fire burning carbon based material. You can get the same thing burning wood chips in a tin can with holes punched in it...and a helluva lot cheaper. Aren't they both contributing to the "global warming impending disaster"? Trying to conjure up images of  skinny, starving African children huddled around a cow-dung fire charging batteries for their iPod just strains credibility.

But hey, that's just me.

[Special T]

The tin can, and this stove are a "rocket" type stove that does a hotter cleaner job of burning because of the way it focuses air draw and fuel. it directs theheat to where you need it. Rocket type stoves can be built out of nearly any material, dirt, brick, tin cans, pipe, etc. all of those do a better job than a trational fire.

I'm also leary of people that hyp save the plannet type stuff. I think this product is outside the price range of most people who could really benifit from it, mostly the poor in africa, asia and S america... Cool idea and a great use of applying science for solving a problem... 

[washelkhunter]

The "kelly kettle" is the better choice. kellykettle.com

[Special T]

Do you have one of those Washelkhunter? That looks like the BEST wood fired camping stove i have seen. I can see how that would be VERY effecient, maybe a little tippy for the Base camp and treker models but the scout looks pretty low and more stable.. I would love to hear what you have ot say about it...

[washelkhunter]

My hunting partner bought a scout 2yrs ago. Eliminates the need to carry fuel and water purifier. Its amazingly efficient. Boils water in minutes for coffee, tea, freeze dried foods, cleanup and bathing. We cook on the top of it as well as an adjunct to the firepit, and when not in use as a cooker its a canteen. Its one of those stupid simple things that just work well.

[Special T]

What size did he get? did he get the kit or what? what size and what do you use it for? It is so stupid simple help sell me on it the kit online is like $100 plus shipping a little more than some simple rocket stoves i've seen, but i REALLY like how well this thing is designed.

[netcoyote]

The tin can, and this stove are a "rocket" type stove that does a hotter cleaner job of burning because of the way it focuses air draw and fuel. it directs theheat to where you need it. Rocket type stoves can be built out of nearly any material, dirt, brick, tin cans, pipe, etc. all of those do a better job than a trational fire.

Always amazed at what I learn on this forum. Never heard of a "rocket stove" before. Looks pretty interesting. Here's a little more on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

Thanks for the tip Special T 

[Special T]

Even the Kelly Kettle is a rocket stove when you look at the design. It just has a water jacket to absorb tons of the heat.

[swanny]

I will say that yes biolite uses some hype....but the profits raised from this stove are being used to create a larger home stove that they are providing to 3rd world countries. Check their site for info it's a neat idea

[jbeaumont21]

You think it would it be possible to use charcoal in one of these?  I think it would burn slower.

[Smossy]

Hey thanks for the post. Looks like a good product worth owning. Love the capabilities and the "Stay green" foot-mark.

[chef bama]

Got one.  It's the cat's meow, a game changer. The reviews seem to mostly be by city people who don't know how to build a fire to begin with.  After years of trying to build the perfect smokeless hobo twig fire, here's a thing that will do it perfectly for hours if you find the right dry twigs. The idea that it can charge itself to keep the rocket fan going is pretty revolutionary. To be able to charge a phone or a GPS or a flashlight beyond just charging the fan battery makes it an even more practical useful thing.

This year I am pre-clipping all my yard trimmings (shrubs, apple trees, cherry trees) to just the right length to drop in this stove.
What was previously annoying yard waste is now months and months of rocket stove fuel carefully disguised as compost piles ... we are going to be roasting a lot of marshmallows. Gonna get the grill attachment next.

So far the 8" lodge fry pan works best.  It will boil 12oz of water in one fueling/firing, then keep the charger going as long as you keep dumping in dry twigs. It will not heat the 10" lodge fry pan evenly or with any speed. Too bad, as that is the best size for a bone-in ribeye.

I also want to try a kelly kettle in combination with this thing. Rocket stove + chimney stove.

BTW the manual says don't use charcoal or accelerants. I think the problem is that the fan plus the charcoal would get too hot, like a mini-blower-forge, and melt down your unit.

[quadrafire]

Mountaingear in spokane has these for $99.96 starting 7/17.
Mountaingear.com

[Skillet]

I have boiled a LOT of water and cooked a LOT of mountain house and oatmeal with this stove.  Weighs just a few ounces, solid fuel so no sloshing bottles or fuel spill issues.  Cheaper 'n dirt, available everywhere for 5-8 bucks.  Had mine for well over 10 years now.  Have a MSR whisperlite that I rarely fool with, as I prefer this.  It fits inside my nesting pot/pan set.  Easy to make a wind break out of any available materials at hand.  Just perfect for backpacking or pack-in hunting.  Sometimes I think we spend too much on making life too difficult...

 

[jackelope]

I have boiled a LOT of water and cooked a LOT of mountain house and oatmeal with this stove.  Weighs just a few ounces, solid fuel so no sloshing bottles or fuel spill issues.  Cheaper 'n dirt, available everywhere for 5-8 bucks.  Had mine for well over 10 years now.  Have a MSR whisperlite that I rarely fool with, as I prefer this.  It fits inside my nesting pot/pan set.  Easy to make a wind break out of any available materials at hand.  Just perfect for backpacking or pack-in hunting.  Sometimes I think we spend too much on making life too difficult...

 

These may work well at not too high altitude, but anywhere of any significant altitude and they don't do squat. We boiled water twice in my cheapy Brunton stove and the water that my buddy was trying to boil on that stove never boiled. +/- 9k'

[Skillet]

I can't talk about 9K+, but have used it many times at 6-7K and extensively at 5K and never had a problem.  Water boils at a lower temp up high, so it must have been the fuel you were using?  I've found not all alcohol tabs are made equal.  Also, there is a definite technique to using it - I always use it with the legs folded at the 45 degree angle.  Less stable, but doesn't seem to lose hardly any heat.

[Smossy]

I have boiled a LOT of water and cooked a LOT of mountain house and oatmeal with this stove.  Weighs just a few ounces, solid fuel so no sloshing bottles or fuel spill issues.  Cheaper 'n dirt, available everywhere for 5-8 bucks.  Had mine for well over 10 years now.  Have a MSR whisperlite that I rarely fool with, as I prefer this.  It fits inside my nesting pot/pan set.  Easy to make a wind break out of any available materials at hand.  Just perfect for backpacking or pack-in hunting.  Sometimes I think we spend too much on making life too difficult...

 

I have one of these also, boiled water just fine at 8000+ feet so what some others are talking about.
I have a msr pocket rocket also.

[jackelope]

I was using the regular stove. Can't comment on the technique or the fuel.

[ICEMAN]

Link to a $6 stove I built years ago to burn the esbit, wood, alcohol....

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,24872.new.html#new

Still carry it today around my Ti Kettle.

[Special T]

Got a kelly kettle from my wife so i'm gona give it a test fire this weekend.

[owmygulay]

I have one of the biolite stoves and it is pretty sweet. I don't really know how well it would do it you needed to actually cook something on it but it is very nice as a phone charger if you are going to be camping for a week or something. Here is a pic of me giving it a test run. I had just fired it up. When the fan turns on, the fire gets a lot bigger.

[jbeaumont21]

I ended up getting one of these.  I figured at 18 bucks it wasn't too big of an investment and might be fun to try out while camping.  I can see the advantage of using one of these versus hauling a pocket rocket and all that fuel.  Plus you would have some nice ambiance while in the woods with no worries of running out of fuel.

http://www.amazon.com/Innovative-Products-Foldable-Pocket-Cooker/dp/B000HR95NO

[swanny]

Just put one up in the Classifieds, brand new in box!