BioLite Wood Burning CampStove

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

I got an email from REI featuring this stove a few days before a backpacking trip with my kids.

I thought it was a very cool concept. Cook and charge your phone at the same time and no fuel bottles or canisters taking up space or weight. I've been considering a solar charger for a while and thought if I could combine a charger & stove and not have to carry fuel it was a win/win.

Packed up, it's about the size of 2 fuel canisters and a little heavier than 2 canisters and my MSR Pocket Rocket stove.

Since I didn't have time to play with it prior to the trip, I ended up taking along my MSR Pocket Rocket and some fuel canisters just in case.

The BioLite was easy enough to light, but you've got to keep an eye on it to keep it burning. It was a little damp on our trip, so finding good fuel for it was a little tough.

It does a great job of charging my phone (in the past, I've just kept it turned off most of the time to conserve battery over a few days).

I think it will eventually replace my current set up, but not until more experimenting with the stove to work with the fan settings and see what burns best/longest and gives most consistent heat.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

I made a couple of test burns with this stove prior to taking it on a trip. It worked well enough in the backyard that I took it along on a short trip to Gifford Pinchot Nat'l Forest. At the last minute I decided to take my trusty Brunton Raptor and a can of fuel, just in case... Good thing I did.

I think this stove is excellent in concept, and had the claims NOT been made in regard to utilizing excess generated electricity to recharge devices, I may have actually kept the stove, but only to have around as a back-up at home. The unit would not charge any of my devices.

The stove was a bit more difficult to light in the forest than at home, however things were still a little damp at GPNF, I expect it would have been easier to light had conditions been drier.

Once going, it boiled water fairly quickly, 4 minutes or so, which was fine, I'm not in a rush when I set up camp, but I was cooking for 3 and was interupted continuously to refuel the stove. In the end, the Brunton Raptor was used to augment the cooking.

Our group travels via motorcycles, and even though we can carry a lot of gear and equipment, we still try and keep it compact and light, and this unit is neither.

The stove kept a very strong, pungent smoke odor that permeated everything in the pannier I stowed it in. That might not bother some people, but it bothered me. I don't make a campfire simply because I don't want myself and everything else to smell like smoke.

I also found it difficult to control the temperature. It pretty much has two settings, low and high, which can be interpreted as hot and really hot. It would have been much nicer if the fan speed was variable.

All in all, as I said before, the concept is excellent, and from an environmental standpoint, what Biolite is doing is extraordinary. If they manage to successfully introduce the "cooker" and distrubute it as planned, not only will it have a huge impact on the environment, but also on millions of people who struggle on a daily basis to simply cook what meager meal they may have for the day.

I say above that I'll recommend this to a friend, (overall, it's a very good product) only because even though it's not for me, it could very well be for you!

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

I was a skeptic at first, but could not resist the temptation of this gadget and the ability to be able to charge my ipod or cell phone without carrying an extra piece of gear just to serve this purpose. The stove is a bit heavy for extended backpacking trips, but at the same time eliminates the need for fuel canisters and solar charging devices or extra batteries. I was very impressed with the amount of heat the stove produced, the speed that it was able to produce this heat, and how fast the stove is able to cool down after use.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

Bring a stuff bag to store pots and pans, they get sooty from the fire and you'll not want that all over the inside of your pack and clothes.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

We bought the BioLite after doing a bit of homework on the unit and feeling like we could deal with the weight issue for the charging benefits. Boy were we wrong! First, if it's an option, just buy an extra battery or two. We have Android devices so we've been able to order 3 extra batteries, along with the charging dock, online for about $11. The BioLite was SUPER heavy for what it was. We did all the preliminary charging at home and gave the stove it's first trial run on our back deck. It seemed to work okay. What I didn't figure on was how quickly the battery would go out of charge mode and have to be charged back up. This became apparent on our 1st night. I tried firing up the stove and, once it turned green, I plugged in my phone to charge. The charging lasted about 1 minute and then I had to unplug my phone and feed the fire. This soon became a tedious job. In order to get the a 4% increase on my charge I had to plant myself at the stove and feed it non stop for over an hour. I get the idea and I am really impressed with the work these guys are doing. I just believe that the tech isn't there yet. Kind of like when solar panels came out. Great idea but they still needed some tweaking. I returned the BioLite and bought a MSR Pocket Rocket. REI is great about returning stuff and logging my feedback on the stove. Good people. If you are a car camper and you don't mind having a full time job feeding this little beast to get the smallest of charges, then this is the stove for you.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

The purchase was novelty motivated. Why...? Well, I'm in a backcountry-gear arms race with several friends. It's a light-hearted thing, but generates a great deal of discussion among a group of very experienced hikers and mountaineers. Expectations were low of the BioLite, as they usually are for bleeding edge widgets vs low-tech reliability when matched with preparation and experience. That said, we were all amazed at the actual performance. First, the USB charging capacity should be seen as only an ancilliary benefit. It's the fan that really makes the BioLite stand out. The fan enables a hot, quiet, efficient and almost smokeless burn. Also allows for simmering with three settings: off, low, high. Very easy to light (assuming you have at least some bone-dry kindling with you, and a suitable fire-lighting block, meths, etc.) Thereafter, twigs, bark, etc. all burned well once flames were roaring with fan on 'high'. Please note: Useless above the tree line. Even with access to useful biomass (dryish twigs), you need to have amassed a fairly sizeable supply to keep this puppy at full power for any length of time. The good news is that it will boil water and cook food very quickly. Not sure that the extra weight of the device really compensates for not having to pack fuel, but the quiet performance and emergency USB power do start to tip the balance. If you expect to have access to busted logs from which you can cut kindling then it's a no brainer. If you're going to have to scavange all your fuel from the forest floor, it's not so clear cut. Definitley makes sense if you're happy/able to gather fuel opportunistically as you make your way. When to use: when you're hiking in the woods or at a camp site that has supply of busted logs (and you have tool to cut kinding). Would be ideal on main trails of Yosemite. When not to use: high Alpine, or moorland/rocky hill climbing (Snowdon, Tryfan, etc.) when there' just no ready supply of dryish twigs.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

I tend to agree with many of the comments here so I'll just add my experiences.

When I first received the Biolite I had some issues with the power button being stuck at first. I was about to return it but I seemed to have resolved that problem by smacking it a couple of times (like an old tv set).

Novices should have no problems starting this up just by following directions. You should have a very good fire going in less than a minute easily in good weather.

Used purely as a wood camp stove I think it worked well. I took it out for a couple of weekends and it boils a cup of water within 2-3 minutes.

Charging phones does work and but be prepared to burn a good deal of wood to get anything over 20% for an Android phone. On phones with larger mAh batteries don't expect even that much.

For example my son's cheapo android phone (dunno the model) charged 20% in 40 min. My wife's RAZR MAXX charged 12% in 45 minutes (used battery widget to get non-rounded percentage). In both cases the power was off to get the most charge.

One thing I have noticed is that sometimes it pays to turn the fan low instead of high for charging. If the fan is on high it sometimes stops charging to keep the fan running. This happens even with a good sized fire.

Another note is that stability-wise it is 'ok'. I could see this falling over very easily especially if something is on top of it. Make sure you are on clear ground with a flat surface.

Service and delivery comments:

Prompt delivery. Device button at first would stick and not pop back out. Eventually it started to work ok.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

Good for heating a beverage or simple cooking at roadside picnic or noon dayhike. Great concept, but power pack a bit heavy for serious backpacking. Battery must be topped off through computer connection.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

Delivers as described. took one match to light, iPhone started charging within minutes. No more carrying white gas, fuel bottles/containers. Wish all equipment worked as well and as simply as this does.

Comments about BioLite Wood Burning CampStove:

Purchased this about a month and a half ago as I was intrigued by the use of wood and not being bound to carrying fuel. Took it on several "shakedown cruises" in the backyard including cooking corn and other pot dishes. Also grilled several items using the grill attachment. I really like this stove, but, if you are not an avid fire starter, make sure you use the firestarter sticks provided or some other type. It has a tendency to give you fits otherwise. Once you get going it rocks! Granted, you do have to feed the fire along the way and dry hardwood is definitely wise. Damp or wet wood slows the process, but you can slog through.

The grill accessory is aces! I have done asparagas, salmon, pork chops, burgers and dogs on mine and they tasted just as good as if they had been done on my Weber charcoal grill. If you use hardwood chunks you get the added flavor bonus.

Admittedly, charging devices from the power unit is spotty and takes a consistent, hot fire. Once you learn to manange the fire, you can get juice back into your iPhone.

One drawback. It works well if the pot/pan you are using is close to the size of the stove, Pinacle MicroDualist for example. If the pan is too much bigger than the stove, heating is not real even.

Finally, and I believe the coolest aspect of this stove, is the ability to have a mini, personal campfire without having a fire ring, etc. Sinc my son is a Scout, we practice the "leave no trace" ethic and this really helps. You can sit and have a comforting fire, all be it small, but psychologically, it is still a fire and is comforting on a chilly night.

All in all, I would recommend.