Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsEffective and so much fun to use ... IF modified
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2015
UPDATE 2 (deducting yet another star): After using all summer (50 uses, I think), I would say this is an iffy product. I have had to remove the wire grill and pry up the support tabs (three bent over metal strips that support pans). The reason is simple ... need to increase height of usable fuel space and need to increase air flow. The as-designed fuel containment volume is ridiculously small. I have to reload the stove every 5 minutes at the very best or else flame dies out completely. I also had to elevate the pots (by straightening the 3 metal strips to point up so as to increase gap between stove and pot) in order to reduce smokiness. I am looking for a better stove. I love the idea of this stove and have had fun using it but it does get VERY tedious to use. The little video attached to this product description is ridiculously deceptive, showing how the flame looks for maybe a minute or two at the most until fuel burns down, requiring constant refueling with good, dry fuel (tried pine cones and other suggested scraps - worthless!). This particular stove, even with my improvements, is still hard to use though much more satisfying than a simple wood fire w/o stove, which is exactly all it beats.
UPDATE 1 (deducting a star): after field testing for almost a week: I am not quite so thrilled by this as I was after my first use (knocked one star off). It takes too much attention to keep the fire going. HOWEVER, today I removed the grill inside using rat-nose pliers (it is just a set of 8 loose wires) and found that that allowed me to use 50% more fuel than before - both longer and larger pieces. That makes a big difference. I boiled 5 cups of water in under 10 minutes and had far, far less bother with constantly feeding the fire. I had become disillusioned with this stove and was thinking to buy one of the many other possibilities; but maybe with the grill removed that will make all the difference. Tomorrow morning I am going to cook an omelet with the modified configuration. I am hoping to use this stove for cooking all sorts of things besides just water, else it is really inadequate. I think without the grill, I can succeed at that.
I imagine the grill was put there for a subtle reason. I don't know why it was there but removing it makes for a larger, hotter and still almost smoke-free fire that burns out completely. Maybe I am ruining the subtle air circulation and partially burned gas flow. I don't think I care since the improvement in fueling the stove is so great.
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ORIGINAL REVIEW (5 stars): I wish I had invented this thing. I wish I had had it to use 42 years ago!
I've made many hundred tiny cooking fires over 42 years of backpacking. This little wonder will make that a thing of the past. Besides working amazingly well on virtually no fuel, it is super light and fits easily in half of one of my outside pack pockets.
I must admit I have not looked for all types of small wood-fueled stoves, as has another reviewer, showing over a dozen options. But I can say it will be my equipment of choice whenever the weather looks reasonably dry because the stove plus bag weighs 9.5 oz compared to 13 oz for my Jet Boil and 13 oz. per Jet Boil fuel canister. That's 9.5 vs 26.
With what I used to need just to get my teeny tiny cooking fires going, this stove completes a full boil quickly. I don't know how well it may work with frying but I expect it will do OK. I plan to use this at any elevation. I'm sure with just some Willow twigs I will be able to boil and cook much better than ever. No more little pits to dig and rocks to assemble just so and fire pit to clean up.
Of course, I cannot use with wet fuel and certainly cannot use near my tent. The Jet Boil would be the stove of choice in inclement weather. But in the Sierra and such drier areas, this would be a weight- and labor-saving device and just fun to use.
