Woodburning stoves

[Nalgene Ninja]

Anyone ever use one. I've become intrigued by Nimblewill Nomad's. And I saw this one on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Campi...ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I thought about this as a backup to an alcohol stove (or vise-versa). But 2lbs seems pretty heavy.

[PastorLarryT]

Hi flemdawg1,

I can't speak to the one you referenced, but I did purchase the Stratus woodburning camp stove http://www.trailstove.com/

We used it on an overnight backcountry hike to Providence Canyon Georgia in March.  The stove weighs less than 2 pounds (though I have not actually weighed it) and includes the stove (a modified cylinder with a removable grate), short tubing (for blowing extra air if needed), and it's nylon carrying sack.

I was impressed with the stove's ability to get hot quickly and boil all the water needed to feed a group of about 10!  I did not have to pack a pocket rocket or other stove nor worry about packing fuel in and out.  There was plenty of dry (or almost dry) sticks all around!

It passed my tests and has a permanent place in my gear selection.  Having said that, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
-- The stove can get sooty (depends on what type of sticks you're burning) - requires a clean up after getting home.
-- Gets hot quickly, but it IS NOT as quick as a Pocket Rocket or similar.  I was able to boil a liter of water in just a couple of minutes (after letting the fuel catch well)
-- Requires lots of small sticks, etc. to be fed often IF you're cooking for a large group or for a long period of time.
-- If you don't like the smell of wood burning, then you will not like this cooker.
-- Naturally, would only work in areas where natural fuels are available (which is usually the case).

Just my thoughts... hope they help.

[Woody]

I have used a soup can wood stove a time or two. I ate the soup and then on a full stomache cut an upside down triangle out of the side of the can, put some holes around the bottom of the can and it was ready to go. Sit the pot directly on the open top end and feed the sticks in through the triangle cut out. Pretty good solo size. I would put enough dry sticks in the can for one use and then resupply whenever I cooked. This ensures I always had dry fuel and while cooking I could sit damp or wet sticks around the can to dry and save those for the next meal. Light and reliable but somewhat time consuming.

[Woody]

Yeah it will blacken a pot and can be messy. I just put the stove in a ziplock and my pot in a ziplock when I used this set up and that prevents any messes. Just don't use a pot you don't want to get messed up.

[PastorLarryT]

Therein lies the problem with woodburning stoves, in my opinion.  The soot can really be a mess.  I put my stove in its nylon carry bag to prevent the soot getting on other things.  It's not too hard to clean up (SOS pads work great) but it does require more attention than a Pocket Rocket, etc.  I guess, in the end, it's a trade off - does one want the simplicity of a wood burner or the convenience & power of a gas burner...

[Woody]

I think the main benefit of a wood stove would be on long trips with no resupply. The extra mess would be worth not having to carry two butane tanks or two pounds of alcohol. However if you do not cut or poke wholes in at the very bottom of the soup can stove I mentioned earlier the bottom can double and hold alcohol. So you could carry a small amount of alcohol for backup if you could not find dry twigs or just couldn't get it going.

[PastorLarryT]

BearLeader,
Those WallyWorld Firestarter sticks worked really well on our last campout.  I used them (or sometimes portions of them) to get the fire heated up - the small sticks/twigs caught nicely and burned completely.  (I also burned up bits of paper from around camp.)  I used the wood stove to boil all of the water for the evening meal and breakfast for a group of about 10 people.  Clean up is the only downside to my thinking.

[Woody]

J Falk's design is almost just like the one I use. You can check his out here: http://www.backpacking.ne...falk-woodstove/index.html
He also mentions that if you want to give a wood stove a try without blackening a pot you can wrap it in aluminum foil to protect it.

[PastorLarryT]

The Aluminum foil is a good idea.  Thanks Woody.

[Graceless]

 I have one made from a coffee can it holds everything else needed. I have also carried a few matchlight charcoals in it ;one for each day if I can spare the weight. And black absorbs heat better than shiny in reference to the shiny pot mention.

[Graceless]

With my coffee can I cut slits in a cross pattern at different heights then used a couple of pieces of rigid wire to cross inside ,forming an X pattern,to support my pot.
also if you take a bar of soap and rub it on your pots before you cook with them it will keep them from being perm. black.
 

[PastorLarryT]

Never tried the soap on the pot but sounds like a good idea.  Thanks for sharing.

[Woody]

J Falk's design is almost just like the one I use. You can check his out here: http://www.backpacking.ne...falk-woodstove/index.html
He also mentions that if you want to give a wood stove a try without blackening a pot you can wrap it in aluminum foil to protect it.

That is pretty slick.  I know what my Scouts will be working on next.    The only issue I see is having to lug that brick around to put the stove on.  That would suck.  

I think that is one of those ultralight bricks