[john10001]

I have been thinking about getting a small wood burning camp stove for my BOB for a while. At the moment I just have a small MSR Pocket Rocket gas stove. Have been considering the Solo Stove and think that fits the bill nicely but now have seen this BioLite Camp Stove and wow! How useful is that? A stove that also generates enough electricity to charge basic gadgets. Has anyone got one of these if they are available yet?

 

[Nathan Jefferson]

If you are carrying the BOB on your back... Go stoveless.

The biolite is awesome and I hope to get one soon, but I would not carry it in my BOB. You can get them now, $130 BioLite CampStove - BioLite Stove

a cheaper and more compact option, but i still wouldn't carry it in a BOB: Solhuma Vital Survival Stove : Amazon.com : Sports & Outdoors

 

[wesley762]

I have seen it advertised, the thing with me though is when we head out into the woods the electronics stay behind. I still have my phone with me but it stays turned off. The only thing I bring that runs on batteries is a flashlight.

 

[vandelescrow]

I have not searched yet but if I can find a head lamp or flashlight that can be charged via usb or a battery charger that will, this would be great.

P.S. is there a way to subscribe to a thread to be notified when it is updated via e-mail?

 

[roy]

Why not just get a headlamp with a battery that wil last for months.

 

[Nathan Jefferson]

to expand on what I said, there are small foldable/rollable solar chargers that will give as much or more juice than a biolite and weigh much less. And wouldn't require a fire.

quick search showed this example, still about half the price of a biolite, 1/3rd the weight and ~2x the wattage.

Goal Zero 12301 Nomad 7M Solar Panel : Amazon.com : Automotive

 

[Verteidiger]

I saw that mini-wood-burning-stove on TV. It burns "bio-mass" which is marketing hype for twigs and sticks.

My first impression was it was kinda cool you could charge a cell or smart phone off the heat it makes.

Then I saw how hard it would've been to actually cook over that thing. It is like lighting a fire in a coffee cup. Marshmallows anyone?

I think I will stick with a Dakota fire hole - more work but you can actually cook a meal on one. And ditch the smart phone. No reception in the boonies or mountains anyway....

 

[Montana Rancher]

WTF

Sorry if you are bugging out or have a Get Home Bag, why would you waste weight and space on a stove!!??

Plus fuel is expendable and once you run out (after lugging it over several miles) What is your plan???

Your food should not require heat, so you solve about 90% of your need for any kind of fire.

The reason to NOT BUILD A FIRE is someone will see it, smell it, find you

If you do need to build a fire to cook some locally harvested food you should use this:

Wilderness Living - Sometimes you gotta rough it to smooth it: DAKOTA FIRE PIT

Minimal smoke, minimal light, optimum heat, and with a large rock you can put it out.

In a survival situation you should be thinking... what should I carry that I can use forever.

 

[Deebo]

Like Mr. Montana said, I would ditch it from my bug out bag. I myself am a pyro, so i have built and experimented with alot of stoves and fires, from "copper coils" to a wood gas stove, even have a few "dollar tree" sterno imitations, but i wouldn't lug any of them in my b.o.b., which, at the moment, is taking up my kitchen table.

 

[Montana Rancher]

Like Mr. Montana said, I would ditch it from my bug out bag. I myself am a pyro, so i have built and experimented with alot of stoves and fires, from "copper coils" to a wood gas stove, even have a few "dollar tree" sterno imitations, but i wouldn't lug any of them in my b.o.b., which, at the moment, is taking up my kitchen table.

Haha I was working on mine today, I decided to make my GET HOME BAG into a dual purpose BOB which includes a full season sleeping bag and a lot more foraging tools. I will be posting a thread when I get it completed, besides adding a sleeping bag I will be replacing my shotgun with an AR15. This is gonna be fun!

 

[paraquack]

I carry the Esbit folding stove and one spare pack of 12 fuel cubes. The stove is a little bigger than pack of playing cards and extra fuel is about 2 1/2 time bigger. Best pint, non-toxic so you don't need good ventilation. I also carry a couple of packs of Trioxane for starting a camp fire.
View attachment 2089

 

[whoppo]

We've got a Bio-Lite stove and it's as cool as it looks. When packed it's about the size and weight of a full nalgene bottle. The Bio-Lite gets stowed in my wife's full pack, while I keep an MSR PocketRocket and a small fuel canister in mine.

 

[Verteidiger]

Hey, Montana Rancher, quit copycatting my fire-making recommendations.

Besides, you Montana boys can't use Dakota techniques until you can beat them in football. Man code.

 

[roy]

If you are gonna do more than brew the occassional cup of coffee you need a real stove. I carry a MSR Simmerlite with 11 oz fuel bottle, good for 5 days or so. Rest of the cooking kit is 1.3l Titanium pot and plastic cup that nests inside with windscreen.

 

[PaulS]

If you are worried about a warm cup of coffee when you are bugging out then you left real early or you are already too late.
That BOB is to get from where you are to where you need to be - not for a vacation camp-out.
Save the weight for chocolate nut bars or granola or something that has calories you can actually use when you need it.

 

[felixx]

I have been experimenting with alcohol stoves of the soda can variety.. they will boil a couple of cups of water... a warm drink or meal can make a huge difference to morale .
I have a wife n 2 small kids, so need some creature comforts

 

[roy]

Warm food is a tremendous morale booster. My BOB only weighs 20 lbs but I have a stove.

The homebrew alcohol stoves are probably the lightest. They are fun to make and play with. They don't work that well below freezing and use more fuel than something like the Wisperlite or Simmerlite. If you are cooking for multiple people or going for more than a week you will come out lighter with the Wisperlite because of fuel savings. The alcohol is also much slower. You can boil a cup of water in about 2 minutes with the Whisperlite while the alcohol will take about 7.

 

[Leon]

That's what I put together for my BOB, haven't used it yet (in that form) but I'm certain it'll work. It's like your own little mini kitchen.

 

[felixx]

My alcohol stoves do 2 cups in under 5min

 

[roy]

That will vary greatly depending on conditions like temperature of the water and wind. Try it outside with water temperature you are likey in the wild and try it.