BioLite Stove

[_JP_]

I have been watching this web site for a couple of years since I first learned of the BioLite Stove. It is a backpacking stove with the advantage of using wood or other biomass for fuel. No need to carry the weight of fuel along with the stove. It also can change your cell phone or other USB devices while the stove is operating.

I now have one can tell you that it works very well. I'm still waiting for he grill attachment which should ship in April. I expect to use it a lot.

The company is not just about selling product. They also have the mission of getting their larger Home Stove into places where cooking is still done over open fires. And in the process, provide a way for people who live off the electric grid a way to power their phones so that they can connect with the rest of the world.

The BioLite Stove was used after hurricane Sandy. BioLite set up banks of thier stove to provide people in the affected areas a way to charge up thier cell phones and perhaps get a hot drink or warm food at the same time.

Anybody else here have one?

http://www.biolitestove.com/

 

[73mountaineer]

I don't have one, but I have been looking at them for a while. It seems like a really interesting product & a great mission.

 

[Argonaut]

That is cool! When the kids are grown and the wife finally kicks me out, I'm going Jeremiah Johnson on the world! This would let me stay in touch with B&B.

 

[Samurai-5]

I have one and it is GREAT!

Just charge it up before you head out (you do not have to but it helps)

 

[Groat]

They seem pretty interesting, but I don't think I'd purchase one myself. They're bulky and extremely heavy for a backpacking stove, occupying about the space of a Nalgene bottle and weighing over 2 pounds. For reference, a jetboil flash occupies approximately the same amount of space and includes the cookware and fuel at about 2/3 the weight of the biolite. If you were to measure the amount of time it took you until the stove was out of your pack until you had water boiling, any isobutane stove would almost certainly be quicker.

Essentially, I see two scenarios where the Biolite stove could really be a very good choice for backpacking: The first is if you're on a long trip where resupply with fuel will be extremely difficult or impossible. There may be a trip like this out there, but I'm not sure where the food would be coming from on such a trek. The other would be if for whatever reason you absolutely needed to charge your phone or other gadgets. This stove is less bulky and likely weighs less than carrying both a backpacking stove and a solar charger. The Biolite has the added bonus of being able to charge your devices at night or in overcast conditions.

 

[_JP_]

I wish this technology was around when I was doing regular week long canoe trips in the 90's. My stove for those trips was a Coleman multi-fuel backpacking stove. Gasoline was a little over a buck a gallon at the time, so cheap to operate. Trouble was, we ran through about four bottles of fuel for two people on those week long trips. Less weight on the portages from not carrying fuel would have been nice. Not having to worry about fuel conservation is also a plus. For the BioLite, fuel in the form of biomass is everywhere.

 

[Alpine Dad]

Just noticed this thread so I thought I would pop in and give my opinion.

The BioLite stove is considered an open fire and during the fire bans last summer this stove could not be used in Algonquin Park in Ontario. I personally am sticking with my Trangia set-up. Simple, silent, and fool proof.

Cheers