Is the wood burning stove illogical nowadays?

[Ricky&Jack]

I have not bought/used a stove on the trails yet. But I was looking at research online about a possibility for my first stove purchase. (Sofar im leaning towards jetboil)... But I started thinking "what's wrong with a simple, portable wood/twig burning stove?

Is the wood burning stove pretty much dead nowadays?

I think i can make a coffee can wood burning stove for almost nothing (or even buy a small wood burning stove for little, as well).

Or i can spend $99 on something like a jetboil.

My question is, is there a reason to spend $99 on a fuel canister stove? Or does it make more since to buy/make a wood/twig burner?

(Lets pretend that small alcohol stoves/soda-can stoves don't exist).

Twig burner for relatively nothing? or $99 on a cannister stove? What would you do?

[quasarr]

I have not used a wood stove so I can't remark on the convenience or lack thereof for using one. However, there is a middle ground between the extremes you mentioned! An MSR Pocket Rocket is $32 on Amazon, and around $30-$40 at many camping stores. Then buy a K-Mart grease pot for $7, and make a pot cozy out of a spare piece of a foam sleeping pad, or the shiny reflective material used for windshield shade screens. Add pot grippers if you really like luxury for another $6 or so. Total cost, still less than half the Jetboil!

The high price of the Jetboil is due to the insulated mug and the fancy heat exchanger. The Jetboil does have a slightly faster boil time and slightly better efficiency compared to a bare bones canister stove like the Pocket Rocket. But for me it is not worth the extra weight and $$.

And I would like to stick with your main topic, but why pretend that alcohol stoves don't exist? You can also make one for "relatively nothing," some of the designs are really easy to make, and if you are willing to collect twigs for a fire every day then the usual disadvantages of alcohol compared to canister (longer wait to boil, a little less convenient to use, etc) probably aren't too important for you

http://www.amazon.com/MSR-11792-Pock...dp/B000A8C5QE/

[rafe]

I used a wood stove (Sierra Zip stove) for a couple of years' section hikes. The main advantage of course is that you don't have to carry fuel. You can cook extravagant meals. You can even use it as a miniature personal campfire.

But there are downsides. You have to collect the fuel, start up the stove, and feed it continuously. All that takes time. It's dirty, and it'll turn your cookware black and sticky -- so it needs to be wrapped carefully before you stuff it back in your pack. It's just a lot of fuss and bother. And there are settings where it's just not cool to be starting a miniature wood fire.

You don't need to spend $100 on a stove. The Pocket Rocket (burner attachment) is $40. That's what I use these days. My Jetboil stove mostly sits at home.

Folks like their alcohol stoves but I could never make them work for me. There's no turning off the flame once it's lit. You get a limited burn time and have to make the most of it.

[yellowsirocco]

Look up the Fancy Feast Stove. It costs practically nothing, especially if you have a cat. Alcohol just requires lots of patience.

[Rocket Jones]

Another seldom mentioned advantage to alcohol stoves is that they're silent. I much prefer that to the jet-engine roar of a canister stove. I have a canister stove, but most of the time I use my SuperCat.

[Tuckahoe]

The best thing about a wood stove is that you can build one at little to no cost and then try it out. I did that myself, built a stove played with it for a while and realized that a wood stove would not work for me -- for many of the reasons stated by Rafe. But too many folks make them work and use them successfully.

I tend to agree with others as far as canister stoves. Check out MSR Pocket Rocket and Snow Peak Giga Power and get yourself in inexpensive Imusa 10 or 12 cm pot.

[kayak karl]

wood stove take some planning and patience, canister you get what you want when you want it. what type of person are you?

[Coffee]

The Jetboil provides near instant gratification ... boiling water in a couple of minutes. I wouldn't have the patience to deal with a wood or alcohol stove personally but there are plenty of people who use alcohol stoves, and fewer using wood burners. I think that wood and alcohol stoves are fine for people who have lots of patience and aren't doing multiple boils per day. It wouldn't work for me since I usually boil water at least 3-4 times per day... twice for breakfast (oatmeal, and then coffee), usually mid morning for coffee, and then for dinner. Obviously with this usage patter a canister stove is needed and the Jetboil is the fastest and most fuel efficient that I know of.

[garlic08]

...what type of person are you?

This is as good an explanation as I've ever seen for the preponderance of gear choices out there! You gotta pick what suits your style.

My wife tried a wood burner on her '02 thru and she liked it OK for about 500 miles. Complaints were, in addition to those above, heavy smoke in crowded areas and failure of materials under repeated high temps. She didn't have to deal with fire bans that year, but that's becoming more of an issue in some areas. She switched to alcohol, then a few years later tried stoveless and likes that best now. We've both been tempted by the Jetboil at times, but price and fuel availability ruled it out for our hikes, but that's just our style.

[canoe]

I went through the progression of stoves. As i have shared with you before I started with a jetboil thought about wood stove,because fuel will always be availible. thought about making a coffee can stove and was told coffee can do not take the heat well and will evetually burn out. Went alcohol but finally settled on pocket rocket and snow peak pot. This is my go to...but all will work for you if you have patience knowing is some situations like wind or rain will slow cooking down considerably. It just depents what you want to do.

[Mags]

IF you do basecamp style trips with more camping and less hiking, a wood stove may not be the worst choice.

I'd be too tired/impatient to use one on a more hiking oriented trip personally.

[Likeapuma]

If you're just trying to decide for now, a Fancy Feast costs almost nothing. Worth the "investment", even if you choose to go a different route.

I found out about them & thought they sounded cool. I had no need for one, but made one for fun & it's been my go-to for all my weekend trips.

[Slo-go'en]

There are situations where a wood stove makes a lot of sense. I used one during an extended trip in the Canadian Rockies where traditional fuel like white gas or alcohol was not readily available. I used a Zip stove (this stove has a battery operated fan in the base to force air into the burn chamber) which fit into a quart sized stainless steel pot. The disadvantage was it was heavy at almost 2 pounds and bulky, but I was using a large external frame pack, so that wasn't a big issue.

In general, wood stoves are bulky and dirty. They have a big fiddle factor in that they need near constant attention. Since you can't use them in a shelter, if it's raining out you have a big problem. Along the AT, wood to burn is easy to find. Every shelter with a fire pit has plenty of small sticks laying around, often under the shelter roof so their dry. But you need a reliable way to quickly start the fire, which means carrying something like cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly or cardboard soaked in wax.

Pretty much everyone who does use a wood stove also carries an alcohol stove as a back up for use in situations when the wood stove isn't usable. However, wood stoves are fun to play with and for a short one or two night trip can work out fine. Just be sure to practice with it at home first.

[Old Hiker]

Wal-Mart has a Primus (?) canister pocket stove for $20. I got one, just for the price and to try out because of the name brand. Haven't tried it yet and I'm pretty sure it was a Primus. Wally also has a Coleman that's pretty good as well. I bought some of those for my Scouts to use on AT section hikes.

I use a Pocket Rocket and other than one that had the threads stripped out (Scouts), I've been pleased.

[rafe]

In general, wood stoves are bulky and dirty. They have a big fiddle factor in that they need near constant attention. Since you can't use them in a shelter, if it's raining out you have a big problem.

I have used my Sierra Zip stove in a shelter, but it was mid-day and I was the only occupant. I was taking cover from a downpour and using it as a personal campfire. The Zip stove is as self-contained and safe as any other camp stove, so that's not a problem.

For thru-hikers, the emphasis is generally on making miles and a spartan, no-frills camp. Walk all day, stop, make dinner, go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. You want food prep quick and simple. If (as thru-hiker) you plan to use your stove more than once a day... forget the wood stove, it makes no sense at all.

A wood stove makes more sense where you're planning fewer miles and a more luxurious camp experience. Especially, say, if you're going to be hiking out of a particular base camp for more than a day, and with a friend or two.

[Pedaling Fool]

Everyone has an opinion.... http://www.leavenotracedude.com/lib-firestove.shtml Leave No Trace, Dude

[Bronk]

Buy one of these and see if you like it before you spend big bucks on a canister stove. I bought one last October and have used it a few times with no problems. People have questioned the reliability of such an inexpensive stove but so far nobody has come out and said "this stove failed while I was on a hiking trip." So far I like mine and haven't had any issuses..in the past I've always used alcohol stoves but figured for $6 and free shipping it would be worth a try. I will warn you that it rides the slow boat from China...I think I ordered it October 28th and received it in the mail just before New Years, though somebody said there was another seller of the same stove that shipped them from California. I was about 2 days away from asking for my money back...so just know that it could take a long time to get there.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Bac...=CHINESE+STOVE

[Ricky&Jack]

The reason I created this thread was because I was thinking "Is it weird/dumb that sticks are the most useful thing to burn, yet people buy stoves and fuel, instead'?

That seems like a cattle farmer going to walmart to buy hamburger patties.... You have a whole field of what you CAN use, for free. But little actually use it.

I was just making sure I wasnt thinking odd, and that there was a reason to use fuel stoves etc (which ya'll explained the faster time, less smoke, no smell etc)

[Venchka]

...

My question is, is there a reason to spend $99 on a fuel canister stove? Or does it make more since to buy/make a wood/twig burner?

...

Twig burner for relatively nothing? or $99 on a cannister stove? What would you do?

I can tell you what I have done on 4 occasions. I still have all of the following in working order:
ESBIT folding tablet stove. Occasionally carried as back up. Unused so far.
SVEA 123 white gas. Stove, parts & fuel still around. Works in winter.
Gas canister - company and canisters long gone. I still have the stove & 4 canisters. I will use the fuel & toss the stove when the fuel runs out. Should last me about a month on some trail somewhere.
Coleman Peak I Apex white gas. Fuel still around. Parts not so much. No worries. These stoves are bulletproof. Lightest stove in my collection. Works in winter.
Primus Himalaya MFS. Burns white gas, kerosene & gas canisters. Parts & fuel alive and well. Will work anywhere on earth. Works in winter with the right fuel.
If I am camped somewhere where wood burning is permitted & I can find down dead wood, a small cook fire is easy. No reason to carry another stove.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Wayne

[psyon27]

I would say you can eliminate some of the disadvantages by getting a fold flat lightweight woodstove, eg. emberlit, firefly. However, they are competitive with even lightweight alcy stoves in the weight department, after you figure in fuel weight. Save time trying to get to the store for fuel, you will be easily able to find the small sticks needed. Even some bigger sticks can be used with a side feed wood burner. As for firestarter, it is lighter than carrying all the fuel needed to boil your water. You don't even need dish soap if you use a stainless steel or titanium pot, the white powdery ashes form the fire make soap when mixed with any gease still in your pot from the food you just cooked and ate. Don't do that with an aluminum pot though the lye in it will eat through your pot fast.

They still take more time to boil water. Honestly though what is a couple more minutes cooking your food? It doesn't take an extra 30 minutes just a few.

Ken