Has anyone tried the Biolite camp stove? | Squat the Planet

Has anyone tried the Biolite camp stove?

Dirtbaguette

Active member
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
42
Reaction score
32
Location
Colorado & Washington
Found this thing online & it looks fucking cool as hell for $130. I can't post a link to it but it is a stove that uses no fuel just burns sticks/pine cones/pellets. The REALLY cool part is it has a USB port to charge your phone. It uses the heat & converts it to energy to charge your phone while you cook. Man if I had the cash I would SO try one. Just wondering if anyone has actually used one & how well it charges from the port.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: freeranger

frzrbrnd

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
123
Reaction score
49
looks like something i probably wouldn't want to carry in my backpack. if i'm already just burning the fuel i find around me, i might as well just build a fire.
 

Dirtbaguette

Active member
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
42
Reaction score
32
Location
Colorado & Washington
Are you looking at the small backpacking model ? They have a big household model too. But a fire = alotta smoke = not stealth . This appealed to me hugely in that it will charge your phone with the heat generated. So even on a cloudy day with no sun you could charge your phone in the backcountry...
 

dprogram

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
619
Reaction score
372
Location
Riverdale Park, United States
My mind is blown. That is one of the coolest things (I'll never get) that I have seen in forever!
 

freeranger

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2012
Messages
74
Reaction score
14
it is pretty damn cool, but ya, i think its usefulness would be limited to rubber tramping, not train hopping. i'd be afraid of breaking it jumping on and off.
 

DregeDE

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
Banned
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
158
Reaction score
88
Its cool And I'd say its great for train riders, if you ever carry a phone, camera, laptop, glass 40oz sidewalk slam your no stranger to keeping potentialy breakable shit safe from getting fucked up = don't throw your fucking pack off a train.

As for rubber tramping I'd/I'll buy one if I end up in a car again but for my RV I have bigger plans . . .
FIRST of all You do not need to buy their (relatively) overpriced gizmo All you really need is the TEG (thermoelectric generator)
http://www.customthermoelectric.com - For the DIY
And http://shop.thermoamp.com/main.sc For the layperson consumerist

See Rather than a thermo turbine I could just attach this to the Pot belly stove I wanna get and install in my RV. http://shop.thermoamp.com/Portable-Wood-Stove-AMP-30-PORTABLE-WOOD-STOVE-AMP-30.htm
More fuel efficient than my 4.0 Generator by far.
g%20Stove%20in%20an%20RV%20-%20California%202008-L.jpg
 

DregeDE

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
Banned
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
158
Reaction score
88
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hobo richard

benjysirois

Professional knob twiddler and sound anarchist
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
95
Reaction score
110
Location
Toronto
As an addendum to this relatively dead thread. I had mine all summer and it kicked ass.

I kept some dry kindling with me just in case the mornings were moist or a rain had soaked a lot of the foliage. It was a major blessing most of the time.

It charges your devices rather slowly so you wouldn't get much charge out of it if you're just cooking your brekky. However, if you're in a bind, just get that thing roaring and keep feeding it. Whatever ya need will charge in time and with a little patience.

They say that the battery usually dies if you don't use it over the course of the winter season so you need to give it a little charge to prime it. I just pulled mine out after the coldest winter we've ever had...it still turned on.

The only real downfall is that, as all stoves are, if you have no fuel then you typically do not have a fire. Easy as that. This particularly sucked when I was in the Black Rock desert and it was chilly as fuck.

Verdict-They're tough, easy to work with and reliable. The key word is patience and a little preparation.
 

landpirate

campervan untilising nomadic traveller
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
949
Reaction score
1,569
Location
Brighton, United Kingdom
I love these things, although I don't have one personally a friend does and I couldn't believe what a cool bit of kit it is. I've been eyeing up the kettlecharge , also made by biolite but they are really expensive over here (well perhaps everywhere!?!) £140/$216

http://www.biolitestove.com/products/biolite-kettlecharge

I think it would be really useful in my van when there isn't much in the way of sunshine for my solar panel. Trying to weigh up getting one or spending some more on upgrading solar panels on my roof combined with a new leisure battery.
 

Bitch

Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2020
Messages
8
Reaction score
17
Location
The dirtydeen
Doing beyond the grave necro posts while I'm still a dumb newb.
Used one exclusively for two years in a Hawaii bumming on Maui. No fires allowed? Pick it up and walk away with it still burning. Paper sack of twigs makes 6 cups of curry twice. Still carry with my ultralight gear and can joke with other roadies that my pack is under 15 pounds and I'm carrying a wood stove. Never bother to charge with it just enjoy unlimited fuel (burns trash, cardboard, ground sweepings, whatever. Ultimately rusted out so I replaced it after going continental again but not bad for miniature campfire feels and second one is still going strong. Boil times, while finicky until you get past the curve, are unreal fast. Puts out some heat and its dry combustion so wet clothes and sweaty socks even stand a chance in the jungle. (Side note everything rots in the jungle. Had food and gear stashed in Saran wrapped buckets for a couple years and revisited on a later trip to the islands. Stove made it, Coleman torch for speedy ignition was still there, and the only salvageable food was sardines. many nights morale was salvaged thanks to this stove and it is worth it for me from that alone. When you are soaked worse than swimming from jungle rain, it's dark and the ground is alive and crawling sardine stew warms the soul of the weary traveller better than right out of the tin.
 

About us

  • Squat the Planet is the world's largest social network for misfit travelers. Join our community of do-it-yourself nomads and learn how to explore the world by any means necessary.

    More Info

Help us pay the bills!

Total amount
$10.00
Goal
$100.00

Latest Library Uploads