Good post, BobS.

I have no knock on the Thermette. I expect I will eventually own and use one; especially for car and canoe camping.

Cooking solar takes some practice. Mid-day is usually best. Better portable solar setups can reach in excess of 250 degrees in about 30 minutes of full sun, regardless of ambient air temperature. Time to pasteurize or boil is going to depend on altitude but, except for massive parabolic cookers, solar will never be as fast as a Thermette.

There are some foods, especially baked goods, that can be cooked in less than an hour, depending on conditions.

You can cook soups, stews, casseroles, and other dense foods unattended for substantial periods of time with solar. There is no need to keep adjusting the cooker to track the sun, but you can if you want.

With the efficiency of modern solar a typical cycle begins with pointing the solar cooker so that it will get best sun from 11 to 2. Earlier than that it is warming, during peak it is cooking, and after peak it is keeping food warm. Solar cookers are like other slow cookers, you really cannot burn food very easily. So “set it and forget it” as Ron Popeil (sp?) would say; go fishing or take a nap.

I agree that, except in the most desperate of escape and evasion bug outs, the smoke and residues of a small fire are not a big issue. But I think many of us know that even burying, or spreading and covering, evidence of a fire leaves at least telltale smell, as does the downwind smoke plume long before and long after you can see actual smoke. So if being found or tracked, or just minimizing your impact on the land is an issue, then solar might be a better option.

In many places picking up a few handfuls of fuel will not be a problem, though in all California parks and many local and national parks it is technically illegal. Much of the time you probably also are supposed to get a fire permit, and at times the permits will not be issued due to fire danger. I agree that the no-harm-no-foul rule will probably apply most of the time, but solar eliminates these legal concerns. This may be a consideration for you, perhaps especially if you are trying to model behavior you want youngsters to follow.

The stealth scenario presumed you were already holing up for the day and traveling at night only. Again, I agree it is only relevant in extreme evasion situations and it is up to you if you want to think about preparedness for such cases. My current BOB plan includes an alcohol stove. In fairness, if aerial pursuit was an issue, I would not want to deploy a large reflective solar cooker either.

Making a solar cooker from found materials is definitely harder than assembling found fuel for a Thermette you are already carrying and could be impossible in some situations. But of course that is an apples and oranges comparison. If solar makes sense you can put together a game plan for making a solar cooker more easily than making a Thermette.

By the way, if you are traveling you can sometimes set up a solar cooker to cook as you go. In a canoe or on top of a vehicle, would be examples.

Is solar perfect for all applications, all the time, everywhere? Nope. But is a Thermette, or an alcohol stove, or a pressurized gas stove?