Has anyone here used the Firebox stove before? There are some good vids on youtube, and the design looks good to me. Since it's steel it's gonna be heavier than a Vargo titanium wood stove but it looks like it's well designed to use other fuels besides wood. I watched a video of someone cooking with Esbit in it.

How big is that thing? Doesn't seem to any info at link on dimensions. tim

(Edit -- from safecastle website this info --)

The Firebox weighs 2.2 pounds, made of 18 gauge 409 stainless steel.

Folded, it is 5" x 7" x less than 1/2" thick.

Assembled, the Firebox is 7" tall, with 5" wide walls.

2.2 lbs? Ouch.

HJ

I have one. It's a great stove. I have used it for wood fires and as a windscreen/pot_support for a Tangia burner. Functionally and mechanically it is top notch. Absolutely fantastic.

It is super heavy duty. Meaning "heavy". I would not consider it a backpacking stove, more of an emergency preparedness BOB stove or car-camping stove. It does fold up small and flat, it just weights a lot. But if you're using small sticks found on the trail for fuel, some of it's weight is offset by not needing to carry fuel in a seperate bottle or cannister. It is not flimsy at all, it is very solid and well designed.

http://foldingfirebox.com/

Certainly not for the "gram weenies" but a doable weight for most of my trips, especially if I'm using found wood. Looks like it would rock for car/canoe camping. I'm glad to hear feedback from someone here that's actually used one; you guys have a lot more credibility with me than some random Amazon reviewer!

I imagine I'll pick one up before long.

I have one. Haven't had a chance to use it yet as I've been mostly desert camping. Its heavy but very well made. Very easy to set up and break down. From what I understand he's planning on a titanium version sometime in the future. If the price is right, that would make it just about perfect.

Wow! A Ti version would be awesome.

The guy who designed these is very nice. I initially saw a picture of these on YouTube somewhere, and it had an eBay url to find one. I tried, and they were all sold out. Somewhere in all that I found a contact email for the designer (but I can't remember where). I emailed him and he got right back to me. He said they were just getting ready to go to productions on the stoves, and the models he was selling were the final prototypes (identicaly to what the production models would be). He said he had a few of the final prototypes that he used in demos for distributers he was trying to get onboard and he would sell me one of those prototypes. Which he did, promptly. The models they are selling off their website are identical to mine, so he wasn't kidding about the final prototype being the same as initial production model. He emailed me a few times asking how I liked the stove. Very nice guy.

It's great when you can get that level of personal attention. I love dealing with real people!

According to the website it's going to be available in titanium soon.

Yeah, I have one. I like it at least in concept. The difference between this and the Bush Buddy type stoves is that the dimensions are large enough that the post can sit lower down and IN the burning chamber. This permits the heat to wrap up the sides of the pot and increasing the efficiency. The burn chamber is also larger which allows more fuel to be placed inside and a longer burn. Air flow is excellent and the little damper door is useful to control the combustion.

The fellow has definitely put a lot of work into his design and has machine many different versions of stoves. The work that goes into the stove is first rate.

Since the skewers (he calls them fire sticks) can by put at different levels which makes it suitable to control the burning height to the bottom of the pot distance. Why is this important? You can keep the flame appropriate for the cooking. Put the skewers high and then slow cook or simmer. Put the skewers down low and the fire is kept right at the pot height more max. heat transfer.

Since it is larger than the BB stoves, you can build a bigger fire in it and use it as a campfire with the use of thumb sized deadfall. It comes with a cotton sleeve which can be turned inside out and used to keep your hands clean.

The weight is the negative. At 2.2 lbs or 1 kilo, it is a bit heavy for backpacking. But considering you don't need to bring your fuel with you the weight penalty is not as heavy as may think. In my correspondence with the owner, he said he is coming out with a Ti version. I made a few suggestions like trimming the dimensions, thinning the walls and using tent pegs as the "fire sticks" thus serving dual uses and allowing a small price reduction. While you can also use an alcohol stove or Esbit tablets with it, the logic of having both a wood stove and alternate stove escapes me -- why carry extra weight when you already have a heavy stove?

I've been waiting for the Ti version to come out and test to see how it stacks up before deciding whether it or the BB is the better overall stove.

--
The BB is hand made by a fellow in British Columbia. Like the Firebox designer, he is also an accomplished tinkerer and lightweight backpacker. In the long run I'd sooner support a guy like him than a large corporate company.

Folded it is almost exactly the same size as a DVD case.