This looks like an intriguing little stove. Does anyone know if they are distributed in the USA? I'm guessing that international shipping form the UK would be cost prohibitive.

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/bushcraft/RD104.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IO1dLvMBno

Thois looks like an approximate equivalent: http://www.rei.com/product/829302/vargo-titanium-hexagon-backpacking-wood-stove. I believe there are others as well that are available domestically. they will accept alcohol burners, esbit, or local wood.

That Vargo looks nice. I already have this stove: http://www.fireboxstove.com/5-inch-folding-firebox and it is great. With the sole exception being that it weighs about 2 lbs.

Funny, as I went to the Firebox website to get the url link to post above, I found that they now have a new stove which is much closer to the British stove I started this thread about. I did not know they had a new model when I started this thread. I like the fact that the new Firebox stove folds rather than comes apart into pieces like the British model. Hmmm, I may have to get one of these new smaller/lighter Fireboxes.

http://www.fireboxstove.com/3-inch-folding-firebox-nano

I don't know about a US supplier of THAT stove but I came across these stoves that look very similar.

Funny thing is I was looking for a small wood burning camp stove in the UK and all I was getting was ones from the US except for that one.

Hope that helps.

I found one of these Sterno stoves up at the local Walmart for $5. Surprisingly, it works quite well for small twig fire cooking, not quite as good as the little solo stove, but for $5, what would you expect. It folds up nice and flat, and only weighs 11 oz. The frame is aluminum, the grate and struts are steel wire.

You can spend more I guess, but I got this to work just fine. The Solo stove serves a slightly different purpose, but another fold up twig stove doesn't seem necessary.

The Emberlit: http://www.emberlit.com/ , as linked to by Cauldronborn2, is made in the U.S. and works very well. I saw it demonstrated at a gathering in Salmon, ID, by it's designer, Mikhail, in 2011 and have purchased several myself. I will be getting more for family members.

The Emberlit now comes in a mini version and looks to be the same size as the stove the OP had asked about


BOATMAN
John

This ones a little heavy. but a nice price. pocket cooker

I decided to give this one a try. Just ordered it. I don't actually NEED another stove, I just wanted one. So why not? I already have their original, bigger model and it is very nice and extremely solidly constructed. I like the one-piece-folding design as opposed to the seperate-parts-you-fit-together design of some other stoves.

http://www.fireboxstove.com/3-inch-folding-firebox-nano

I imagine that few of us actually need another stove, but I really like some of the small backpackable wood stoves I've seen here. I have a Vargo Ti Hexagon Backpacking Wood Stove which I really like so I don't need another, but when has that stopped me... I like the looks and $ of the Emberlit SS Stove, I don't need another in Ti.

Looks like a real hot item....

This is all appealing to the young pyromaniac in me. I love making fire.

If only I got a stove every time I said that.
Oh, wait...I DID get a stove every time I said that.
-Blast

How are these better/worse than a woodgas stove, a la the Solo Stove or similar?

I assume you mean this solo-stove/. That looks good for some applications but it doesn't fold up flat and would probably not fit in my smaller packs. Still, it looks like a very good stove.

Not impressed. There are some very misleading statements in their advertising. A fuel canister and my Pocket Rocket is lighter than the 9 oz they claim as the weight of their stove, just for starters.

Still, there are situations where it would work just fine. I believe home made versions can be built for far less. Our stove guru (HJ) would have very useful information.

That's only one canister of fuel. Since the solo uses fuel available on the ground, you may have a lot of fuel available, enough to far surpass your ability to carry canisters. But that's why I like a wood stove that folds as a back-up. What I like is that there are lots of options out there.

Having options is good, no doubt about it. I hiked for my first few years carrying no stove at all. We would always stop, gather wood, and light a fire to heat up our can of beans or whatever. I then progressed to carrying a gas stove (Svea type) for winter situations. Over the years, especially after several wet, soggy trips, I carried a light backpacking type stove routinely. I have been very happy with a canister stove for the last several years - with canister, about half a pound; boils water is about three minutes; and is dead simple to operate. One small canister is plenty for the typical trip of three days or so. If and when your stove messes up, you can always light a wood fire, just like the old days - unless the fire danger is too high or the woods are too wet. If weight is really important, a home made alcohol stove (CAT) and fuel is simple and quite reliable. However you manage,I think it is important to have more than one way of getting fire and cooking a meal.

In a situation other than backpacking or other situations where weight is significant, this is all irrelevant - the more, the merrier.

I expect that the Solo-Stove and the original version Bush-Baby (Bush-Buddy? I can't remember the name) would be more efficient and probably hotter burning than the folding/take-apart wood stoves. But the folding/take-apart stoves would win out in packability due to their small size when disassembled.

I bought the stove I did not because it was the lightest, or the most efficient, or the cheapest - I bought it just because I wanted it (not "needed" it). Just like we put skylights in our house when we built it. Those are not as efficient as a solid roof, but we wanted them anyway. There's just something neat about a small wood burning stove that makes me like them. And I like elegant mechanical designs, like the fold-up one I bought.

For those of you who have actually used one of these folding thingees, how does it compare to the traditional open/semi-enclosed campfire?

Yes, that one (or the other manufacturers of it)

The Solo Stove actually does well with respect to the weight comparison with a Pocket Rocket and Canister.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZvo3BPcy14

Looks to be a good longer term use stove, if fire lighting isn't a problem for the operator

A more compact gasifier stove is available called the Wild Wood Gas Stove which will fit inside a MSR Alpine stowaway pot, Alpkit MYTIPOT, Zebra Pot etc.

Using a Alpkit MYTIPOT with the Wild Wood Gas stove weighs in around 450 grams or 16 ounces. It can also be used as well with Esbit, Trangia, Firedragon, Zip Fuel and Sterno, if you want take fuel with you.

A nice demo of the Wild Wood Gas Stove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXA89p-Pr5s


The folding pocket stove looks like a useful emergency stove for Esbit, Zip and Trangia use but for burning wood looks like a non starter for burning wood due to it small size.

An important consideration for fires and fire making in western North America is fire hazard and restrictions on fires. Canister stoves are often legal, while solo stoves and their ilk would not be (sometimes, all fires and even entry into the woods are prohibited). This is not mere bureaucratic niggling. The disastrous Rim Fire just this summer was apparently started by an illegal campfire.

Over the years, I have gotten away from burning wood, primarily because of safety and convenience. I will be enjoying my nice cup of tea, to say nothing of my hearty bowl of oatmeal, while wood fire aficionados are still gathering fuel. My fuel canister becomes lighter as I use it up, while others are required to lug around their folding box.

This does, however, create a paradox. Building and lighting a fire is an absolutely fundamental outdoor skill, and like any skill, it require practice to attain and maintain proficiency, especially when conditions are poor. If you are wedded to canisters, esbit, etc., what do you do when your toys are depleted?

However you do it,just be sure that you can create fire when necessary. Just as important, know when not to strike that match.

Hikermor -- the wood burning stove I'm using these days is a Vargo Ti Hexagon. It folds more or less flat and weighs just over a quarter pound. I fully agree with your sentiments regarding use of wood fires in the very dry southwest, but it's not this dry everywhere.

I like other stoves too. Both the MSR PocketRocket and MicroRocket are great canister stoves, lightweight and very packable. Kerosene, White gas and multi-fuel stoves are also in my stash. Some are just there for the sentimental reasons, others because they are very good at what they do. They all work, some better than others.

All that said, wood can be a very good fuel and a good wood stove that packs away and is very lightweight can be a very useful option. I really like that these small stoves burn twigs and small pieces that are easy to find. The park where I walk the dog has lots of fuel just lying around that no one would miss if I cleaned it up a bit. YMMV

One semi-non-conventional use I've found for my original Folding Firebox Stove ( http://www.fireboxstove.com/5-inch-folding-firebox ) is for a campgound cheerer-upper. In an established family campground you can just set one of these things on the picnic table and build up a small fire for fun at night. It only takes a few minutes to gather up a large pile of little sticks, pine cones, etc. in a campground. It's like sitting around the campfire when you don't want to build a big campfire and then wait for it to burn down before going to bed. With an appropriately designed stove (like the above) this does no damage to the picnic table. There is an ash pan to catch any hot ashes and the bottom of the stove that sets on the table does not get hot enough to do any damage.

You get plenty of warmth sitting at a picnic table around one of these things. And you get to gaze into the flames for that mezmorizing effect. Plus, it's just fun to feed little sticks into the fire and watch them light up (at least for me, it is). When you're ready for bed, just stop feeding the fire and it will go out in a few minutes.

I don't think I'd have so much fun sitting around and gazing into a MSR Pocket Rocket fired up on the picnic table. For pure cooking needs there are more efficient devices. But if you want to add fun and enjoyment, these little wood burners are the ticket IMHO. Of course, trying to survive and eat in a cold and rainy situation might be better served by a different stove.

"I don't think I'd have so much fun sitting around and gazing into a MSR Pocket Rocket fired up on the picnic table."

This brought a grin when I read it - the mechanical stoves just don't have that "fellowship effect" - not even the full throated roar of a SVEA works for that..... And you can make a case for wood stove in reducing the fuel load when you combust all that dead wood. It is good to have options.....

i'm not much on these small folding "stoves" as i can make an open fire where i camp here in Minnesota but i would think there are places where there are open fire rules and or not much to burn so these would come in handy.the whole run on survival gear seems to have made a niche for anyone who can stamp out metal.