Reading your account, I couldn't but help mull over the alternative option of carrying a solar panel, like Goal Zero's Nomad 7 or 3.5, and the relative tradeoffs. Instead of the Biolite, one would have a cartridge stove - say a canister hooked up to a Pocket Rocket.

I have seen the biolite at my local REI, and I agree, it is too hefty for backpacking. Thinking of another recent thread, maybe it would be something for Jeanette-Isabella to consider. She might get a charge out of it...

With a solar panel, the prevailing opinion seems to be that it will not charge well when on he move, so you really need to be stationary for the rig to work well.

Keeping electronics charged seems to be more and more necessary. Is there anything that uses leg motion?

I'm planning on checking into the various solar panel options. From what little I know of them, solar panels also take a long time to fully charge a phone. The advantage seems to be that you could set the panel out in the sun with the phone plugged in and be doing other things while it charges. With the biolite you need to keep feeding wood into the stove. The other disadvantage with a solar panel is that they seem to require sunlight, which is not always in good supply, at least in my part of the world.

Perhaps some of our other readers can shine some light on the topic of solar panels?

I have the Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus ... -- I like it. I keep a set of "white" NiMH rechargeable batteries in it and have used it to charge my iPhone 4S a few times. No issues, but then I live in the solar friendly (lots of sun) southwest.

There is another thread here on the stove:
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=17949&Number=255389#Post255389

I have owned and used the BioLite stove since it was first available, in July 2012.

I use it regularly at home with and without the separately purchased grill attachment. It is, in fact, my home grill, and I have found the stove and the grill to be consistently reliable, with well thought-out design (folding legs, nesting power supply). It came in handy for cooking after several storms with power outages.

My location has maybe 20 trees, and storms always provide plenty of fuel for the stove (dropped branches). Many of the other places I frequent have an abundance of twigs and sticks just laying everywhere. When I see it all, I think "free fuel." It is normal to have a good long, hot burn sufficient to cook a meal with two large handfuls of wood that are no longer than 6".

I also use it for heating food while car camping, but mostly we cook over the campfire.

The CampStove has two speeds for the fan. The faster speed burns fuel hotter and faster. You can also vary temperature by the amount of fuel you add over time.

As for charging devices, it doesn't require a sunny day or hazardous fuels, and I have used it to charge a smartphone and USB-chargeable flashlights. I have no problem sitting around after dinner, feeding twigs to this stove while my phone is being charged, and I can easily add 20% to 60% to a smartphone's battery while cooking and hanging out.

It is not the stove to take on your above-treeline hikes, both because of weight and lack of local fuel. Nor should you try to charge any iPad with it.

For me, it has been sturdy, reliable, and useful both as a stove and for USB charging.

I just spent some time on the web, looking at solar and other options for charging my iPhone when I can't plug it in. I'm starting to think one of the small battery devices might be the best fit for my needs. The Morphie Power Station looks especially interesting.

I too got a Biolite the week it was released. Overall I agree with most of what has been written here. It will charge a phone as advertised but not unattended. With the induction fan on HIGH it devours wood at a rapid rate. I will say that it burns very hot and with virtually no smoke; there's nothing left but a very very fine ash. But while it does work it's more of a cool toy than a useful item. I think one of the cooking pots with a bio-thermic generator would be a bit more useful.

Still I think the upcoming Base Camp model is promising.

I don't have the Mophie power station, but I do have a Mophie Juice Pack Air for my 4s -- I like it. The Mophie iPhone case is a reserve power source if the switch is in the red position. In the green it's on and charging the iPhone continuously until it's depleted, so the meter on the iPhone will show 100% until the Mophie starts to deplete. I keep it in red so the Mophie maintains a full reserve charge; switch to green and it dumps into the iPhone.

Nice thing about the Mophie is it takes a standard mini-USB connection and isn't as selective with source. The Goal Zero solar system plugs into the Mophie to recharge the iPhone. I haven't used the proprietary Apple connector in years.

The Mophie is indeed interesting, and it inspired me to look around a bit. I ran across yet another Goal Zero gadget - the Torch 250 - http://www.rei.com/product/880088/goal-zero-torch-250-flashlight

It charges from an integral solar panel, a usb port, or a hand crank (perfect for masochists) and has slightly more capacity than the Mophie Power Station...

The advantages of the solar (and hand crank) devices is that you could use them in the field indefinately, recharging your phone multiple times, without ever needing to plug into into a line or other power source. On the downside, they tend to be bulkier and heavier.

The morphie will allow you to recharge your phone one or perhaps a couple of times, but then you need to plug in the morphie itself somewhere to recharge it. On the other hand, the morphies appear to be very compact and relatively light weight.

For my needs, the morphies look like the better deal. I can see carrying it when traveling. If I run down my phone listening to music on a long flight I can still recharge it to use when I get off the plane, without having to hunt down a place to plug in. And when out in the boonies (but still within cell range), it gives me at least one recharge of my phone. All this for very little weight/bulk.

If I were planning to be out in the woods (but still within cell range) for an extended period, then the solar devices would probably be the better choice.

The GZ Guide 10 recharger holds 4xAA rechargeable batteries and the NiMH AA batteries I have in mine are 2000 mAh each for a total of 8000 mAh; the spec sheet shows four 2300 mAh batteries for 9200 mAh total. The Mophie Powerstation holds 6000 mAh.

IMO the Guide 10 Plus Solar Kit is a better deal. It has the recharger and it comes with a solar panel if the opportunity arises. You can always carry additional AA batteries.

For the record, no affiliation with either Mophie or Goal Zero.