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#219785 - 03/19/11 04:17 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Hikin_Jim]
Pete Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/20/09
Posts: 1372
I think that having the option to build a makeshift wood stove out of cans is a really good survival technique. Take a look at Japan right now - lots of wood debris after the tsunami and the earthquake. Initially some of the debris may be soaked with seawater, but it will dry out. It's going to take these people a long time to re-build. I'm sure they will be using wood for fuel for quite a while.

In the woods - foraging for tinder serves a very valuable purpose of removing dead undergrowth that is a fire hazard.

In the city, it's helpful to have some small stuff for tinder. Although bits of cardboard do kinda' work, it's not as good as actually having small bits of wood.

A saw is not so good for preparing tinder ... there's nothing like a small tomahawk for this purpose. But they're very heavy to carry in your pack. I have been wondering about getting one of the lightweight tomahawks, like the one in the link below. But have not tried it out, and am not sure if it's worth getting. The price is not bad, though ($52).

http://sogknives.com/store/F09.html

Pete #2


Edited by Pete (03/19/11 04:17 PM)

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#219789 - 03/19/11 04:29 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Pete]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Originally Posted By: Pete
A saw is not so good for preparing tinder ... there's nothing like a small tomahawk for this purpose.


I much prefer a stout knife that can be used to baton / split wood, carve fuzz sticks, shave off thin curls, and provide the steel to create spark with flint.

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#219791 - 03/19/11 04:35 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: JerryFountain]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
As Jerry mentioned, there are many area environments and terrain where a wood stove or fire is not conducive to a hot lunch or dinner. This area (which we are going back to for a week long hiking trip in late June) is a prime example where a modern liquid fueled or cannister stove is mandatory...


_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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#219792 - 03/19/11 04:43 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Teslinhiker]
Pete Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/20/09
Posts: 1372
John ... True. Pretty country!! But if you're above the tree line, firewood is going to be a bit scarce. ha! Ha!!

Pete #2

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#219793 - 03/19/11 04:43 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: dweste]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I have always been able to acquire adequate tinder simply with my bare hands. You want really fine, thin fuel. Look for dead twigs on standing trees, well in the interior where they are shielded from moisture. Bits of dead bark work quite well. Stuff lying on the ground is usually too wet to work very well.

Bark from Utah juniper is absolutely superb. It can be easily lit directly from a match - you would think it was soaked in gasoline. Pine knots from decayed logs work extraordinarily well - full of pitch, they can also be lit directly with a match.

For negligible weight, it is a good idea to carry cotton balls and some kind of petroleum jelly - a never fail backup.
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#219799 - 03/19/11 06:25 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: hikermor]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
A good wood burning camping stove will utilize less wood than just cooking over a campfire. It is more efficient, and a bit easier to use a small cooking pot. They are not bad, and are easily built. There are a few techniques which can give you the same effect without carrying anything, such as a prairie stove where you dig a small hole, with a tunnel for air and build the fire in the hole with your pot over the top. It is dangerous in some forests though, with so much rotting vegetation instead of sand or dirt. You run the risk of starting a fire without knowing it.

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#219800 - 03/19/11 06:42 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Hikin_Jim]
juhirvon Offline
Newbie

Registered: 03/09/11
Posts: 36
Depending on the way you pack it, a wood stove may even allow you to carry a pre-set fire with you (if you can spare the space of having the stove full of twigs, tree bark and wood chips inside, just add fire).

You can protect and contain it with a simple plastic bag. We've done this a few times when we know it's going to rain a lot later. Once your dry patch is burning well, you can add damp or dry firewood bit by bit.

I usually just carry a alcohol stove.

-jh

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#219806 - 03/19/11 08:00 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: juhirvon]
Hikin_Jim Offline
Sheriff
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 10/12/07
Posts: 1804
Loc: Southern California
Zen Stoves has an interesting run down on types of wood stoves.

HJ
_________________________
Adventures In Stoving

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#219809 - 03/19/11 08:14 PM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Hikin_Jim]
Art_in_FL Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/01/07
Posts: 2432
For after disaster use in an urban or suburban setting the one thing may places have is wood. Propane, gasoline, kerosene, butane and electricity might all be expected to be in short supply. Even sunshine might be hard to come by in some situations but in those areas, even assuming there are no trees or woods, wood is easy to get. Look at after the tornado, hurricane or tsunami photographs, lots of wood from demolished buildings is piled up. If you had a hatchet or say you would have more wood to burn than you would ever need.

In rural areas and wilderness camping in most areas you have wide swaths of forest and scrub brush that is full of suitable things to feed a wood stove.

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#220053 - 03/23/11 06:02 AM Re: Why carry a wood stove? [Re: Hikin_Jim]
Roarmeister Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 09/12/01
Posts: 960
Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada
All this talk of wood stoves brings back fond memories. In grade 2, I got a hold of a #10 coffee can, a church key and Dad's tin snips. I punched air holes at the base and the top and made a slot for loading tiny branches. Then I grabbed my kid sister and a gal friend from class, both of whom doubted my skills at cooking in the out doors. We hiked to the perimeter of town, then I fired up the can stove with a couple of paper matches/toilet paper/fingerlings of wood and proceeded to cook an egg and some bacon on the top rim of the can. I was as proud as a peacock! I was "da man"!

Never told my parents though because I knew I would catch royal heck for "playing with fire". smile

Nowadays, I am more interested in making my own copy of a wood fire stove to prevent any impact on nature similar to this stove: http://www.churchillrivercanoestore.com/...rt&Itemid=1 Having a stove that will prevent any burn marks on the soil or will eliminate the need for leaving scorched unsightly rocks to scare the trail just makes sense.

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