I took the BioLite out on a backpack in January. It's a lot of fun, although I think it's a little heavy for what it is. For more "fun" trips (family, groups of friends on a casual trip, car camping, etc.), I think it's fine. For a serious backpacking trip where weight is more critical, I don't see it.

When it gets going, it is one rocking wood stove. One guy on the camp out jokingly called it the BioHazard stove instead of BioLite.


As far as the Solo Stove is concerned, it's a proven design. I say proven since it's almost an exact copy of Fritz Handel's Bush Buddy. It's more cheaply made, in China I believe. It's a pretty incredible rip off of Fritz's work. Fritz is just a guy living out in the woods in Canada who lacked the means to copyright his work. So the rip-off may have been inevitable, but the Solo stove brings ripping people off to new heights, even at first advertising their stove as the "new Bushbuddy." It may be a perfectly good stove, but ripping someone off simply because they're impoverished seems like something I don't want to support. Also, I believe the (real) Bushbuddy is 4 ounces lighter.

HJ