Wood Stoves

[Old River Rat]

I have researched stoves and I have read of many types, alcohol, gas, wood, etc. Fire is fire, no matter the fuel. I have also read that camp fires are not allowed in many places on the AT. My question is: Are wood burning stoves allowed? I cannot see where using twigs and branches are any more dangerous that gas or alcohol. The stoves I have seen contain the fire. The fire is not burned on the ground like a campfire. I would like to hear from members on this matter.

[JAK]

It depends on the stove and the type of biomass you are using, and what sort of environment you are in. Sparks can be an issue. That is the spirit of the thing anyways. I have a Kelly Kettle, and sometimes it is as safe as any other stove, but sometimes it isn't. As far as the "letter of the law", that would depend on the rules and the interpretation. I usually try to conform to both the letter and the spirit. I also use hobo stoves. Sometimes they are safer than the Kelly Kettle, and sometimes less safe. Sparks can really fly off the old Kelly Kettle when you get it honking. Other times with the right fuel, no sparks at all. I suppose a spark arrestor might be a good option also.

[max patch]

On the AT, campfire bans do not include wood burning stoves. Cook with a clean conscience.

[Llama Legs]

I own a titanium twig stove that I play with once in a while. It takes 2 to 3 times longer than any other stove to boil water. The weight savings of not carrying fuel takes about two weeks to become an advantage over a pepsi stove. The twig stove leaves only a puff of white ash that nobody could bitch about. Also, it's not fun if you can't find dry twigs. Pretty cool however if you want to play survivor man.

[Old River Rat]

I have been looking hard at the Ti Tri. I will bring alcohol but like the idea of wood as backup (out of alcohol) or when it is dry.

[Mountain Wildman]

I have the Littlbug Junior, I tried on my July 4th trip, I may have thrown too many sticks in to begin with, the fire was a good 8 to 10 inches above the top of the stove, I positioned it on a stainless steel plate and the plate and the stove on the campground picnic table, I had to quickly scurry to move the gear that was within a 24 inch radius to be safe, the flames were licking up past my Evernew 1900ML pot and coming close to the silicone handles which I prefer remain intact. I removed the stove and plate from the table and set it on the fire pit and dug out my Dragonfly stove to cook my meal. I have not discounted carrying the Littlbug Junior since it only weighs 5.2 ounces and is a curve shape, so it wraps around my pot set taking up virtually no extra space. I will test it again on my next outing and be a little more conservative with how much "fuel" I start out with. It did put a black soot layer on my pot but I was able to wash most of it off. I will most likely carry it on my Thru-Hike since wood is a fuel source that is quite abundant and if I should run out of fuel for my primary stove I will break out the Littlbug.

[Razor]

In Georgia . the USFS considers all stoves to fall under their fire ban no mater what their fuel source,When you can use a stove ,it also does not matter what fuel is used.

[Old River Rat]

I would imagine a fire ban to be pretty rare. Although, it seems I remember GA was in drought recently. This presents a good question. If there is a fire ban, how do you heat food? The obvious answer is that you don't. I would think that you have to make do with cold food.

I was leaning toward the Ti Tri stove. But recently I have been favoring the Bushbuddy. It seems to be more heavy duty. If "heavy" can be used to describe backpacking equipment. :)

I am glad that my hiking is still months off. It seems it is quite difficult to filter through the hundreds of options from packs to pants.

[JRiker]

check out the coffee stove on imrisk.com

simple design, cheap to make. if you can like this stove, then wood stoves are for you, if not, you haven't wasted any money.

[Mrs Baggins]

Hubby has the Sierra Stove (titanium). It has the little battery operated fan that keeps that flame very very hot. It boiled water every bit as fast as our Whisperlight would have and he just used the twigs and things from around the camp site. A relative out in CA has never carried any other kind of stove and loves it. Works well in the altitudes of the northern CA Trinity Alps.

[Old River Rat]

I like the homemade coffee can stove and I have looked at the Sierra. I have read a comment made about the amount of time it takes to built a wood fire. Another comment said that you gather fuel throughout the day. I also agree that there may not be any dry fuel readily available. I have thought about an alcohol backup. Anyway, thank God I have months to figure it all out. :-?

[Slosteppin]

I would imagine a fire ban to be pretty rare. Although, it seems I remember GA was in drought recently. This presents a good question. If there is a fire ban, how do you heat food? The obvious answer is that you don't. I would think that you have to make do with cold food.

I was leaning toward the Ti Tri stove. But recently I have been favoring the Bushbuddy. It seems to be more heavy duty. If "heavy" can be used to describe backpacking equipment. :)

I am glad that my hiking is still months off. It seems it is quite difficult to filter through the hundreds of options from packs to pants.

I've been using a Tri Ti for nearly a year. To build a wood fire there is a Ti sheet just bigger than the cone. You put the sheet on the ground and build your fire. Once the fire is going you set the cone over the fire. You can feed in small sticks with the kettle on the cone. I've used it with alcohol and with esbit but not yet with wood.

A friend uses a Bushbuddy. The fire is up off the ground. He often gets the fire going on the ground then (barehanded) moves the stove to a picnic table.
If I were going to buy again I would get the Bushbuddy. I've read of people using alcohol stoves in the Bushbuddy.

[Old River Rat]

This is what I conclude since I began looking into this backpacking hobby. The Ti Tri is everything in one. It is multi fuel, with the exception of gas. It is a pot holder and windscreen in one package. I like other stoves, but the windscreening is what brings me back to the Ti Tri.

As I have said before, I am in the beginning of the beginning of becoming a backpacker. I will not even be able to equip myself until next year. Until then I am having a great time researching all the gear. I am a gadget nut by nature and backpacking has an endless supply of gadgets. Well, maybe not endless, but a lot.

I am leaning heavily toward hammocking. The "tree killer" concept puzzles me. I have a tree that has been strapped for two years now due to a storm making it lean. There are absolutely no signs that it is suffering from the straps. I see hammocking as less damaging, as there is no need to clear a spot for it. You do not disrupt or compact the ground. But I am open to debate and change of mind. As I said, I am new at this.

I know there is a hammock forum and I am a member of it. I have benefited from both.

[charlie2008]

Twigs and a couple rocks.... Whats the big deal? USFS my ass, like they nknow what they are doing. HYOH.

[Old River Rat]

I was watching a Youtube video of stoves by a gentleman who says he cannot stand wood smoke due to his alergies. I can understand that. He also don't like the soot. I have always enjoyed the aroma of wood smoke, especially in association with cooking, i.e., BBQ. I prefer to stay away from cigars and cigarettes. This gentleman may also have a bias, he manufactures alcohol stoves. :)

To each his own. And . . . if you hike for a week without bathing (as it is mentioned many many times on here), what's a little soot going to hurt?

I used to bring alcohol on my camping trips when I trucked to my camping spot. An alcohol sponge bath makes you feel wonderful. If I am to carry alcohol on the trail in the future, you can be sure it will be multiple use . . . if you get my meaning. :banana

Seriously . . . . no. Just kidding. Wood is weighless because you don't carry it. It is free. And I have started as many fires in the rain as not here in Louisiana. They were bigger fires which are easier to make than trying to get a little fire in a stove going. I will practice in the rain to see how well I can do it.

[zelph]

I was watching a Youtube video of stoves by a gentleman who says he cannot stand wood smoke due to his alergies. I can understand that. He also don't like the soot. I have always enjoyed the aroma of wood smoke, especially in association with cooking, i.e., BBQ. I prefer to stay away from cigars and cigarettes. This gentleman may also have a bias, he manufactures alcohol stoves. :)
.

Watch the video at the 2:22 min. mark and watch how to deal with soot on your hands. He uses wood to heat his home. He has an allergy to wood smoke?????


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDHcs-3Aaj8

[JAK]

... And I have started as many fires in the rain as not here in Louisiana. They were bigger fires which are easier to make than trying to get a little fire in a stove going. I will practice in the rain to see how well I can do it.That raises an important point. The colder it is, or the wetter it is, the larger a fire needs to be to burn well. A hobo stove allows a smaller fire to burn better, but even a hobo stove needs to be somewhat bigger for winter conditions, or wetter conditions. A double wall helps, but really only once it is already burning well, and the same weight could have been used to simply make the hobo stove somewhat larger.

Lately I've been messing around with an expandable windscreen, so the size can be varied to suit conditions, and what I am using it for. Still it would be bigger in winter than in summer, but even on the same hike conditions vary, and it is fun to mess around anyway. Still not sure if it might me better to make the windscreen also the pot stand, or to keep it light and have a separate pot stand. I've been using my tinder box as a pot stand, so I make char for the next fire at the same time. It is not as stable, and it sort spreads the fire around instead of under which is less ideal, so the idea needs some work. A ground sheet helps alot also. Its a work in progress.