Are Wood Burning Stoves Worth the Savings in Weight and Money???

[sdisser]

I'm now building a wood stove in the basement, got most of the pieces cut. I'll probably use it just for the heck of it from time to time but I'll take an alcohol stove if i'm out for any period of time. Like one of the other guys said, it only makes sense if it's "your thing", some boys just never outgrow the desire to play in fire.

I do like playing with fire. So maybe that's my answer. Although it could also mean that I'd just be dangerous out in the woods.

If you are really really serious about it make your stove, do some reasearch on how to verticle stack and top light your sove. Practice for a couple of months before you plan to start your hike.



Something in that statement makes me think you're not ready for wood.[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Stevo/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

Touche.

I appreciate all the posts. I still have no idea what I’m going to do. There are very convincing arguments for both sides! I guess I’m just going to have the heed the suggestion to just get out there and see what works for me!

[Papa D]

I'm an old dog learning new tricks (sort of) - - way back when - - before thru-hiking - - maybe in high school, I remember cooking on a campfire and have done it as a novelty on and off since but never as my main means of cooking but have certainly cooked things like potatoes and "foil dinners" on a fire. So, I just received wood burning stove (a Bushcooker) in the mail and (after making a couple of home-made versions) and excited about learning a bit. I didn't get it in time for this last weeks trip but I plan to be out over the next month or so and give it a try. I also have an alky stove "back-up" just in case - - this seems like a really fun challenge for me. I'll let everyone know what I think after a few days. One thing that does occur to me as problematic is morning coffee - - typically, I have my stove armed and ready to go for a water boil - - I'll do the same with the Bushcooker but will have to have a little wood stash waiting - - if this becomes a big problem, I might relegate it to the odds and ends gear box - - - we'll see ....

[Tree Nerd]

I currently have two gas stoves for butane/propane mixes. I also have three homemade alcohol burning stoves and a vargo SS hexagon wood burning stove. I just received both of my gas stoves for christmas this year and have yet to use them but after testing them out I know I will enjoy them for short backpacking trips but because the fuel is hard to come by on the AT I am going to leave them at home.

I am a fire fanatic and have been using my vargo for two years now and love it but does become a pain in wet conditions. I recently made the alcohol stoves and combined with the vargo as a heat funnel and wind berak I have a killer set up for when its wet or dry. I carry grain alcohol in an old contact solution bottle (properly labeled). So if i can come by dry wood or someone has a fire i use the vargo but if its wet I use both and still have a real light setup.

[JAK]

In my limited experience, I've found that the ability to identify and find the right wood is a big factor in determining whether or not you'll like a wood stove. With the right stuff, a wood stove can be a joy. With the wrong stuff, it's an effort in frustration. Just because the wood is off the ground doesn't mean it's dry.

Sincerely,
Frustrated

Absolutely right. Especially hard to tell the difference when it is well below freezing, because the snap test might mean wet and frozen rather than dry and snappy. Best to get to know what wood works in your area, and in winter it is worth having something that allows you to work with thicker branches, if only for emergency survival.

[msupple]

I did a little over 500 miles this past spring on the AT and used an Emberlit woodstove all the way. I did carry a very lightweight alky stove as a backup but only used it a couple of times. When resupplying I would check the weather forecast and if rain was predicted I'd carry a couple of ounces of alcohol. Otherwise I wouldn't carry any. I also carried Coughlins firesticks as a firestarter. I broke them up into smaller pieces weighing .1oz....that's 10 sure start fires for 1oz.

I've since moved on to QiWiz's Firefly woodstove and like it much better. The basic stove weighs less than three ounces and has accessories which make it real easy to burn either solid fuel tabs or alcohol in addition to wood. It's an amazingly efficient little stove in all modes. I would highly recommend trying one out for a while before taking it on the AT in strictly wood mode. I really enjoyed burning wood and rarely considered it a hassle. With a stove such as the Firefly you really have little risk as you have three fuel choices. As an added bonus the woodstoves make for great mini campfires when camping alone.

Frankly I also wouldn't recommend making one. There are several quality stove currently being made that fold flat and pretty much have the bugs worked out.

Good luck, Cat in the Hat

[pcasebere]

Here's what I think.. before you go out and drop a pretty penny on a shinny new wood stove, start a few fires and get to cooking.. hobo style meals. Okay, bring a bit more class to the fire by diggin' a modified cat-hole (http://www.travelinlight.net/MVI_3133.MOV).. just be sure to use green sticks, or tent stakes, as your pot support. But you say you want a "stove," eh? Get a can o' soup and make a few holes (http://www.jureystudio.com/pennystove/pennywood.html).. Want to be a bit more sophisticated? Try usein' a paint can (http://andrewskurka.com/2012/myog-hy...ig-wood-stove/) coupled with an alcohol burner. Are you catchin' the drift? Start on the cheap.. and go from there.. eventually you'll decide the value.

[mtnkngxt]

Really in the eye of the beholder on this subject. My Qiwiz stove I love, but for long section hikes I'm thinking I'll stick with my starlyte alcohol stove. Weekend out and backs though will definitely call for the wood burner though.

[weary]

I bought a wood burning Zip Stove 21 years ago which I used to walk between Springer and Katahdin in 1993. I've been using a zip ever since. Fuel has never been a problem, I just pick up occasional scraps of wood and birch bark as I walk along during the day. Two or three handfuls, plus burnt ends left in fire places, are enough for supper and breakfast. I never carry a starter, except scraps of birch bark that are plentiful once you leave Georgia.

The benefit? No fuel worries. More flexible meal preparation. And friendly flames for evening comfort (and of course smoke to discourage bugs.)

A thin plastic bag that every store insists on giving you, solves the soot "problem". Though a blackened pot bottom aids the transfer of heat from the fire to your food, cutting food preparation time.

I've also used homemade wood stoves, fashioned from convenient-sized tin cans. I find the guaranteed draft from a triple 'A' battery a worth while convenience, however. One battery lasts many days.

[topshelf]

I use a wood burning stove whenever I backpack and love it. But I only boil water for rice, packaged meals, and macaroni and cheese. I do not cook for breakfast or lunch. If you learn to burn the right types of wood, there really isnt a big problem with soot. i generally start with a pine type softwood to get the fire started, it usually catches quick when paired with birch bark or Qtips with one end dipped in Vaseline. I carry about 10 Qtips in a small bottle that fits inside my stove. I look for dead limbs on the bottom of trees or hanging in the tree itself. After the fire gets going I like to use hardwoods, learn to recognize oak and maple trees as well as other hardwoods and pick up dry branches underneath those trees. Stay away from walnut, and dont use pine for the entire burn time. I also carry a small bag of starter wood in case things are wet, I stop any time I find super dry wood and pick it up to resupply when I get low. If it is raining too much I always carry extra GORP and jerky and will use it for dinner.

Getting a wood burning stove to run properly and efficiently is a learned art. Buying a stove like a bushcooker or bushbuddy will help make things a lot easier. I had to do a lot of math to get my DIY stove to finally work efficiently. It still only burns efficiently when I feed it correctly.

Really it comes down to how you choose to hike, I choose to move a bit slower and enjoy the scenery. I'm usually done hiking by 4-5 in the afternoon so I can relax and enjoy a nice campsite for a while before I turn in for the night. This gives me all the extra time to gather any wood, and cook over a wood burning stove. Do what you enjoy, I dont enjoy alcohol stoves, and I hate canister stoves. Something nice about the sound of a fire compared to the roar of a canister stove.

[Hosaphone]

I love the idea of the zip stove. The fan must make it absurdly easy to use when it's wet out. But it's so dang heavy... I've seen some people who have rigged up tiny computer fans with a battery to their wood stoves. I think it might work really well underneath a FireFly stove thanks to the mesh bottom - put the fan on the ground, bottom light the stove and put it over the fan, remove fan and shut off the battery once you get the fire going. Need to experiment...

You end up losing some of the weight savings, but if it makes you less dependent on backup alcohol/esbit it could be worth it. I think convenience is the biggest thing - as much as I love fire and bushcraft, after a long day of hiking in the rain I might not be in the mood to fuss with a fire. For short trips I love it, but the novelty may wear off for me during a thru.

I think having experienced cooking with wood, I'm always going to use it to some extent whenever possible. The question is just how much backup fuel I will bring, and whether I use a "wood stove that can do alcohol" or an "alcohol stove that can do wood".

[Hosaphone]

If it is raining too much I always carry extra GORP and jerky and will use it for dinner.

Carrying a couple meals that could be eaten warm or cold seems like a good plan if you rely 100% on wood.

I wonder if on a thru hike when traveling with a group you could trade unlimited hot water on nice days, for stove time on wet days? When you've got the stove going you can easily boil water for people at camp so they can save their stove fuel, drink hot chocolate without feeling guilty about spending the fuel, or take hot "showers". In return, they let you occasionally use their stove on days when the wood stove would be impractical.

Don't know if maybe this would make you just look like a mooch, but it seems like it could be a cool symbiotic relationship.

[zelph]

When you've got the stove going you can easily boil water for people at camp so they can save their stove fuel, drink hot chocolate without feeling guilty about spending the fuel, or take hot "showers"..

Do you think your small firefly wood stove would be practical for such a task? I'm mean sitting there feeding twigs for a group to take showers?

[Tree Nerd]

Do you think your small firefly wood stove would be practical for such a task? I'm mean sitting there feeding twigs for a group to take showers?

Personally, I wouldn't sit there and do it for everyone, but I would offer it to other people if they needed it.

[Tree Nerd]

offer to let them use the stove....

[Hosaphone]

Do you think your small firefly wood stove would be practical for such a task? I'm mean sitting there feeding twigs for a group to take showers?

It wouldn't be the best choice, but you could use the feeding hole on the side and it wouldn't be too annoying. If you're just hanging around having a mini campfire anyways why not?

[Tinker]

For the newbie woodstove cooker, I suggest going for a hike without fuel in miserably wet weather for at least two nights to see if you can get a fire going in your stove. Carry only food that needs to be cooked and go to an area that you are not familiar with. If you like cooking with a wood stove after this, and can imagine doing it night after night (and a few daytime meals, too) for several months, by all means carry a wood stove with you for a thruhike.

I have a wood stove and I use it occasionally on short hikes, but rely on alcohol and Esbit exclusively to cook on when on longer hikes.

Note: I will never, ever pass up an opportunity to save fuel if someone has a fire started already and is willing to share .

Also note kindling in shelter for morning's fire (winter camping in a cold rainstorm with others).

There might be a joke here about "morning wood", but I'll pretend I didn't think about it.

[Tree Nerd]

Morning wood during winter camping in a cold rainstorm with others?.....strange, but if you create enough friction a fire may start.

[Wise Old Owl]

Do you think your small firefly wood stove would be practical for such a task? I'm mean sitting there feeding twigs for a group to take showers?

"If" I needed to do that - its 1 cup very hot water to a bladder with cold - raises the temp to 110 throw a string over a branch and take a shower.

[Son Driven]

Google "super cat stove". Super easy to make.

[Tinker]

Google "super cat stove". Super easy to make.

A wood fire in a Supercat lasts about 3 minutes. I've done it. Good for drying socks.

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The OP wants to know about wood burning stoves