I am looking for any first person reviews of their products, everything I read online seems to be very positive and from what I see I am very impressed. However I would like to hear from someone that I know paid for the products and have used them.
Biolite Stoves/Lanterns
- Thread starter Egan
- Start date
Advocate II
Have had a Biolite stove for a year now, the unit is well built and packs within itself. It's not small though so still a reasonable pack size for a single burner, it will take more space than most single burner gas cannister powered stove's. You soon realise just how much fuel is needed we found that you get around 5-10 mins of burn time from a full canister so you find yourself constantly looking for twigs, depending on your environment this could be just a matter of minutes or way longer.
Setting up the unit is straightforward it's pretty stable although it's height leaves you feeling that if knocked the kettle could become detached however I have yet to experience any issues on stability.
Starting the unit is fairly easy but it's design makes a little harder than getting a campfire going for instance.
In terms of cooking boiling water takes around 10 minutes depending on the fuel source. This is where the drawbacks start, you can't just leave and get on with anything else we found it needs constant attention the cannister just isn't large enough which means you are limited to small twigs which leaves you constantly removing the kettle or pan to add additional fuel. After around 20-25 mins the cannister starts to fill of ash which means you can't get as much fuel in so we end up removing the pan and empty and start again reloading and lighting again.
The USB charger is a nice touch but don't expect miracles all you can realistically achieve is to add 5-10℅ charge to an iPhone as an example after 25-30 mins on high, this means refuelling with twigs 2 to 3 times depending on the fuel source.
I wouldn't use this as your only method of cooking, overall it can be frustrating to constantly watch and feed the unit I find that we use it most when we are on foot from base camp exploring the area, throw it in your backpack and collect some fuel along the way and you can have a tea/coffee or to heat prepared food for lunch easily knowing the bonus that in an emergency you also have a power source.
So in conclusion I would say it's a great backup stove to have but it's not an ideal choice as your only source for Overlanding
Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk
Setting up the unit is straightforward it's pretty stable although it's height leaves you feeling that if knocked the kettle could become detached however I have yet to experience any issues on stability.
Starting the unit is fairly easy but it's design makes a little harder than getting a campfire going for instance.
In terms of cooking boiling water takes around 10 minutes depending on the fuel source. This is where the drawbacks start, you can't just leave and get on with anything else we found it needs constant attention the cannister just isn't large enough which means you are limited to small twigs which leaves you constantly removing the kettle or pan to add additional fuel. After around 20-25 mins the cannister starts to fill of ash which means you can't get as much fuel in so we end up removing the pan and empty and start again reloading and lighting again.
The USB charger is a nice touch but don't expect miracles all you can realistically achieve is to add 5-10℅ charge to an iPhone as an example after 25-30 mins on high, this means refuelling with twigs 2 to 3 times depending on the fuel source.
I wouldn't use this as your only method of cooking, overall it can be frustrating to constantly watch and feed the unit I find that we use it most when we are on foot from base camp exploring the area, throw it in your backpack and collect some fuel along the way and you can have a tea/coffee or to heat prepared food for lunch easily knowing the bonus that in an emergency you also have a power source.
So in conclusion I would say it's a great backup stove to have but it's not an ideal choice as your only source for Overlanding
Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk
Last edited:
Advocate II
It's huge though when packed, have you looked at Snowpeak folding firepit or Tentipi Helko both pack much smaller than the Biolite. You could probably get the Helko 30 and a cheap solar panel kit for less than the price of the Biolite base camp
