Firebox SSG2, stays in every kit I carry. Does everything from coffee to grilling. I pair it with a trangia, if I’m in a hurry on a trail. I use it at my home as my primary charcoal grill when I feel like grilling. At camp, it’s an efficient campfire in a box (I mean really, how big a darn fire do you need?) Yep, it pushes my base weight up a good 25 ounces over ultralight alternatives, but the versatility is unmatched (can’t convince myself to buy the Ti version )
Me too. And got a Nano X box to play with the Trangia. ~ While there I got the nylon Nano case. A D ringed dandy to keep my fishing license clipped handy 'n dry, even if still in a baggie. ~ Kinda silly, but ice fishing one has a gazzilion pockets. (-:
I love your enthusiasm and energy to do all these tests, thankyou. I'm interested in the twist type tinder/firestarter you use, can you tell me what it is?
My top ultralight wood burning stove would be either the PicoGrill 85 or the Goshawk EDDY-205 Pioneer Pro. My top backpacking wood burning stove would be the Brennerle Hobo Stove. Half the weight of the Firebox 5” Ti, and a bigger burn chamber. I don’t think you’ve reviewed the Brennerle yet. It’s an AWESOME stove for performance and a lot of fun overall.
I bought the biolite and regret the decision. It’s FAR TOO HEAVY and it’s not as versatile as you might think. Works great I just don’t have a justification for the use of it except for an odd occasion.
Well done. My brother-in-law has the biolite and loves it. I’ve got a solo stove and have been impressed. You provided a lot of food for thought on what wood stove should be next. Thanks for sharing.
Ernie, a superior review. We tend to favour wood gasifier stoves that allow us to reconfigure the parts for multi-fuel use. The same gear we have fun with and practice using in the great outdoors is also what we will depend on for disaster preparedness at our home base in the Philippines. All but the youngest of our troops must be able to easily set up and use the products we choose. The fact that we can place a Trangia-style spirit burner inside a piece from the stainless steel gasifier and use it as a combination windshield and pot stand is an example of our mix & match approach. It gives us a sense of security knowing that we can cook where an open fire may be inadvisable. We can just as easily scrounge fuel for free if need be.
Thanks Ernie! I'll go with two the Ohuhu, and the Firebox 5. Maximum versatility! I'm off to check your white gas stove reviews. Thanks again, it always pays to listen to the Doc!
Great video. 👍🏼👍🏼 I don’t have a Firebox Stove yet, but may get one. I like the design and versatility of it. My favorite is the Emberlit FireAnt stove. I have one in all our bags. It’s simple to assemble, sturdy, and packs up small. No moving parts. I can use wood, solid fuel tablets, or an alcohol stove with it. Some of my kits combine a Trangia stove with the FireAnt for versatility.
Firebox Gen2 Ti and Nano Ti #1, Bush Buddy Mini and Solo Light #2. I have the new Firebox Freestyle Ti full kit which is super versatile and I haven’t even learned all the ways to utilize it. But it’s size is between the Gen 2 and the Nano. Great video Ernie.
Top five videos are great. I watch many of all your videos. Would like to see what different fuels can be used in Trangia burner. You may already have a video on that. Also would like to see a top five on ferro rods. There are so many on market, how do you choose?
👍👍👍 .. a good selection. There are many variations of this theme out there .. each with it's own fan base. For many of us, our favourite stoves are those that we have, because it's what we have. Also, supporting local as in your case Ernie, maybe a more expensive option, but an admirable one 👍. Nothing wrong with being a specific product 'fanboy' and if what we have does the job to one's satisfaction, as in my case, then no reason to change. Another major consideration is that they are paid for. That said, even though I have no intention (at the moment 😏) of buying another wood burner, seeing what others have and their use thereof is, in itself, highly satisfying. Thanks for sharing .. take care ..
Ive used all these and several others and found the SS kelly kettle w/ hobo stove to be the ultimate.. Boils water in any conditions fast and coals are ready for grilling/cooking immediately..collected a plethora of backpack/bushcraft/ultralight gear since the 80's..since buying the kettle...im done buying stoves..
I have 3 of those 5, so I pretty much agree with you. (And I even have a slightly different version of the budget model, so that's 4ish out of 5...) Edit: I actually own 2 Firebox Nanos.
Love my Firebox Nano, Ohuhu gasifier wood stove, and my Firebox Gen2 Stainless Steel stove. When I plan my cooking for a trip I then need to pick the appropriate stove. Being able to simmer plays into this and is a key to good cooking. I often turn to my Redcamp alcohol stove for simmering. You have cost me $$ but I get the best product because of your reviews, thank you so much, this is really fun!
I bought the Firebox G2 in titanium with the extra sticks and grills…all together it was a bit over $200 but I had a gift card so it was basically free cuz I would NEVER pay that much for something like that! 😂. I do love it. The go-to for years though has been the Biolite. I love that thing. I bought the original model with the complete kit for $112 at Lowes of all places. I bought the new model, complete kit for $100 with a half off coupon. Would I pay full price for it? No, I’m cheap. But I LOVE that stove, so much hate for it from some. My friend bought one of the very first models, he’s had it for years with no problems, I have both models, both work great. We have set up a tarp shelter that covered two hammocks, sat in our Helinox chairs in cold winter rain with the Biolite cranked up and heated the shelter very nicely. As we’re heating and cooking simply plug in the phone or headlamp and charge away. I look at it as a maintenance charger, not to restore a dead phone. It’s free electricity from something you’re doing anyway, cooking! I like alcohol stoves because they are absolutely silent. Great channel, glad you’re back.
Hey Ernie, I thought your categories were on point and your top pick was spot on as well. Though I love the Bush buddy, or dare I say the Solo stove copycat, It's a bulky item that battles with the backpack for real estate. Having a stove that folds flat is the way to go. Great video!
could you do a review for stoves at a bike tour.. like warming a tea, coffee or jut a qiuck ramen or so. Maybe stoves the size of esbit and extreme Light cups
Always enjoy your videos and have three of the five. Have to be honest and say I am FIREBOX heavy in my collection. I have watched most all of your videos but interested on your take on Coffey Spits Rotisserie thingys if you have used. Want to learn more about use. Guess I should have looked before posting this ;)
Does the Buddy Mini burn cleaner than the others. I am assuming so as it has the air heating aspect to provide a secondary burn, but curious if that was the case.
Personally, I love my Ti-Tri Sidewinder from Trail Designs. I am shocked it did not make your list.. It has the fastest boil time of any tested, it is very efficient, it gets hot enough to burn very wet sticks (once you get is chugging), it is the most stable stove because of it's wide base, and it holds the greatest volume of hot coals for it's class, making it an excellent substitute for an open campfire. Yes, it will throw pretty good heat to make a cold night of camping more cozy. There are two compromises: 1) It is made to fit your pot precisely. It is possible to use other pot sizes, but that would be far from ideal. I recommend getting a pot size of a 650-to-750 ml cup-pot for a more compact set. (Mine fits a a larger Snow Peak pot and pan set, which makes it bulky.) 2) Bulkiness...if you don't choose a size for the 650-to750 ml cup-pot. But if you do choose a cup-pot size, I recommend that you get two of those cups because they slide perfectly over each end of the cylindrical stove carry case, and you can boil water in one while eating from the other or with a buddy. Or you could get just one to cook and eat from the carry case cups That carry case is two plastic cups that screw together. You can eat and drink from them, but I avoid eating with or from heated plastics. A net bag comes with the stove to hold it all together. All that stated, the Bush Buddy is interesting to me.
I want to like the Firebox Nano but... It simply does not draw well, the fire does not self sustain And the fire box just does not have a fuel capacity
Dude, I am going to be so disappointed if I find out that you ever cook on your home stove. Also, I bought a biolite stove, just the cheaper model without the charger for under the price of the titanium mini. It's a gimmick, but it works better than 99% of the stoves you show on your channel. I suppose it comes down to your preference for ultralite bs. I'd just prefer to carry some extra weight. Maybe if I was through hiking the AT, I might not want the extra weight, but for a 2 to 5 day hike, I'm not going to care about grams.
Good to see you back! I agree 100% with your top choice. I have the firebox G2, but stainless. Also sprung for the trangia isobutane burner, and since they arrived 2 years ago I've not used any other stove!
Those are all awesome stoves. I've been eyeing the Fire Box Nano but I'm also interested in the modular Firebox. Any Fire Box product seems well made and will last a very long time.
Great video Dr. Ernie; I like the titanium 5 inch Firebox too, but find it too expensive for my budget. I picked up a Picco Grill for $28.00. It is not titanium, but thin stainless steel and weighs less than the Firebox. Thanks for the video.
Same here....I love my biolite wood stove....on my camp trip , we had a hiker family come over and charge their phones and they cooked us , authentic shrimp noodle soup.. ...it works well.
Good overview. I also enjoy playing with a variety of stove types. Three points you missed of vital importance me are (1) the ability for the stove to simmer with a small fire for stewing, toasting papadums, grilling fish and other slow cooking tasks; (2) the ability of the stove to leave no trace of scorch mark on the ground; and (3) the amount of soot or creosote deposited on your pots. Soot and creosote are difficult to clean on the trail (you transfer it to your hands!) and the weight of a bag to protect your other gear from filth needs adding to the weight of the stove for comparison with clean burning alternative stoves. Anyone walking long distances wants the lightest stove, so despite the fun factor of heavier stoves, most stoves are limited to car, boat and motorbike camping in my opinion. I play with a “Firbox gen 2” or generic gassifier and carry a stainless base plate and additional windshield in those situations. This protects my camp table or more importantly decreases the possibility of igniting my boat! For hiking I carry a thin sheet of aluminium pie dish to put under my titanium UK made “Honey Stove” in order to leave no trace of ashes, coals or scorching. Simmering is more difficult and not relevant to those who boil water for reconstituting instant food substitutes, but slow cooking real food is important to many of us. To simmer, either you wait for a bed of coals to form or you maintain a very small fire. A small stable fire is difficult to achieve and is liable to smoke - which taints food and coats pots with messy soot and creosote. Gassifier stoves in particular tend to work within narrow parameters, belching smoke if not hot enough for secondary combustion. A possible solution for stable small fires is air injection at the point of primary combustion. I have experimented successfully with a 15gram usb fan blowing through a stainless steel straw which enables a clean burn low heat for simmering. The difference a gentle continuous airflow makes is amazing! 15 grams sounds good, the power use is negligible and I already cary a mini power bank but time will tell if the fan is robust enough for dirt, rain or human feet on multi day hikes.
Great points/fun story. But what real food ya stash for a multi day hike? "smiles" I had to look up papadums. ~ Carrying stew meat or fish a couple days makes me shudder. yeah, everything is a commodity isn't it? extra water for sooty hands?..no way, vs Trangia fuel I'd have to flip a coin. I've never gone dayS, and always near water. Overnight on our 200 acres/river, so most in reality two/three miles, not ten/fifteen. ~ soot on pots/pans; I wonder if the waterless hand cleaner would do pots and hands at same time, if didn't get sick of the scent? ~ Ziplock freezer baggie for a sooty folding stove/gloves for handling? ...three pair of the purple nitrile lab gloves...hmm, what can I do with these after use? (-: ~~ I don't know jack of overland weeks long hikes vs weight. Right now it's heavy as kinda storage/some doubles with what's in my canteen kit, but.. One item in the backpack is a 14cm Zebra Billy pot. SS 'n a bit heavy, but nested inside is an Alu. butterfly folding steamer @ 5 inch closed, which opens enough inside for use for steaming. It comes with a SS pan/bowl nested at top. My FB 5" using Trangia it steamed the veggies just fine. ~ Can country river water be used to steam fish too? Billy Pot can stew. ~~ Toasted kills me. I don't think I'd hike where I can't have a small fire in a hole. What next, no locking pocket knives?! scorch grass? y'all should line such up with the other hunerts 'n go barefoot as well at camps/stops.
Brian, non meat options like some of Asian food (eg. papadam :) such as rice, grams, beans etc can last too long. You could hunt meat along the way - fish, squirrel or rabbit comes to mind. I think the fan idea is awesome. I see the original post had a stove with a fan fitted, perhaps be better than carrying a fan along.
Great review. Hard to disagree with your top choice. The Firebox G2 can be fueled with twigs or pellets as well as the Trangia type stoves, light weight, easy to pack as it folds flat. Add a 10" skillet, a fresh caught trout, and life is GOOD! Pricey - yes, but if ya want the best, ya got to pay up.
i was looking at a biolite. If it had a larger capacity and output speed, i would already have one. i went with the goshawk multi-fuel. It's super light, fits in my pot, multi fuel; it checks all the boxes. It's basically a windscreen and a pot stand for your alcohol stove that in a pinch works as an excellent little wood burner. I love your channel, and love learning about other stoves and different options.
INCOMPLETE LIST. You left out the best and lightest wood burning backpacking stove, the TRAIL DESIGNS TRI TI AND SIDEWINDER TITANIUM STOVES. These stoves cause alcohol and ESBIT tablets but for gassifier type wood burning they use an insert cone called the INFERNO. In any mode these two sizes of stoves are great but in woodturning they are HOTTT!, leaving only white ashes.
I have a slightly different version of Ohuhu stove- mine's by Canway. The biggest difference seems to be the shape of the bottom air intake holes lol. Pretty sure any of those in that style from Chinese vendors is going to be pretty similar. It works surprisingly well I thought, once you figure out how to get the wood to burn right. I use mine for bikecamping so the way it collapses down is certainly a nice feature.
Good video Doc! I've looked at the Biolite for many years, but I think the watt is too low to make it usable for charging a modern phone. If you need to bring a battery pack to store the output and then charge your phone from the battery pack it will get even more heavy and bulkier. My chosen one, is the Firebox nano (I got the X-case and stainless steel version). It will fit in my hip pocket with a lighter and some fireplugs inside the X-case.
With 3 Watt you get 650 mA of charging. It would be dead slow to charge, especially where I live, with cold weather 8 months a year (expecting freezing temperatures next week)
I have used the BioLite for many years, and it's really in a different category. The wattage is much greater due to the fan, especially in turbo mode, and, for the same reason, it will eat up pretty much any fuel once it gets going. You can easily cook a 3 liter pot of stew for a big group, with nothing more than pine cones lying around. The downside is that it takes two people --- one to lift up the pot and another to stoke the fire. It consumes fuel fast!
Can you pls let me know what are those fire staring long cotton-looking cones you pull apart and use tp start the fire in all these stoves? looks very convenient!
Good selection, thanks! Love your top five series, so please keep on going with it! ;-) The Bushbuddy Mini is still on my list, maybe I will order it one day. I have something similar to your Ohuhu gasifier, also made in China (forgot the brand name), works fine but some parts of the bottom broke already out, seems the steel quality isn't such great ... Among commercial folding/collapsible stoves I like the most those of the Bushbox series from Bushcraft Essentials, a German company. I don't need big ones so the standard Bushbox (Titanium version) is my favourite model among conventional square shaped stoves. Their bushbox ultralight is a triangled model and works very fine as stand for an alcohol stove yet falls behind the four walled models when it comes to burning wood IMHO. Their fancy EDCBox stove is fine for Esbit (and small cups). Yet, my favourite overall wood stoves are simple "IKEA hobos" or, in my case, simple cutlery stands from the next supermarket. They cost here in India, depending on brand and size, usually something between 2 and 5 USD per piece and work absolutely fine for me.
I bought a wood gasification stove about 7 years ago, but where I live there is no hard wood and I live at an elevation of about 6200 feet. I did it the jets to work for a bit, but didn't last long. So for me, its a no go.I have since purchased the Redcamp twig stove. Its okay.
I think twig stoves are silly. I have about three of them and I am about to die to purchase a firebox all in one system. They are a lot of fun but don’t make much sense in the modern world.
I have been following several “camp stoves for quite a while, and yes I also agree with the firebox selection of being the best of show so to speak. Now my question is as a father in a family of five, camping without brining a large camp grill, is there a stove that would work for cooking with out being classified as a fire pit, or having to go to the extreme of multiple stoves for this purpose keeping in mind that I only use wood, so liquid and gasses are out! Opinion please, have fun!
Wondering if you’ve ever checked out the Silverfire 304 SS scout stove? It’s a wood gasifier a lot like the Ohuhu but has some different features that set it apart a bit from the other break down gasifier stoves.
I have this stove as well. Like the quality and design. It has a nicely designed baseplate to prevent ground scorching. I tend to pull this out over a solo stove of similar size or when I need something slightly bigger than my Bush Buddy. I appreciate the nesting in the MSR Alpine Stowaway pot and similar pots. Also have their dragon pot that partners well with the stove. Not a setup for anything remotely ultralight but pretty damned amazing for car camping or short hikes. The company is local to me. I am surprised they don’t have a larger exposure into this market. Maybe they are shoved into the background by lesser quality cheaper Chinese clones? They may have production facilities in China but their designs are more “engineered,” substantial, and likely have better tolerances. It’s too bad that they aren’t as well known because the quality of their products is top notch.
@@tracyprouty4491 very cool. Yeah I know it’s a shame they aren’t more well known. I’ve never heard or seen them advertise anywhere before. That’s probably alot of the problem. They don’t advertise anywhere or in the right places. Only reason I ever heard of them is because someone mentioned it in a camp stove comparison video and then I had to search for it from there. I don’t own any of their other products. I’m sure they’re other stuff is really nice too. Yes it’s made in China but it definitely is more refined than other similar Chinese stoves. I also have the MSR pot to store it in too and that is a sweet system. The 5 finger grill is really unique too and robust compared to others. Not light weight tho for sure in the ultra light backpacking arena. I only wish it had an easier way to feed it wood like the solo stove has. That’s about the only thing I can argue with about it. I made a fine steel mesh round cutout to put in the bottom of the stove to be able to hold wood pellets. If you’ve never tried wood pellets in one of these kinds of stoves, it works frikin awesome!
@@Westdesign03 Yep, sure have used wood pellets. I agree with your assessment! Maybe some stovies should send some PR suggestions to the company. I have had some interactions with them and they are pretty great…
@@tracyprouty4491 I agree someone should help them on that front. They were pretty helpful to me too. Their website is DYING for some attention though. They need to be brought up to modern times bad. Everything else with them seems great.
@@Westdesign03 Oh yeah...I forgot the website. It is indeed pretty rough. Its hard to know what budget/knowledge base they are playing with w/r to website upgrades. I would urge people to try out their stuff. I feel like they are a bit "old school" maybe like Wiggy's (if anyone has used their products...look it up...also great stuff but website has "personality" as well). I feel like we are tending to lose some of the solid small but lower tech-savvy elders of our outdoor goods retailers because they cannot for whatever reason (finances, old dog/new tricks, new methods, stubbornness) keep up with the times. It will happen to all of us eventually I am aftraid.
These all seem like awesome stoves thanks man!!!! Great video as always!!!! I've been using and loving 2 stoves as well.... one by solo stove there lite model....which works awesome...and more than anything else... my bushcraft essentials xl titanium....awesome stoves.
I'm more a generalist...love Sterno stove versatility...but each person must discover what is the "solution " that works for themself. Thank you for your videos...glad you are back 👍👍👍
Solo camping Stove... Awesome! But nothing can touch my Ikea hobo stove. The Ikea utensil holder hobo stove is bombproof, but not really a hiking stove. lol.
I agree with you. I have pretty much all of those stoves. Just not the bio lite. They perform really well. I take them hiking, camping, snd even use at home. In the summer I don’t want to fire up my big BBQ but I dont want to heat up the house. Or I just want BBQ. The firebox is plenty to handle anything. And I can use twigs and scraps of wood so I feel it’s more eco friendly snd costs me nothing to go to a local park snd pick up twigs. Or save twigs from pruning in the yard.
The algorithm was on time w/ this! Got this and the grill rack henge are is solid now. Can't wait to try my NATO meal kits on this...Plan to go to construction site for scrap boards to put under..Super vid
With Mr Freeman on this one. I carry the firebox SS G2 when ever I am out and about, usually with the kids. Burn many different things over the many years I have had it but love wood pellets, trangia and of course wood. Solid piece of kit, never let me down.
Doc, I've heard you say you're a sleep medicine doc. Have you ever thought about doing a video on camping with a CPAP? Battery options, how to minimize the power usage, etc. I want to camp more, but I really don't like trying to sleep without my CPAP. What's your advice?
We can't use these for summer backpacking in California. The best I can do is put my Trangia in my small Tomshoe Titanium. Winter is just around the corner. Then we'll be cooking with twigs.
You can get a adapter for your BioLite stove and it will support small cups like the Stanley adventure series Thanks for all you do Garry, Raleigh N.C.
Great video man. Have you seen the Lofi wood stove? It's being released in the coming spring. It would be awesome if you could review that one. It's not cheap but watching some videos with the creator using his prototypes, it looks amazing
How about a budget ultralight list of you haven't already done one, will be checking in a minute. Options other than the brs would be great (absolutely everyone's done a video on it). Please include a high performance/output stove.
Didn't know you were back, good to see you recharged. RU-vid unsubscribed me for some darn reason. You showed up in my home feed. I've re-subscribed and look forward to more videos.
Tried dropping a Trangia burner in the burn chamber of the biolite? I have! Worked great. Solid fuel like hexamine tablets seems to work nice too. Not that biolite would suggest this of course. 🙂👍
