Wood Burning stove

Anyone ever use this stove. It seems alright, folding small but I cannot find out how heavy it is. Really cheap, under $18.00 shipped to my door. It's called the Pocket Cooker. I already have a fuel stove but these wood burners have an appeal you don't have to carry fuel.

Im thinking of one of them too. But there just isnt much info on them.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/foldable-pocket-cooker.aspx?a=288270

2lbs

This place has a good deal on them...

http://www.campingsurvival.com/fopocost.html]http://www.campingsurvival.com/fopocost.html">http://www.campingsurvival.com/fopocost.html]http://www.campingsurvival.com/fopocost.html

This site says that it weighs two pounds...

http://www.bargainoutfitters.com/net/cb/foldable-pocket-cooker.aspx?a=254180

That seems heavy...

We've added this to our Gear Guide too.

It looks pretty cool, I remember a couple years go there was a wood wood stove that was round, light weight & collapsible but I don't think it really was that popular. If you look on the web there are virtually hundreds of homemade wood stoves and how too's kind of like the alcohol stoves.

a couple weeks ago Trout posted details on how to build a really excellent DIY woodgas stove. I haven't built one yet, but I am hoping to soon.

What I like about this one is that it has holes underneath the fire, which will provide a lot of air for the fire. It is also very compact and has a case, which when you consider the messy soot that it will have all over it, having a case makes sense. I will say that from what I have reviewed about it, is that the paint bubbles off it real quick. So...I figure that I will either sand it down and repaint it with high-heat paint or...have it anodized. I saw one guy that uses two of them, so that he can have two things going at a time. I want it as a backup to my gas stove, and for when I may need to boil water, without using up all my gas. One other thing that is nice about a fire, (especially a contained fire) is that it deters bears to some extent. I should explain that.

I always liked to have a campfire, but with today's leave no trace standards (a great thing) you cannot have an open fire. I had a friend that was a big-time hunter, and he swore by this deterrent. He would always (as you should) have his cook area away from the camp. But since the smell of cooking would hang in the air for a long time, he knew that it would draw bear or other predators. So he would get a good coal bed and then add a layer of green leaves to produce a layer of smoke. Not a huge billowing layer, but a continuous drift. Of course, he would always make sure that the cook area was downwind of the tent. He did it to cover the smell of the food, but he said that he and his buddies watched a bear wander past their camp once, but when it got a whiff of the smoke, it steered a new way. Makes sense, as no forest creature will head toward the smoke, unless it smells like food. He also said that certain leaves emitted a more pungent odor, which for the love of me I can't remember which leaf that was. So I have always remembered that, and figure that having a contained wood burning stove would be a good idea. Stuff a few green leaves in it....and you have a deterrent. (What do you all think of that?) Of course, do not leave in burning through the night, and never use a wood stove when the fire risk is high.

Yes, there are ALL SORTS of wood burning stoves for sale. But they all turn me off for multiple reasons.

1st...too expensive. Seriously, I will NOT spend $100 bucks for a wood stove.

2nd..too big. Most of them are HUGE, and hard to pack.

3rd...no cover. The soot will mess up the other stuff in the pack.

4th...some require batteries. Come on, that in itself is a oxymoron. You get a wood stove that requires power? If the battery goes dead, you are in the same shoes as if you ran out of gas on your gas stove. If you want more air for a better burn, use a hose and blow.... :)

Ok...I have gone on for too long. I think will buy this stove, but until then what do you all perceive that it weighs?

I may be living in the woods if I don't get a $%&*^) job soon, so this is important to me.

Check out the backcountry forum? "There is a topic called homade stoves, in that topic trouthunter posted instructions on how to build a wood gas stove out of a 10.5oz metal coffee can and a progresso soup can. I made one, and am in love with the thing. I have used it on several trips, and quite a few dayhikes. It cost me i think 3.75$ and I got lunch from the soup. It's very easy to make one also. It probally took me less than 1/2 hour.

Give it a shot, you wont be let down!

Rambler...thanks for the suggestion, but I already ordered the Pocket Cooker. I will let everyone know how I like it, and for the ultralight backpackers, I will let you know what it weighs. Any guesses at what it weighs everyone?

mikemorrow said:

Im thinking of one of them too. But there just isnt much info on them.

Mike...I will post a hands-on review when I get mine.

The Pocket Cooker weighs in at 2 lbs. which puts it directly in the car camping category. That's not going to be a piece of ultra light gear when ultra light stoves weigh as little as 2 ounces.

My entire Hennessey hammock complete with tarps and suspension weighs 10 oz. less than the Pocket Cooker.

The wood stoves like the Bush Buddy and similar homemade versions only weigh 6 - 8 ozs and will burn much more efficiently than an open draft stove like the Pocket Cooker.

As far as a case to put a wood stove in, any small nylon bag works great as a lightweight case, and then many wood stoves fit inside a pot such as the Snow Peak Trek.

I just found out that it is supposed to weigh 1.5 lbs, via a return email from a place that sells them. One person that bought one, said that it was much smaller than he thought it was, so I am hoping that it is even lighter. That said, it is still heavy, even if it comes in lighter than I imagine it will. Then again I am not an ultralight hiker.... The videos I have seen sure looks like it works good though, but I will know soon enough. The Bush Buddy is a good stove I am sure, and it goes without saying that it is light, and of course you can get a cover for any stove. But as I said above....no way in H E L L am I spending $100 on a wood stove....I am just not that mad at my money. I will not always be taking the backpacker and my stove, or maybe I will, but more than likely someone else in the group will carry it as the backup. When I get it I will take it to the post office and have them weigh it and then put that in my review.

Telling ya Snakey, build the stove trouthunter posted instructions for. Cost was like $3.75 or so, weight like 6oz? or something like that, it's very light. Time to build, 30 minutes or less, tools required a drill and a 3/8 and 1/8 drill bit.

Homemade stove > overpriced commercially made woodstoves

Yeah I have seen that, and many others that are similar.

Well I got the stove today and I must say that although it is heavy it weighs less that advertised. I had a friend weigh it on his scale and it came out to 1lb 4oz. I have yet to burn any wood in it, and doubt that I will as I am going to send it back. The thing is cool, but the construction is rather poor, and although the folding option looked good, it is a pain to fold up.

Hey Snakey,

That is strange about the stoves weight, several sites list the weight at 2 lbs. Did you weigh the stove & case?

I don't doubt you as this has happened to me before, sometimes manufacturers will come out with a lighter design while the previous one is still being sold at various sites.

The reason people pay so much for the Bushbuddy and stoves like it is because the stoves are very well made, durable, and so fuel efficient. You can literally cook your entire meal with a handful of twigs or bark, very little to no smoke, plus it's use has a lot less impact than a standard fire.

Considering the price of stainless steel & titanium, the amount of work that goes into producing a stove like the Bushbuddy, and the limited production numbers, I don't find them overpriced. There are of course cheaper options.

Everyone has to decide what they are willing to spend on gear of course. For those of us who go 10 - 20 miles into the middle of nowhere we appreciate gear that performs well and is built to last, so we pay for the better stuff. Not everyone has those same needs so their options are different.

The important thing is to get out there and have fun, everyone will do it differently.

Snakey said:

The thing that makes me wary about this kind of product is the pic itself..

It's a staged indoor photo w/ no real fire in the box. Probably a light bulb. Look at the GRASS. there is no good reference for size either, so I'm not surprised it came smaller than expected. BTW who would build a fire on the grass anyway?!.

That GRASS be made of plastic...... I thought the cord to the light-bulb well hidden.....

"Oh give me a home where the buffler roam and the the skies stay cloudy all day. Oh, give me a toot, a real bean fired toot and I'll stay ahead of you on the trail all day."

Hmm Huummmmmm hum hum.............

f_klock said:

Snakey said:

The thing that makes me wary about this kind of product is the pic itself..

It's a staged indoor photo w/ no real fire in the box. Probably a light bulb. Look at the GRASS. there is no good reference for size either, so I'm not surprised it came smaller than expected. BTW who would build a fire on the grass anyway?!.

LOL....oh man...yeah me too! So funny. Not a very brilliant marketing picture is it.

trouthunter said:

Hey Snakey,

That is strange about the stoves weight, several sites list the weight at 2 lbs. Did you weigh the stove & case?

I don't doubt you as this has happened to me before, sometimes manufacturers will come out with a lighter design while the previous one is still being sold at various sites.

The reason people pay so much for the Bushbuddy and stoves like it is because the stoves are very well made, durable, and so fuel efficient. You can literally cook your entire meal with a handful of twigs or bark, very little to no smoke, plus it's use has a lot less impact than a standard fire.

Considering the price of stainless steel & titanium, the amount of work that goes into producing a stove like the Bushbuddy, and the limited production numbers, I don't find them overpriced. There are of course cheaper options.

Everyone has to decide what they are willing to spend on gear of course. For those of us who go 10 - 20 miles into the middle of nowhere we appreciate gear that performs well and is built to last, so we pay for the better stuff. Not everyone has those same needs so their options are different.

The important thing is to get out there and have fun, everyone will do it differently.

Bill,

I wanted to build the one that you posted instruction on, but as silly as it sounds, I don't buy coffee in the can. The round ones are so bulky to pack and that is the "primary" reason I was drawn to this stove.

Oh...the weight is with the case. I want to weigh my MSR with a gas container next, to see what the difference is.

So you use the Bushbuddy?

Hey Snakey, I think you have me confused with Bill S. My real name is Mike. You can call me trout, mike, or whatever you want. (I wish I knew as much as Bill though)

I do not own a Bushbuddy, I have used one several times and that's why I like that type of wood stove if I choose to carry one.

As far as packing, the Bushbuddy will nest down inside several different pot sizes and many people carry their stove that way. I just decided to build my own stove because my gear wish list is long enough right now, and the DIY stoves function about as good as the Bushbuddy with the exceptions being they are a little larger, and will rust & burn through eventually.

trouthunter said:

Hey Snakey, I think you have me confused with Bill S. My real name is Mike.

My Bad...Fishkiller :D (kidding)

Yeah Bill knows his stuff. But you are not bad either...

Snakey

I have one of these and its quite nice. It is heavy (I don't weigh my gear, I weigh myself) but if you consider the weight of fuel for a gas stove its not too bad. As far as weight goes I figure if I loose two pounds of belly fat I am WAY better off than loosing two pounds of gear. Of course in high mountain lakes fires are Verboten but in low country it works fine. I burn sticks and pinecones or whatever is handy. I can boil water with a small pile of sticks without impacting the area. It does scorch the soil beneath it so a good place to set it helps prevent wildfires. It does get filthy, no way to fix that. If you don't like burning expensive, store-bought gas or if the disposable metal canisters for isobutane make you cringe this is a good stove. Either way its worth the price and it has a place in my pack occasionally.

FromSagetoSnow,

I heard that the paint bubbled off them...did you have that problem? I already decided to preempt that problem and sanded it down and painted it with the high temp grill paint. It looks good!

I will give a review on it when I get out to use it. Bad back and being in pathetic shape does not help. lol

I used a Sierra ZZ Zip stove for years and loved it. It was not only a great stove but it was a lot of fun learning what fuels out there burned the best. It was a bit of a problem in wet woods, but the savvy woodsman always knows where to find dry duff. But even though I didn`t have to carry fuel it was still much heavier than a propane or an alcohol burner. Now I think my entire cook kit and full fuel bottle is lighter. Also it was a mess maker, totally making pots black with soot and cooking near other people especially if wood is damp it kicked out a lot of smoke. But at the time no one could have told me there was anything better on the market.

FYI: Jan./Feb. 2009 the Backwoodsman Volume 30 No. 1 has an article tittled The Pocket Cooker by Glen Koelling. This stove weighs 21 ounces (including carrying case ) . Folded for carrying, the pocket stove measures 4" wide, 6 1/2" long, & 1 1/2" deep. Additional information could possibly be found on the magazine's web sight. www.backwoodsmanmag.com

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