Wood camping stove

So I saw this at REI and I had a small mind blow moment. I think it looks pretty awesome and I am interested in trying it out. I am only reluctant to jump on board because there are no reviews. But that is what REI is great for because if you buy a product that is complete crap you can always return it no questions asked.
http://www.rei.com/product/846334/biolite-wood-burning-campstove

My brother randomly purchased my wife and I one of these for Christmas. He was so enamored with his that he bought them for the whole family.  I haven't had an excuse to try mine yet, but it's a fairly slick looking stove, especially if I didn't already have an ultralight.  A few concerns I have are that it's comparably heavy, even though you don't need fuel, and that you need fire starters to use it.  Also, almost every camp site I've been to where you can burn is already well picked over for dry wood.

Looks interesting. Dry tinder can be hard to find in the damp Northwest (at least Western Oregon and Washington etc) but according to the website you can use wood pellets which is handy.

Looks interesting. Dry tinder can be hard to find in the damp Northwest (at least Western Oregon and Washington etc) but according to the website you can use wood pellets which is handy.

Yeah dry tinder can be hard to come by, but you don't need as much you only need twig size fuel not full on logs to feed a fire. I think it may be something I invest in once I see some reviews

So I saw this at REI and I had a small mind blow moment. I think it looks pretty awesome and I am interested in trying it out. I am only reluctant to jump on board because there are no reviews. But that is what REI is great for because if you buy a product that is complete crap you can always return it no questions asked.
http://www.rei.com/product/846334/biolite-wood-burning-campstove

Here's a hiking site I visit which has had several discussions about the biolite stove.  Some have used it quite effectively.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56026&SearchTerms=biolite

that is a cool stove; I have 2 very light wood burning stoves for camping/hiking and have experience finding fuel- it is surprisingly easy.  at most campsites, whether established campground or wilderness, there is a whole mess of small pieces of wood all over the ground and that is all it takes- think fat pencil size sticks of wood.  And the chimney effect of these sorts of stoves makes it really easy to get things burning and to also add wood from the top to keep things going.  it really doesn't take much to get things burning.

if things are really damp or you want to get things going fast, denatured alcohol is great since it doesn't flare up- you put in the wood sticks you collect, drizzle on a little (<1/2 oz), light it, and with the chimney effect even damp wood will get going well.  Small, well marked bottle with flip-top works great for this...

mine are a Backcountry Boiler that holds 20oz of water and weighs 8oz and a Bushcooker LT2 that weights 3.5oz and supports a small cook pot....  http://fourdog.com/bushcooker-lt-ii-bush-camp-stove/

Thats freakin cool

I like the idea but I hate the burned pitch residue on my pots. 

rogerdoger - How do you deal with the soot?

-Spot-

I like the idea but I hate the burned pitch residue on my pots. 

rogerdoger - How do you deal with the soot?

-Spot-

Not sure if you've tried this, but if you have liquid dish soap and coat the bottom of your pots/pans before cooking over the fire most of the residue will wash off easily.

I like the idea but I hate the burned pitch residue on my pots. 

rogerdoger - How do you deal with the soot?

-Spot-

Not sure if you've tried this, but if you have liquid dish soap and coat the bottom of your pots/pans before cooking over the fire most of the residue will wash off easily.

I have, with bad results.  The soap seemed to migrate and left my meal tasting, well, like soap.

Tin foil has worked on cooking fires for me but unless the fire is super hot, it also acts as an insulator...

-Spot-

I saw a similar contraption at the sportsmen's show. I think it's pretty clever but for me whenever I get to go camping I ditch my phone and other electronics. Though it could come in handy in an emergency situation.

I like the idea but I hate the burned pitch residue on my pots. 

rogerdoger - How do you deal with the soot?

-Spot-

soot has not been much of an issue with mine, I carry a small 1qt hiking pot to use on the Bushcooker to boil water or simmer soup, then I just slip it into a small bag ('CrownRoyal' type works great) before putting in my pack.  At the end of a hike, I clean the pot up good at home.   The Bushcooker I also carry in a small bag along with lighter/matches and small bottle of denatured alcohol...

no soot at all for the Backcountry boiler since the water inside and distributed around the center chimney. The grey thing beside it is a heat resistant wrap that also acts as a stuff sack for it, keeps the bottom fire section and the upper water/chimney section together in the pack...

what has been amazing to me is how easy it is to find plenty of sticks and little chunks of wood to use in these things, they are everywhere because they are too small to be of much use in a normal campfire....cheers, roger

I saw a similar contraption at the sportsmen's show. I think it's pretty clever but for me whenever I get to go camping I ditch my phone and other electronics. Though it could come in handy in an emergency situation.

I enjoy using my iPhone for hiking and kayaking in fact I just bought a waterproof ram mount aqua box for the yak.
I can get the same quality of gps and topo maps on my phone. You just need to use the right apps with downloadable maps so you don't rely on cell signal only the gps signal which is separate.
I was interested in the charging capabilities because I see such mixed reviews with most solar systems.