In reply to itsThere: At the risk of sounding like this is an AA meeting, my name is Ben and I have a BioLite stove. In my defence, I had a rebate from REI that covered the cost so effectively paid nowt for it.
There were a couple of reasons I went for it in the end: firstly as a company the idea of making a smokeless cooking stove for developing countries is (mostly) a good one - obviously deforestation risk doesn't go away but on global scale the leading risk for chronic lung disease is biomass cooking rather than cigarettes (although the cigarette companies are trying hard to catch up by injecting much more resource into causing more misery and addiction in developing countries).
Buying a BioLite supports the efforts of the manufacturer to produce a viable 'family' model. This also helps tick another obvious Guardianista pinko liberal special: since in most societies it is usually 'er indoors who does the cooking and looks after the kids, there's a potential reduction in health inequality and childhood lung disease to be had.
Secondly, I have a 7 and a 4 year old boy so it is good fun: collecting little twigs, getting a fire going, keeping it roaring away with the novelty factor of charging electrical stuff too.
Thirdly, there's something nice about cooking on a 'fire' over and above cooking on a gas stove. A portable camp fire - what's not to like?
It smokes to begin with - definitely not one for in the tent or hut - but once the fan is on it does get very hot very quickly and is almost smoke free. When adding damper substrate it will briefly smoke again, although with the fan on full it is brief. The pan holder needs to go on before the stove is lit (and lighting a fire at the bottom of the chamber can be a bit tricky) unless you have asbestos fingers. Depending on how well it is going it has two heat settings - hot and really hot - not much cordon bleu cooking here, it's a bit like an old XGK-II. It boils things. Should you happen to need to melt snow somewhere with a plentiful supply of dry firewood it would be excellent
Is it a gimmick? Well yes, of course it is - there are many easier stoves to cook on that are lighter, cleaner, easy to regulate, stow and fuel. Is it fun? Hell yes
b
