Stove Questions for a Newbie

[tbro16]

Just got into the backcountry hunting and fishing last summer. Made a few trips, both solo, and fell in love with them. Now it consumes the majority of my time, effort, and paycheck.

Went back country elk hunting down in SW CO last fall. Had big hopes and dreams, but like many rookies, never had a chance at a bull. Long story short, only able to hunt for 4 days because of the temps. Was expecting lows in the 30s overnight but the warmest night was 6 degrees. Thats darn cold even for a guy who has lived in Minnesota his whole life.

I've never actually seen a lightweight wood stove in person, just pictures and videos on the internet. I've already purchased a 6 person Luxe tipi, now need the matching stove to go with it. I've read several posts about them here but have some real rookie questions.

I am in no way, shape, or form an ounce counter. Obviously prefer to go lighter for the backcountry trips, but to me the difference between 3 and 7 lbs isn't a dealbreaker. I'm looking for something sturdy that is still easy to set up. Fwiw, I do not plan on relying on the stove to do any cooking. The stoves I've considered are the LiteOutdoors XL, Kifaru SS box stove, 3W box, and the Seek Outside box. Any others I'm missing?

Whats are the differences between cylinder and box stoves? Are these things as flimsy as they appear? I've seen videos of the LO stove and it looks like tin foil in the set up. Is set up easier for box or cylinders? Or does it vary by brand?

 

[SteveCNJ]

Following. I plan to but my first tipi and stove this year for a trip to northern CO.

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[Anello]

My buddy purchased a sawtooth and medium box stove from Kifaru which we used this past season. When we were setting up the stove I was amazed at how frail it appeared in pieces. When we put it together, it was far sturdier than I imagined it would be. So, to answer your question, yes, in pieces, they appear to be fragile. Once you put it all together it is reasonably sturdy, given the materials. I was very, very impressed.

Down the road I will likely be purchasing one for myself. When I do, I imagine that I will be looking at a 6 man Tipi from SO with a large box stove from either Kifaru or SO. What I learned was that the weight increase to go to a large box stove is totally worth it. The bigger stove gives you a heating/cooking platform and is just easier to work with when you are cutting wood for it or moving the coals or fire around.

I almost bought a cylinder stove for my paratarp/annex combo that I have some time ago. For that application, I can see the cylinder being possibly preferable given the way it sets up. But, that is a very specific situation/usage. So, to answer your question, the square/flat surface of the box stove makes it more useful and easier to work with than the cylinder. Again, though, I am not a super experienced stove guy, so I would defer to the folks on here that have more experience than I do.

 

[jmike]

I am using the Seek Outside XL in my Luxe Megahorn. I have found it to easy to set up. I can get about 3 or 4 hours burn time. I also do prefer the box style, you may not reley on it for cooking but it works great when you want to use it that way.

Mike

 

[Clovis]

The box stoves are more robust and heavier than the equivalent cylinder stove. For the same weight you can get a longer cylinder stove, which will let you use longer pieces of wood, but flimsy feeling at least. I find them both a little fussy/dirty to assemble, but for me it is quieter and easier to set up the box stove. I have both and find myself always reaching for the box stove (medium Kifaru) which can heat a 6 man tipi to uncomfortably hot under most conditions. I haven't done extensive cooking on the box beyond warming up pre-cooked foods. I am sure it can be done, but if you aren't worried about the weight and do want to keep food away from your tent, it is easier to cook on a camping stove outside. I would do differently if I was socked in by weather and not concerned about bears, but that hasn't happened to me yet. For some trips it may be the case that every ounce counts, but I have humped that 6 man tipi and woodstove around plenty of place in the mountains solo and with kids, while there are definitely lighter options, it makes a really nice camp for recharging for the next day. I don't want to set up that stove and break it down every day, so less practical for moving camp constantly.

 

[Sportsman247]

I use the SO xl box. To be honest, the first time I unpacked it for the burn in; I thought I wasted my money. However once you have it together it is quite sturdy. Don’t expect to be able to use large pieces of wood and you will have to keep it fed throughout the night as it will quickly lose heat once it burns what’s loaded. We just load it up right before calling it a night and then fire it back up next morning. It also heats my 6 man SO a heck of a lot better than I would have imagined. Good luck

 

[adieatrick]

You need to seriously consider getting a better zero degree bag too. The stove is great and all, but if you do not want to be up all night stoking it and actually get a good nights sleep I would invest in a bag. Don't get my wrong, stoves are awesome for when you want to be really warm and dry stuff out (also gives you something to do if the weather is crappy), but I promise you that you will not want to be up all night stoking it.

I have a feathered friends UL lark 10 with 2 oz of overfill and it is very true too temp. I could take that bag to 5 degrees no problem and if I wore base layers or my puffy I could go well below zero and sleep comfortably.

 

[rootacres]

None of the titanium stoves are going to be super sturdy but I do feel the box design lends itself to being more durable. My experience is with the SO and I am very impressed. We wanted to be prepared for some weather when we went to WY this last fall and I'm glad we were. The coldest night was in the low 20's, so not single digits but for an Oct 1st-6th hunt it was cold. Being we were in sagebrush country we mostly used it for warming up before going to sleep and a quick burn to warm up in the morning. I will add, a good bag and pad will help. I used a mountain hardware 20 degree synthetic with an Xtherm pad. I would without hesitation recommend the SO stoves though. Just make sure you roll up the stove pipe ahead of time and burn it in. Setting up for the first time on the side of a mountain in some wind will have you throwing the whole damn thing off the side of it.

 

[452b264]

I have a SO 4 man with a large stove. I would get the large or S XL stove for the redc

I'm in the same boat. Deciding between the medium and large box stove for a redcliff.

liff.

 

[ztrusky]

I've been using the Kifaru cylinder stove for a couple years. Its heats my sawtooth very well, but you need to add wood every 15 minutes. I'm looking at box stoves now because the added weight penalty is well worth a 30 minute burn and larger sticks, at least for us. The box stoves seem a bit more solid in construction as well. Dont forget to secure your stove jack cover, I melted mine the first time out. 2 years late I'm having it repaired because it finaly drive me crazy enough.

 

[JMDavies]

Following. Good stuff

 

[tbro16]

Awesome. Appreciate all the replies. After about a week of research I was bound and determined to settle on the LO stove, but after watching some videos of set up and listening to some people with experience with some of the other choices, it seemed dumb to not go for the SO. From the reviews I've seen online and what some of you guys, and others, have said about it it began to seem like a no brainer. Cant wait to test it out in the coming weeks. Much appreciated!

 

[jmike]

Bigger is better, as there is not much of a weight difference we are only talking inches on the different sizes.

 

[JeffRaines]

So, a lightweight titanium stove is a hell of a nice luxury at the end of a wet day or a cold day. It’s also nice if for some reason the weather doesn’t let up and you end up tent bound for a day as it keeps you warm and gives you something to do.

As many have said the small packable stoves do not work like the bigger stoves for wall tents. You cannot rely on a packable stove for a nights worth of heat so don’t skimp on your sleeping bag because you’ll need it.

While they’re small and lightweight they’re all(in my experience) very fiddly when it comes to set up and tear down. With that said, I wouldn’t bring one when I planned on moving camp every night. Too much work. When I pack in and camp somewhere for a few nights it makes it worth it.

The box stoves are easier to set up. I much prefer my SO box stove to the LiteOutdoors stove I had prior. Not that the LO stove didn’t work - it was way too fiddly. Fiddly to set up, fiddly to take down, tons of parts.

Also, buy the biggest one you can comfortably carry. Obviously don’t buy the 7lb behemoth if there’s a 3lb option, but the stoves with the larger fire boxes(and larger doors) require less wood prep and make your time back at camp go faster if you’re hunting all day. No one wants to spend two hours of hunting time cutting wood down to small enough chunks to fit into a tiny stove. Nor do I want to carry a dedicated tool if I don’t have to.

You can also use the stove to cook with(obviously). I wouldn’t use it as your primary method but if you’re a hot breakfast kind of person you can put coffee water on the stove and put your breakfast water on the butane stove(or vise versa). For this use a box stove is much better than a cylinder. You could also use it to heat up the water for your nalgene if you like to put those in your sleeping bag for a kickstarter.

Another hack I feel a lot of people might already know but newbies maybe not - stack your prepped wood next to your stove to help dry it out if you’re the type that preps a lot in advance. Also if you take rocks and place them under the stove they’ll hold the heat a little longer.

 

[dmess]

The Winnerwell Fastfold titanium is good too and sets up faster than any of the others Ive seen.


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[Tips n Tails]

I am using the Seek Outside XL in my Luxe Megahorn. I have found it to easy to set up. I can get about 3 or 4 hours burn time. I also do prefer the box style, you may not reley on it for cooking but it works great when you want to use it that way.

Mike

Mike,

For clarity sake, you get 3-4 hrs of burn time out of your XL w/o restocking? What are you burning?

 

[jmike]

The biggest chunks of wood I can fill the fire box with, also neck down the flue damper and the air intake.

 

[Easternhunter77]

So thankful I found this tread. I was leaning towards a smaller stove but honestly a few more ounces for less wood prep makes sense.