Titanium tent stoves

[dotman]

I used a Kifaru small for the last several years but sold it this year and got the Seek Outside medium stove with a 7' pipe.

My thoughts:
Titanium pipe is harder to roll initially than SS, but after the first burn it's easy.
The SO stove is built MUCH tighter than the Kifaru.
The SO stove draws and burns better than the Kifaru because it is built tighter and doesn't draw air through the joints.
The SO is made from titanium instead of SS and is about a pound lighter.
The SO currently costs $25 LESS than the Kifaru.
Ths SO door opening is bigger, making it easier to use. The door itself slides on, meaning it removes completely, making it easier to use. The door fits tighter than the K, making it burn better.
The SO damper is awesome. It is a premade section of pipe with a sparkscreen and a turnable damper plate inside. It works great.

Take a drink for each time you see SO . jk

 

[Backpack Hunter]

RockChucker30; How is the SO durability wise? I know they are fairly new, but do you think it will last as long as the Kifaru?
Why do they only have a one year warranty on them?

 

[RockChucker30]

BPH,

Titanium doesn't rust, neither does SS. The way these things are made about all that can fail is the allthread legs, and you can replace those at lowes. I haven't had mine that long, but I'd say durability will be excellent. It's just built so simple there's not much to wear out.

I asked Kevin (owner) about resale on a used stove before I bought and he said that there really isn't much difference in a stove with 3 burns and one with 100 burns.

Warranty- Ill ask Kevin, but their site says defects will be found in first year. They'll service it for life.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Oops I guess apologies are in order. I had heard (seen) you talking (typing) about SO and just assumed you were associated somehow, so I'm sorry about the warranty question.

So no worries about warping or puncturing the titanium then right? Is the spark screen replaceable?

 

[RockChucker30]

Nope, not associated or affiliated. I started out as a customer and have gotten to know Kevin a bit.

No worries on puncturing the titanium.

Warping yes- but my Kifaru stove warped too. They all warp on the first firing. But they straighten out when assembled.

It's a pretty rugged little stove. Ill have to check my damper to see if the spark screen is replaceable easily, but I think it would be.

 

[Shrek]

RockChucker30 , what tent are you running the medium so stove in and how does it heat it ?

 

[RockChucker30]

Dave, I ran it over Xmas in a Seek Outside BCS. It was in the 40s and raining heavily.

It burned us out. Got hot enough to remove all condensation, dry gear, and we had to open the door to cool off.

The fire got to the self sustaining point too which was nice. Throw wet thumb sized wood in and it burned them.

 

[Shrek]

RockChucker30 , I am about to pull the trigger on a BCS but was looking at the tigoat cylinder stove.

 

[Whisky]

I was looking at the BCS as well, and some Kifaru shelters....

Is one set up better than the other strictly for running stoves? Convenience and layout??

 

[RockChucker30]

BCS has front left (if you're inside looking out) stove location. It works great for one, will work good for two. For two the one door causes you to get in each others way when getting out in the night.

I like the looks of the SO LBO with two bases and a connector tarp. Then you can have a central stove and a guy on either end of the shelter with two doors for each.

The Kifaru ST I had also used front left stove location. The megatarp has stove on one end and door on the other. The Sawtooth has front left stove location. The paratipi has a central stove, and all the tipis from both makers have a central stove jack.

From a convenience and layout standpoint - it really depends on whether you're going solo or with two or more guys.

If solo, any of them will work equally well.

If you've got multiple guys I think that the SO LBO two base and connector tarp with central stove or a tipi with a central stove would trump a BCS, a Supertarp, a Paratarp, a Paratipi, or a Sawtooth from a livability and convenience standpoint. With the central stove and multiple doors you get even heating of the space and the stove isn't in the way of getting in and out.

 

[Lawnboi]

I have a parastove, and if I could go back, for a smaller stove id get one of the lighter weight titanium ones.

When I finally do order a 4 man tipi though ill be getting the kifaru medium stove for the flat top on it to cook, and SS so I don't have to worry about warping when I get the thing really cooking.

 

[DaveS]

For the most part, another hunting season has passed by since the last post in this thread. I'm bumping it up, and am curious if anybody has any other experiences or thoughts to share after this last season regarding wood burning stoves??

I'm looking to get into a Ti stove and some sort of shelter that allows for that. I have no experience in floorless shelters, and wonder how in the heck that would be comfortable in late Nov-Dec hunting?! Enlighten me please.

Thanks,
Whisky

This season I used two different setups. The first was a Kifaru 8-man tipi with a Kifaru large stove. On one trip there were four of us in the tipi and one night it got down into the upper 20's. We had rain, snow and sleet. The large stove kept the tipi warm enough that I felt comfortable in my Merino base layer. When we went to bed I loaded the stove with some large pieces of wood and fell asleep before the stove went out. I’m not aware of a UL stove big enough to last all night even with a damper so your sleep system will have to be able to keep you warm.

Before going to sleep I prepare some wood so I can start the stove in the morning without having to get out of my sleeping bag. On this trip the other guys woke to a warm tent.

The second setup was an SO BCS with an Ed T 16" Ti cylinder stove. This stove has a damper. On one trip the temps got down to around 0. The 16" stove kept the BCS toasty warm. It was on this trip that I found my sleep system was not quite warm enough so at about 3:30am I cranked up the stove so I could get a couple more hours of sleep.

The damper on the Ed T stove works very well but I found that closing it at the wrong time can cause smoke to come into the tent. With a good bed of coals and a strong fire, closing the damper (which does not close all the way) will allow the stove to run longer than with the damper open but not as hot.

I’m happy with both stoves. People mentioned that the Kifaru stove is not tight. That is true but it has not caused any issues for me. When I first got the stove it was tight but over time the components have warped so they don’t fit together as tightly as they first did. Smoke does not leak out of it, it can get red hot and I have not had problems with sparks or embers coming out of it. I can still slow down the burn rate by closing the air intake on the front.

The first time I setup the Ed T stove it took a little while but after having done it number of times I can put it together pretty fast. One problem I had at first was putting the stove pipe into the stove while the pipe was poking out the stove jack. The Ti stove material is very thin and it is easy for the pipe to come out when moving the stove into place. But once in place I’ve never had a problem with the pipe coming out. After struggling a few times I found an easy way to get the stove placed in the tent with the pipe.

The Kifaru stove is easier to setup and place in the tent. It weighs more but is also more bomb proof. I ordered my Ed T stove with a pipe for the 8-man tipi but I haven’t used it yet. According to Ed the 16” stove is comparable in heat output to the Kifaru large stove. At this point I have no reason to doubt Ed. Besides being more bomb proof another advantage of a box stove like the Kifaru is the flat surface for cooking.

 

[DaveS]

BCS has front left (if you're inside looking out) stove location. It works great for one, will work good for two. For two the one door causes you to get in each others way when getting out in the night.

I use the BCS with the add-in panel which allows for two doors. This helps reduce the problem of two guys getting in each others way.

 

[RockChucker30]

Is the spark screen replaceable?

I checked mine and the spark screen comes out easily on the Seek Outside damper. The whole thing disassembles so you can clean it.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

RockChucker,

Do you have any pics of the SO medium stove in its packed down form in the storage sack they provide? Didn't see any pics or packed dimensions on their website.

Thinking about going to a medium or large SO stove.

 

[Shrek]

+1 on the pic and dimensions.

 

[VernAK]

Although I don't packpack my woodstove, I do want it light for Supercub weight limits.
For a decade, I've used a 12 man Tipi heated with the Dog Titanium Stove from MN.
Our Geezer Ridge moose camp is at fairly high altitude where firewood is minimal. The collapsible
stoves we've tried consumed too much wood. Our stove heats the tent well and provides a flat
top for cooking. Prices for the Ti stove have doubled in that decade.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

RockChucker,

Do you have any pics of the SO medium stove in its packed down form in the storage sack they provide? Didn't see any pics or packed dimensions on their webiisite.

Thinking about going to a medium or large SO stove.

I can take some if chucker doesn't.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I checked mine and the spark screen comes out easily on the Seek Outside damper. The whole thing disassembles so you can clean it.

Thank you.

 

[RockChucker30]

Pics next to a MR Dragon Slayer and a nalgene for scale.

Assembled

With Evernew 1.6 L pot.

Damper open, closed, and disassembled.