# Biolite stove...any users out there?



## buddhak (Jan 26, 2006)

Just saw this cool product. Sweet concept, especially if it fits in an Anything Cage! Anyone out there bike packing with one of these?


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## SingleTrackLovr (Apr 25, 2007)

Wow high tech meets bushcraft. 

As an ME for 30+ years who tested the longevity of electronics with vibration I would be worried
about carrying this on the front fork below the suspension.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

Interesting looking product. I had recently seen another company's gizmo that similarly uses thermoelectric power generation for a USB charger. Its a pot and converter in one, but no stove. The review I read said boiling water provided the best electrical output. For those of us using alcohol stoves, using that much fuel to maintain boiling water for any useful recharging of equipment is not so attractive. So, I like this setup for its ability to use whatever fuel is available on-site. But as with *STL*, I would wonder how it stands up to the jostling of bikepacking.

How long has this product been out anyway? Long enough to have any reports on it?


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## stevland (Nov 4, 2011)

It sounds like with some revision it could be a must have.

BioLite Camp Stove | Camp Stoves | OutsideOnline.com


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## skrnygphr (Oct 16, 2006)

I had one of these along for a 10 day wilderness trip this summer. I could not get a decent charge from it to my iphone 4s despite sitting with it and feeding wood for a few hours. For bikepacking I'm going to go with a solar cell charging a storage battery.


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## The Chupacabra (Dec 2, 2011)

I have one. It's cool, but bulky and heavy, especially compared to a fold up titanium one. It did stand up to several days on a rough limestone trail, so no reason I see that it wouldn't do well on more severe. If you consider that you don't have to carry fuel, it's worth it. It's not for every trip, but is nice for keeping electronics going in the middle of nowhere.


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## timothyclaus (Jul 15, 2008)

I've got one....I'm disappointed. Its heavy and difficult to keep going. There is a little fan inside it that blows air into the fire which is helpful but also burns down the wood super quick. If you aren't there continually feeding wood into it then it stops charging. I found that my multi-day trips are best complimented by the Joos Orange Solar Charger. It's kinda big but I strap it to the top of my seat bag and it provides MORE THAN enough power for what I would bring along.


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## Skywalker22 (Nov 8, 2009)

I like mine, it takes about ten minutes for a five percent charge! I think it is most useful for powering a usb powered led light while you are cooking! Cooking in the dark is kinda dangerous!


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## timothyclaus (Jul 15, 2008)

So you are telling me that you pack the stove (which weighs about 5 lbs) on your bike, ride all day, make camp, find a bunch of small twigs, break them up into useable pieces, and then sit there feeding them into the stove for ten minutes to get a 5 % charge? Then, you use one hand to feed the stove more twigs while you use the other hand to cook with so that you can have a small USB light plugged in? And you like doing that?

It's way more realistic for me to use a headlamp and solar. I don't have to constantly feed fuel into either and I don't have to clean them after use.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I just saw this stove advertised on my local outdoor store's website. I'm a gadget guy and I laughed at how ridiculous it was.

The only powered items I carry on my bike are:

- headlamp [good for more than a week on fresh batteries]
- iphone [turned off unless I need to make a call]
- camera [good for a week with two charged batteries]
- GPS [good for about 2 days on fresh batteries]

The GPS is the only thing I need to worry about keeping charged. So far I've been carrying enough batteries for the whole trip. If I'm concerned about GPS power I turn it off when possible and I can get several days out of 1 set of batteries.

For longer trips I need to resupply which usually means AC power so I take the opportunity to charge everything up at that point.

I've been curious about the effectiveness of small solar panels [the gadget lover in me!], but it seems like a hassle as long as AC power is available once a week.


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## rifraf (Dec 22, 2012)

Thermo electric? Solar? Think I'll stick to my so far headache free dynamo hub and B&M E-werk which so far has been fit and forget, charging my lights (edelux) and gps and phone without a hitch (fingers crossed). Pricy but the moneys now forgotten and they have been excellent for what they were bought for. As for cooking, I just use a Trangia which is an alcohol cooker with no moving parts to maintain and includes its own 2 pots and small kettle. I used Optimus for years before seeing the light and going lightweight and maintenance free. I've just bought a Rohloff for the same reason. The set up, compared to my Sram Dualdrive, is bar the chain oiling, maintenance free (albeit the 5000km oil change). Time is more valuable to me than the money. I earn a very low wage so I'm fussy where I spend my funds but these items allow me to spend my time concentrating on whats important to me instead of constantly fixing or maintaining things whilst I could be out riding.:thumbsup:


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## antgreen (Dec 14, 2012)

I take one of these, doesn't weigh much at all.

This plus my trangia weigh less than 2lbs, and it can charge my phone twice, fairly quickly.


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## Dusza (Feb 18, 2011)

Saw this one some time ago, back then it looked to me like it completely failed the K.I.S.S. principle... it still does.


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## Skywalker22 (Nov 8, 2009)

I you are a weight weeny I guess carrying something like this isn't ideal!! I on the other hand weight 260 lbs. myself and pull a trailer with my pugsley!! If my trailer isn't full I will offer to carry my riding buddy's gear for them!! I want a challenge and this is how I task myself to become challenged!!


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

When I want a bike touring challenge I load up on beer and ice!


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## Skywalker22 (Nov 8, 2009)

vikb said:


> When I want a bike touring challenge I load up on beer and ice!


I thought beer was a given!!


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## Couloirman (Sep 17, 2010)

The biolite I think is still a novelty item until the technology gets better. I am going to go with the Suntactics sCharger-5 USB solar charger instead. I'm trying to make as many of my electronics as possible USB charge capable and this thing won't add extra weight then since Ill be able to carry less batteries. I am going to fashion a way to mount it over top of my front handlbar pack so it faces straight up, and run the cable to any of my electronics inside a top tube bag like the revelate gas tank. On a trip like the Colorado trail I expect this will work well. I have played with several different solar chargers before, and this is by far the best/most efficient/lightest weight I have used. It is about the size of a CD case and weighs around 8 ounces. If you can carry a couple less sets of batteries by using this charger, and get the bonus of being able to keep the iphone working, it is a win win.

Now I just need to find a good handlebar mountable GPS, and headlight that can charge by USB........


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

Couloirman said:


> Now I just need to find a good handlebar mountable GPS, and headlight that can charge by USB........


I can help you with the headlight part. Take a look at the Niterider Lumina series. 350, 500 or 650 lumen output, all-in-one device and USB rechargeable. I have never been a big fan of Niterider lights, but these are really nice inexpensive lights.


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

Here is another idea for charging, the Powerpot. Uses the same technology as the Biolite, but it's built into the bottom of a pot, so you use it over your favorite stove. After some research, it seem to be much more efficient than the Biolite, but costs $150 and you still provide the heat source. Anyone have any experience with one of these?

The PowerPot


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

While that tech is cool and it works in reality, I think it's not truly practical enough. The devices are pretty heavy for what they are and charging efficiency is pretty low. On a lot of the solar chargers, you can spread them out all day to charge internal batteries, and then charge your own gear at night.

When I'm boiling water with my stove, I'm not running the stove long enough to provide an appreciable charge to much of anything.

On the bike, it's a MUCH more practical place to use a hub generator, where you can run the charger the whole time you're riding.


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

NateHawk said:


> While that tech is cool and it works in reality, I think it's not truly practical enough. The devices are pretty heavy for what they are and charging efficiency is pretty low. On a lot of the solar chargers, you can spread them out all day to charge internal batteries, and then charge your own gear at night.
> 
> When I'm boiling water with my stove, I'm not running the stove long enough to provide an appreciable charge to much of anything.
> 
> On the bike, it's a MUCH more practical place to use a hub generator, where you can run the charger the whole time you're riding.


Totally agree with everything you said above. It's a very cool technology, but I don't think bikpacking is the best place to apply it. I am actually more interested in the largerer home version that Biolite is working on. Seems like a great technology for places with limited or no power infrastructure. Seems like a win-win for lots of people, free power and cleaner/more efficient cooking.

The new generation of hub generators is definitely the way to go for extended bikepacking trips, but the initial expense is pretty high. For shorter trips, a small battery pack to recharge stuff or just extra batteries is probably the way to go.

Edit: Someone asked before about a USB rechargeable light, and I mentioned the Niterider Lumina series. Anyone interested can get the top of the line Lumina 650 for $79.99 at Nashbar right now.


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