I was intrigued the first time I heard about the BioLite CampStove back last summer in 2012. I had never heard of it-the idea of converting energy from a wood burning fire into energy to charge electronic devices. It seemed like science fiction, something our of an episode of Star Trek. I knew I had to try it out for myself.
Nowadays, people are bringing their electronic devices anywhere and everywhere they go. We’re constantly snapping shots or recording video in an attempt to record our adventures. And I have to admit, on that note, I’m no different. I take all my photos with my iPhone, whether I’m in the backcountry, on a river, or in another country. I feel torn with this admission, knowing that one of the main reasons I get out and explore nature is to get away from it all. Still, this is the reality that is facing us and now we are seeing outdoor companies starting to get on this bandwagon.
Getting back to the stove, the Biolite CampStove boasts a number of positive points worth mentioning. The stove burns wood, twigs and pine needles mainly, which cuts out the need for carrying petroleum on your camping trips. You can simply burn what’s nearby. Second, as I said earlier, it transfers the energy from the wood fire to electric energy using a thermoelectric generator, making it able to charge your phone, camera, or other small device by USB cable.
Being that it’s January and winter weather abounds, I tested out the stove in my back porch. With the included firestarter sticks (6 total), it was easy to start a fire, and I had plenty of fuel (twigs) to keep it going.
After around 8 minutes, the fire was strong enough that the green light came on from the fan, signaling I could start charging my iPhone. It took about 5 minutes to boil a half a liter of water, and I gained about 3 percentage points on my phone during this time.
Much as I love the idea of cutting down on using petroleum, I found the stove to be rather heavy (33 oz). So in terms of using the stove for backpacking, the weight benefit of cutting down on fuel is lost. For car camping, your car adapter outlet might be a charging option, which might nix your need for the CampStove. This being said, who wants to run your car to charge your phone? No doubt about it, it’s definitely a very cool feature to be able to charge your devices while cooking up dinner. The ooh and aww factor cannot be denied.
Lastly, Biolite is using the same kind of technology in their CampStove as in their HomeStove model, which is used in the developing world where electricity isn’t readily available. A very solid project in my opinion that is worth supporting.
The CampStove retails for $129 and can be bought here on Biolite’s website.