In any survival situation, the ability to prepare food and boil water are crucial. You need to make sure your bug out plan accounts for this. There are a variety of stove types you can add to your bugout bag and picking one that meets your needs while making the right compromises is an important decision. Many space-conscious preppers look for an ultralight stove to solve this problem. We came across a great example of a well made, compact backpacking stove in the Emberlit Stainless Steel Collapsible Stove. Mikhail at Emberlit was kind enough to send one over for us to put through the paces. The Emberlit backpacking stove weighs 11.3 oz (316 g) and folds flat to fit in a pack or even a pocket. It utilizes a rocket stove style design which allows it to burn nearly anything and conduct heat in a highly efficient manner. Finding a rocket stove that could pack down to nearly nothing seemed too good to be true. As we conducted our Emberlit Stove Review we were impressed with the functionality and versatility of their design.
Emberlit Stove Video Review
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Emberlit Stove Review
The test I devised for our Emberlit stove review was pretty simple: make a cup of instant coffee-a trail favorite of mine. The Emberlit comes in a nice, reusable package with assembly instructions printed clearly on the front. I removed the Emberlit folding stove from its envelope, hastily ignoring the simple instructions and just assembling on the fly. The only real thing to note in assembly (pointed out in the instructions) is that the front (the side with the fuel feeder opening) goes on last. Beyond that, there’s basically only one way to put it together. This simplicity of design means you could put the stove together in a hurry, in a low light situation, or if your hands are numb from the cold or unsteady.
Once I had the Emberlit assembled, I set about collecting fuel. As with any camp fire, you want to make sure you have all the fuel you’ll need set aside before you light your fire. There are few things more demoralizing that getting some kindling lit and realizing you don’t have enough to keep it going. This is of particular importance in a crisis or bug out scenario.
With my fuel gathered and set aside, I set about building my fire. I removed the grill section and added a couple of pieces of balled up paper, some of the smaller dry twigs on top to start. I lit the tinder and commenced adding more small kindling. The rocket stove based design of the Emberlit makes getting your little fire going as easy as you could hope for. The walls protect the small fire and hold in heat, while the bottom vents draw in air creating a chimney effect. Once I’d gotten a good bed of coals, I replaced the grill and started feeding larger pieces of fuel through the Emberlit’s front opening. I set my canteen cup full of water on the grill and continued tending the fire. Since this is such a small fire, you do have to keep an eye on it and feed it as it consumes fuel. The grill section is flat and stable enough to accommodate a large pot or pan, should you need it.
After a few short minutes my cup had reached a rolling boil, and was ready for coffee. I extinguished the fire, allowed the Emberlit to cool and quickly wiped it down and packed it. The whole process was quick, easy and left hardly a trace of my passing.
Emberlit Stove Review Pros:
- Incredibly packable. You could fit this stove in your pants pocket.
- Versatile fuel source. Use whatever is at hand: wood, moss, cardboard, paper, charcoal, dung, or any other biomass.
- Easy to use. Simple, quick, and obvious assembly.
- Rocket Stove design makes getting a good fire going easy.
- Stability. The Emberlit is well built and stable enough to use in many cooking applications.
- Solid build quality
- No need to worry about carrying around bulky, unstable fuel canisters
- The floor of the stove keeps your fire off the ground which is great in wet or snowy survival scenarios.
Emberlit Stove Review Cons:
- Takes a little more time and care than a liquid or solid fuel stove to boil water.
- Need to wait for it to cool before packing it up
Emberlit Stove Review Conclusion:
Overall I would rate the Emberlit Stainless Steel Collapsible Stove very highly and recommend it as an addition to any camping kit or bugout bag. Over the course of our Emberlit stove review it became obvious that its simplicity, durability and versatility make it an item you’ll use again and again. It is worth noting that Emberlit’s stoves also come in a titanium version for those wanting a corrosion resistant collapsible stove. Our testing showed that the Emberlit folding stove has a fairly easy learning curve to climb but as with any piece of survival kit, make sure you take it out and practice using it. Mastering basic survival skills and tools BEFORE you need to use them is what preparedness is all about.
Your Thoughts?
What do you think of the Emberlit folding stove? Is there anything else you would want to see as a part of our Emberlit stove review? Please let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!
About the Author
Oakley is an outdoor enthusiast and life skills student located in Northern New Jersey.
I think since they advertise that it can use multiple fuels that you put that to the test. Depending on the weather were you are you could have tried a few alternative fuels and then reported on how effective or ineffective they were or any other special insights from trying alternative fuels.
Thanks
Fred.
Fred,
That is a great idea for future testing. As we use the stove we will try to post an update on different materials’ effectiveness. Thanks for your feedback!
Fred’s idea is good. Here’s another one. You could use a watch and small cooking thermometer to compare how long it takes various stoves to raise the temp of the water to the temp you want for your coffee, soup, etc. Thanks for your efforts.
Great idea Duncan, Thanks. If we do a bunch more stove tests we will have to do something like this so we can compare apples to apples.
Thanks!
Smaller heat sources like tea candles, Hexamine tablets, alcohol stoves, etc. will need to be closer to the cookpot bottom. Three, metal, L-shaped tent pegs arranged in a triangle can be used for that.