Having a wood burning stove is a wonderful asset to have while camping or doing any sort of survival experience. Here are the 3 best wood burning camping stoves for a warm outdoor experience.
Three criteria for a wood-burning camping stove:
- A safe fire that is off the ground and not going to produce a lot of sparks.
- A wood burning stove. The one thing a hurricane leaves behind is a lot of kindling. Propane and gasoline may not be available after a big storm.
- A stove that minimizes the smoke. I’ve had enough of moving up wind from my campfire to avoid the smoke. Wood smoke is dangerous to your health.
Having a way to cook and provide heat in an emergency is fundamental to survival. When camping, there is nothing like sitting around a campfire with friends and family.
Best Wood Burning Camping Stoves (Updated List)
| # | Preview | Product | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Biolite Camping Stove | Backpacking |
| 2 |  | Wood- and charcoal-burning Fire Pit | Car Camping |
| 3 |  | Woodburning Camping Stove for Tents | Tent Camping |
Why You Should Get a Wood Burning Camping Stove
Whether you are dealing with an emergency, setting up a semi-permeant hunting camp, or just taking a relaxed car-camping trip stoves are important to your comfort and in some cases your survival.
Why do I insist on a wood-burning camping stove? In an emergency, wood may be the only fuel available. You can be sure a hurricane will leave a lot of kindling behind. When I’m hiking, I don’t want to have to carry fuel canisters, gasoline, or alcohol and I don’t want to risk having a fire on the ground.
Here is a great instructional video on how to use one of our feature wood burning camp stoves:
What to Look for When Buying a Woodburning Camping Stove.
Everyone has different preferences on what is important or not when deciding on a camping stove, but I want to offer my opinion on the most important things that a camping stove should have.
Lightweight
When backpacking you want a small, lightweight camping stove that will fit comfortably in your backpack. An added bonus is a camping stove that will provide light and charge your cell phone.
Stovepipe Option
When picking a camping stove for use in a tent be sure to get a camping stove that has a stovepipe and a tent that will accommodate the stovepipe. Place your camping stove on top of a fireproof mat. You don’t want a stray spark burning your tent.
Safety Feature
A safe camp stove that will not throw sparks into the surrounding vegetation.
Camping Stove Product Reviews
Here are the reviews of the best camping stoves for various purposes.
1. Biolite Camp Stove
Turn fire into electricity with BioLite’s award-winning stove. Patented combustion technology creates a vortex of smokeless flames for a portable campfire that can cook your meals and charge your gear, all at the same time. Leave the gas canisters behind and unlock the potential of the sticks and twigs around you.
Pros
- small and light weight, the size of a one liter water bottle.
- burns twigs and small branches
- Charges your electronics.
Cons
- May be hard to start fire if fuel is damp
- Never leave a fire unattended
2. Wood- and charcoal-burning Fire Pit
Wood- and charcoal-burning Fire Pit
51 air jets improve combustion
Folding legs and lightweight make for easy transport
X-Ray mesh for 360° viewing
USB-rechargeable power pack
Bluetooth-compatible fan control
Includes removable grate for grilling
27″w. x 13″d. x 15.8″h., 19.8 lbs.
Pros
- A safe campfire off the ground
- ideal for a campfire on a deck, in a back yard or at a lake side campground
- can recharge your electronic
- burns readily available fuels.
Cons
- May be hard to start your fire if the fuel is damp. Use charcoal fire starter.
- Never leavr a live fire unattended.
3. Product Name (Best Overall)
The American-made Mesa Stove Package from Colorado Cylinder StovesTM gives you all the essentials to keep your tent nice and warm, even as the winds are howling outside and the temp is plummeting.
Perfect for 8 x 8′ or 10 x 10′ canvas wall tents, this Stove will make base camp feel like home sweet home. The Mesa Stove Package includes everything you need to stay comfortable in camp. The water tank allows you to heat water for cooking or drinking. Colorado Cylinder Stoves is the only American-made cylinder stove manufacturer that includes a coal grate in all packages. Plus, a warming tray, mesh spark arrestor, 12″ legs, stove pipe and stove pipe damper are also included. All these features add up to a safe and reliable source of heat in the Great Outdoors.
The cylinder shape combined with the heavy-gauge steel construction holds heat longer and gives off more radiant heat, which means you’ll stay warmer while using less wood or coal. This shape allows the Stove to expand and contract uniformly throughout, which helps it resist warping. Warmth in the wild:
- Heavy 10 and 12-gauge steel construction coated with high-temperature black stove paint
- Reinforced under the top and door to prevent warping
- Airtight welded construction
- 20″ tall with legs
- 4″ stove pipe hole
- 1/2″ threaded pipe legs can be tightened or loosened to level stove
- Damper baffle plate on inside of door to keep sparks contained
- Measures 17 x 11 x 10″ h., weighs 32 lbs
Pros
- Stovepipe to control smoke
- Large cooking surface
- Fire is contained within the cylinder
- Heat water for drinking and washing
Cons
- Burn hazard, don’t touch the walls of the stove while it is opperating.
- Not good with young children
FAQ’s
Here are some commonly asked questions about wood burning camping stoves.
How to start a fire with damp fuel?
Use a fire starter, not gasoline. Search for fire starter. You can also use kindling from a pitch stump if it is available. Firestarters are a subject for another post.
How do I safely dispose of ashes?
The biostove uses small fuel that burns out fairly quickly. Shake the ashes onto a ceramic or metal plate and mix with water.
The fire pit should be allowed to burn out and the ashes poured or dipped out into a metal trash can. Put a lid on the can and allow it to cool. Water can be added if available. Use care. Dealing with fire of any kind can be dangerous,
A tent stove should be allowed to burn out and cool. Remove ashes into a fire-safe container just as you would clean any wood stove. Wood ash is a good component in any compost bin.
What is the life of the lithium battery in the biostove and fire pit.
Good question. People are concerned because of their experience with the relatively short life of the battery in their cell phones. The batter in the biostove and fire pit is designed to recharge 5000 times. That is a lot of camping trips. No, the battery cannot be replaced.
Conclusion
So that concludes our list of some of the best camping stoves for various purposes. Make sure to do your own research and get a stove that serves your specific need. An emergency stove to serve your entire family will be different than a stove you take backpacking, You may need several stoves to serve different needs.
Have fun outdoors with your family and be ready for the next emergency. Remember, all fires produce carbon monoxide gas which is deadly. You may want a detector in your kit if you plan on cooking in a closed tent.