You might think that canister stoves, which run on small propane canisters, and liquid fuel stoves are the only two options available to you. There are, however, many other fuel options for powering a camping stove, solid fuels being one of them. A solid fuel camping stove will typically be able to use the several different kinds of solid fuel that exist. Esbit tablets are one popular solid fuel, for instance, but wood or even debris like pine cones also make excellent solid fuel for a camping stove that is able to utilize them.
Solid Fuel Camping Stove
What to look for if you want a solid fuel camping stove.- Fuel Types – As alluded to above there are several different kinds of solid fuel out there, and not all solid fuel stoves will be able to work with all of them. So it’s a good idea to make sure of what exact solid fuels your stove will work with. For the sake of versatility, the more you can use the better off you will be.
- Weight – Another important variable when it comes to a solid fuel camping stove is weight. Most of these kinds of camping stoves will weigh less, because you don’t need all of the complex equipment that goes in to regulating highly combustible fuels like propane. But even so, the difference between heavy and lightweight solid fuel stoves can be striking.
Best Solid Fuel Camping Stove
Some of the best choices for a solid fuel camping stove.- Vargo Titanium Hexagon - For burning a wide variety of solid fuels that you might find in the wilderness, the Hexagon is ideal. It will accommodate wood just as easily as it will pine cones, brush or whatever else you can get your hands on. It's a basic hexagon shaped piece of titanium, sloped inwards towards the top so that the heat is concentrated on the bottom of your pot, which sits on top. It even folds down when you're not using it. The whole thing weighs 4.1 ounces, or 116 grams.
- Esbit Pocket Stove - If you would prefer to use Esbit tablets as your solid fuel, the Pocket Stove is a simple and very popular choice. It's a small little stand that has room for an Esbit tablet beneath your pot. And when you're not using it, it folds down for easy storage. Very basic and straight forward. It even comes with 6 Esbit tablets. The whole thing weighs 3.25 ounces, or 92 grams.
- Evernew Titanium DX Stove - If you want to burn solid fuels like wood, but want to keep your options open then the DX is a fantastic choice. Besides solid fuels it will also burn alcohol, so as long as you have a little backup alcohol along, not being able to find any wood lying around will never be a problem. The whole thing is also made of titanium, so it weighs a very slim 3 ounces, which is 86 grams.
