Emberlit UL Camp Stove

[Ksnake]

TY Emberlit!

I have an old fold up hobo stove made out of SS. I've always liked it, easy to light, burns hot etc. but always thought it was too heavy for backpacking. For a weekend trip it was no big deal, but for a week long trip into the mountains every ounce counts because of all the food you need to pack.

I then tried soda can style alcohol stoves and found that they worked just as well, but then you needed a week's worth of fuel so there was no weight savings.

Now I have en emberlit. I got the ti model to save on weight. It folds smaller and flatter than my old foldable, and it's WAY less weight. (Ken, if you held the emberlit in one hand and my foldable in the other you would be surprised!) I got the pot cross bars and it holds my ti cup just fine. And without having to pack fuel, it's a winner.

I haven't used the emberlit on an extended trip yet but I have practiced with it a few times on day hikes. I brought my old foldable with me as a comparison and on my first attempt I found that my foldable was easier to use. But then I realized that it was only because I had more practice with my old one. Once I got the hang of the emberlit I loved it.

My method of use was to fill it to the brim with twigs, starting with some small white pine twigs on the bottom and topping it off with oak twigs. Pine cones work too. I then picked up the emberlit in one hand and tilted it so that the window was leaning towards the ground. Using either just the flame from a lighter at the window, or a small piece of birch bark just inside the window it only takes a few seconds to ignite the whole thing. Once burning good I placed it on the ground an away it went. If you stuff the unit with wood from the get go you wont need to add too much more to get a boil going depending on wood types available. When I filled it with oak twigs I got a nice long burn. All pine burned faster but adding wood through the window easily allows for a longer burn. I hadn't read the instructions yet so I didn't try feeding long lengths of wood through the window, but I can see what that would work fine too, but smaller lengths also work great. Also you can take your water off and add fuel from the top.

Two things I noticed that were different from my old foldable. The first is the window on the emberlit is smaller so you have to be careful when adding twigs while you have water on. If you are not careful you can catch a branched twig on the side of the window and potentially tip it over. I think a larger window would be useful, but I'm not sure how that would affect burn performance. My old foldable was more of a rectangle shape with the window at the long end so it could not tip when feeding it.

The second thing I notice that is different is my old foldable has small holes in the base for ventilation. The emberlit seems to work fine without the holes, but I wonder if the manufacturer ever tried holes in the base while designing it. Not a complaint, just curious. Also, I should mention that the holes in the old foldable were sometimes a problem since embers could sift down onto the ground and start the duff on fire. So I always had to make sure I used it on a proper surface, snow, sand, moss, rocks etc. So maybe it's actually best that the emberlit doesn't have holes in the base.

I never considered buying one of the round canister style hobo stoves because they would take up too much room in a fanny pack or even in my pack. Space is too important.

I did not buy a bag, I just have it in the clear ziplock it came with. Which is fine with me.

So all that said, I am thoroughly pleased with the emberlit. Takes up no room (its flat!), light weight (yay!), and boils water fast anywhere (anywhere!), anytime.

[Uncle Jake]

hows it work with less than ideal wood? ie, dampish willow or alder?

[Sawtooth]

As for less than ideal wood, I can't really answer that. I had PERFECT wood for my test...beetle killed lodgepole pine...drier than a popcorn fart. I'll be testing it continually throughout the spring and summer. At a bit over 5 oz., I can take it along all the time. More info to follow, but it'll be a bit before I post anything about damp wood, etc. I need time to do lots more with it.

[Ken]

...That is pretty dry...

[Woods Walker]

Yea that is dry. LOL! Oh snap now I want one of these stoves. I had good luck with my Trailstove but like the takedown nature of the Emberlit. Is there any difference between the SS and Ti stoves beyond the material and weight savings? Has anyone compared the emberlit to say a vargo hex stove?

[Sawtooth]

I haven't done a head to head test, but I did watch randallh test his a year ago. I'll just offer a couple of comparisons here...the Vargo has no holes on the lower side panels with which to draw in air to the fire. It also requires feeding through the open door panel or from the top. I see on their web page that they don't recommend a pot larger than 1.5L on top of the stove. The Emberlit has been tested with a dutch oven full of water. There's no opening on the side panel like the Emberlit. I may talk Randall into sending me his Vargo for a head to head test. Randall, are you read reading this? I'll pay round trip shipping.

[Ksnake]

One of my tests was the morning after rain. I wasn't out while it was raining, but I still had to pay attention.

If you know how to start a fire with damp or wet wood it is no different. In fact, I would say it's easier to keep going since all the coals stay contained in the unit instead of sitting on wet ground (a regular fire on wet ground can go out from the bottom up). Plus you wont be tempted to put on logs that are too big and wet through, not an option here.

If it's raining, you need to get out of the rain to keep it going out from the top down. Use a tarp or get under cover such as a tree. And keep the rain off your fuel as best you can.

But anyway, if you have trouble starting a regular fire with wet willow or alder, you will probably still have trouble with this stove.

As you know, if you cant get a coal base, a fire with wet wood can still go out. Coal base is the key. Just go slow and wait until you get it going good before you assume you can leave it alone with a pot on it.

But yes, wet wood takes practice, or fire starters. So if you don't know how to start a fire with wet wood and you are expecting wet conditions, I would suggest sticking with a more modern type stove.

[Vernon]

Not sure where I saw it but there is a Emberlit vs Vargo comparison online and the conclusions are similar to what Sawtooth has envisioned - the Emberlit worked better.

[rayporter]

yep the soup line would have cold soup if you had to use wet willow. 2 oz of gasoline and a fuel bar and maybe it would burn long enough to warm a cup.

[Take-a-knee]

I'm waiting on a Ti Caldera Clone from EdT. I'm thinking that will be the best stove of it's type.