The problem with gas stoves is the gas - some burners might be wonderfully compact but you still have to buy and carry gas canisters to use them.
BioLite's CookStove solves this problem by providing a way to get the maximum heat out of the fuel that is lying all around the countryside - dry sticks. It does this by adding a USB rechargeable fan to the side of the main burning chamber which gives you four fan speeds to control the burning rate (and therefore heat output) of the twigs that you feed into the top.
In practice the system works well, with a fire easy to start either using the firelighters supplied, or a bit of paper and some small, dry twigs. Thanks to the fan, there's only a minimal amount of blowing that you need to do, and none once you've got it burning.
You do need to collect a decent amount of wood ahead of time, and break it up to the right size, as you need to feed the CookStove every few minutes or so, depending on how high you have the fan.
Using the CookStove is great fun - you still get that naked flame fun of an open fire without any of the scorched earth, smoke or windshielding needed when you build your own.
The CookStove is also much easier to control than the real thing in fire-prone areas, and burns so efficiently that only a tiny amount of ash is left behind once you're done. Burns are less likely too thanks to the honeycomb heat mesh around the burn chamber which means it's always cool enough to handle.
It took us about five minutes to boil a litre of water and then the CookStove handled cooking a constant run of pancakes for about half an hour. Once the cooking was done, the kids enjoyed scavenging for firewood and keeping the stove going on a low setting while they toasted marshmallows.
When it's time to pack up, all you need to do is tip out the tiny amount of ash, fold the CookStove's legs under itself and then stash the battery fan unit and firelighters in the main chamber ready for next time.
For another £35 Biolite's CampStove can recharge itself with an in-built thermoelectric generator, or use this power to recharge your electrical devices via an USB port.
