The Solo Stove design is a stainless steel can-shaped wood-burning container of numerous sizes from easy carry for backpacking, to a monster that needs two people to lift it. For this review, we will take a look at the Solo Stove Lite, the smallest of the Solo Stove offerings. Part 2 will address a larger Solo Stove stove, and a campfire-sized Solo Stove.

By Doc Montana, contributing author to Survival Cache and SHTFblog

The Solo Stove Lite is a beautifully engineered and executed stainless steel wood stove not much bigger than a can of beans. But what does raise eyebrows is the price; about $70. And even more surprising than the price is that those who use it absolutely love it! So much so that the price drifts into the ether becoming a non-issue after only a few uses.

The Solo Stove is a dynamic option for those comfortable with placing their cooking needs in the hands of wood. And I am one who does. The Solo Stove is a trifecta of physics, engineering, and materials. On the physics side, the flow of oxygen to the Solo Stove’s main fire chamber follows a dual route “from the bottom to the top,” to quote the Talking Heads. As air enters the base of the Solo Stove through external holes lining the lower parameter, it carries ambient oxygen to the lower vent, and also to upper openings in the main chamber. The oxygen level in air is far above the O2-starved fires inside the stove. So much so that it appears as if flames are flowing out of the upper parameter holes into the main flow of flame. It truly is both inspiring and mesmerizing. You’ve got to see it to believe it.

Also Read: Survival Gear Review: MSR Whisperlite Stove

Air begins its journey under the main fire due to a wire grate that delineates the base of the burn chamber from a sub-chamber that doubles as an ash trap. As the combustion gasses ascent to the upper levels of the stove, they are heated before pouring into the chamber through the holes lining the upper reaches of the inside of the inner wall. The hot air offer an abundance of oxygen causing a gassification effect that takes the tradition campfire wood heating to amazing levels.

An additional benefit from the dual airflow system is that there is extremely little smoke from the stove when burning efficiently. Like none. Of course there is plenty of smoke on both ends of the time you use the stove, but a large part in the middle burn time when cooking and campfireing are done has no noticeable smoke. There is still plenty of woodfire smell, however. One time from a bit of a distance, I thought my stove was pouring out the smoke only to realize as I neared that it was spraying steam like a train whistle out of a snug fit pot lid. And no smoke.

When burning wood, you don’t have to be diligent about the stove’s operation. You can add some wood and walk away. If it burns down, you add more. If your water boils, then good and it will just boil longer. But the Solo Stove completely removes the worry about conserving fuel. And once you get into the Solo Stove mindset, you see fuel everywhere and in abundance.

The Solo Stove Lite is a wood stove on the smaller side that punches well above its weight class. The Solo Stove is made of 320 stainless steel which just means that its made of the most common stainless steel. But stainless steel nonetheless. The welds between the two “cans” are impeccable, and a thing of beauty. A mesh grate of nichrome wires criss-crosses the inside bottom providing a limited but ample supply of air to keep the coals humming along while allowing gravity to remove the spent wood. Sometimes a minor shake of the burning stove tidies up the fire by cleaning out the carbon from the fire.

There are two pieces to the Solo Stove, a main dual container consisting of the two layers of steel, the ash basin, and plenty of holes above and below main chamber. The other piece is a ring of steel with a lip that can either dip into the main can for storage or fly above it as a pot support and doorway for adding more fuel to the combustion chamber.

Related: Survival Gear Review: Vargo Wood Stove

The riser is essential for cooking over the stove. Without it, a pot or pan would sit flush on the Solo Stove blocking the flow of hot gasses. But there is no need for the riser if just using the Solo Stove as a campfire pit. The riser can easily be added or subtracted from the system with a fire blazing. In fact, it is much easier to get the stove started without the riser.

I’m not sure if it’s right or not, but I’ve extinguished my Solo Stove Lite simply by dumping water on it. The water does run out the bottom holes carrying with it plenty of smaller pieces of wood and charcoal. The stove, when dry then clanks like a baby rattle until you dig out all the pieces of detritus rolling around in between the stainless walls.

Being a wood stove, the Solo Stove Lite will get dirty. And depending on how loose you are with the wood input, your pot might just have a black bottom, or the entire pot will become jet black and sticky with creosote. I’m happy to report that the Solo Stove made it through the normal cycle in my dishwasher. I can see the potential for rust however as stainless means less stains, not rustless. But it was nothing more that what I noticed after using the Solo Stove Lite for a few rainy days on a backpacking trip.

In use, I had a boiling quart of water in 10 minutes plus or minus. Usually plus. I used a commercial fire tinder to fire up the stove quickly, but you can use traditional tinder and firesticks to launch this rocket. Some of the benefits include no real concerns for fuel. The only time I ran into a fuel shortage was when I was over 11,000 feet in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana and there was literally no dry cellulose around large enough to burn. I did try to burn mountain goat dung in the Solo Stove Lite, but just couldn’t keep the flame long enough to boil water. Yak dung maybe? Just fresh out of yaks around here.

Even at 10k feet I located plenty of material primarily in two locations. The first was in natural microstream channels where the rain piled up small sticks at congested areas between rocks and narrow water pathways. The second was where small animals had made a home using locally sourced building materials. And in one case, where I knew I was headed to a high spot, I just grabbed a few inch-to-inch-and-a-half thick branches, stripped and resized them, and slid them into my compression straps on by backpack. When arriving at camp, I just processed the branches into Solo Stove-sized fuel. I got about two quarts of boiling water out of each three-foot branch.

Listen: Survival Cache Podcast: Only Choose One Piece of Gear

I have a 900 milliliter titanium pot and small fire making kit I carry with my Solo Stove Lite. The pot is made by Snow Peak and I use an MSR titanium lid from another cooking kit to cover the pot. My fire kit includes a Bic lighter or two, some matches, a firesteel, some commercial tinder/firestarter, and a tiny saw that I considered a joke until now. The Solo Stove Lite fits neatly inside the pot, and the whole kit fits into a mesh stuff sack with is important to reduce the sharing of black carbon with the rest of your gear.

I am so enamored with my Solo Stove Lite, that it has moved into my primary campstove position. And I have a dozen or so other stove choices. During a bug out, any liquid or compressed gas stove has a short life. However, should you want to run a liquid fuel in your Solo Stove Lite, there is an optional alcohol can with adjustable lid available for burning fluids. So if you can get over the price, the Solo Stove Lite is an exceptionally useful, efficient, and potentially life saving tool for fun and survival. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending the Solo Stove Lite.

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Prepper or not, your enjoyed ones must be skilled in vital survival abilities that can be found in useful when SHTF. You can never ever inform when a catastrophe will take place, and you may not constantly exist to safeguard your household when one does happen. It is great to enable your relative a particular level of self-reliance. By doing this, in case anything occurs, you can rely on that they will have the ability to endure anything. Empower your member of the family by showing them these essential survival abilities. (h/t to EverydayCarryGear.com )

Basic emergency treatment.

Basic emergency treatment is something everybody must gain from a young age. Injuries and diseases can take place at any time, so understanding how to carry out DIY emergency treatment can be exceptionally helpful if you ever discover yourself in an unforeseeable scenario . Some typical injuries you and your enjoyed ones need to understand how to deal with consist of small cuts and injuries, burns, athletic injuries, fractures, and dislocations. You can even more supplement your first-aid understanding by learning more about natural treatments that utilize herbs you can discover in the wild. (Related: Medical readiness: How to deal with small injuries in the field .)

.Shelter structure.

If you discover yourself lost in the wilderness, you may believe that your very first concern must be to discover a tidy source of drinking water. While that is an essential ability to have, direct exposure to the components can in fact eliminate you faster than dehydration, specifically in extreme climate condition. You may be able to discover natural shelters in the type of caverns, hollow stumps, and logs, however if none of these neighbor, you will require to find out how to construct your own survival shelter utilizing just the products that are right away offered to you. Your makeshift shelter ought to be well-insulated to keep you dry and warm, while securing you from the components.

.Fitness.

Most individuals may rule out fitness a survival ability, however remaining in terrific shape can certainly enhance your opportunities of survival. When unexpectedly confronted with an instant hazard, such as a fire or a looming flood, you will require to run for your life. You won’’ t have the ability to do that if you require to stop every couple of seconds to capture your breath. Plus, having fantastic dexterity and endurance indicates you will have the ability to navigate over severe surface with more ease than a lot of routine individuals. Even if you never ever discover yourself in a survival scenario, keeping healthy can keep you healthy in your daily life.

.Water acquisition and filtration.

Finding water and ensuring it’’ s tidy enough to consume are 2 similarly essential yet various principles that your relative need to understand in order to keep hydrated. You ought to a minimum of either boil, filter , or chemically treat your water with chlorine initially prior to consuming it. Bring around a portable water purification system might conserve your life one day. When pestering out, you can likewise load a couple of filtration tablets. When all else stops working, you can constantly boil your water, which can exterminate practically all the harmful pathogens in it.

. Developing a fire.

In order to boil your water, you should initially find out how to begin a fire. Fire-making is among one of the most standard bushcraft abilities any prepper must understand. A fire can offer heat, a method to prepare your food, and a way of defense versus wild animals. Beginning a fire can be simple with the right tools and a little practice. You can begin off by bring a lighter or a matchbox with you any place you go if you have actually had little previous experience with beginning fires. Naturally, you ought to likewise bring some tinder , so that you have something to burn.

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Sources consist of:

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EverydayCarryGear.com

IdHikeThat.com

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The post Essential survival skills that everyone in the family should know appeared first on American Survival Gear.