Backcountry Cooking: Twig Stoves: Practical or Novelty?

Can twig stoves serve a practical use in backcountry cooking? Let's fire up a twig stove and compare it to a typical white gas or propane/isobutane backpacking stoves to find out. We will compare options in terms of weight, cost, performance and convenience, and determine what practical role a twig stove can really play in the backcountry.

THE TWIG STOVES
In this video, I'm using a gasifier-type twig stove from Canway, purchased from Amazon for only $20. Here's a new similar version: https://amzn.to/3i165IQ
(Note that this stove has an open bottom, which could allow hot ash to spill out. Do not use this stove on a combustible surface.)

Solo Stove makes a similar gasifier twig stove with a solid bottom that avoids this problem. This Backpacker magazine recommended stove does come at a higher price, but can be purchased in 2 sizes:
Solo Stove Lite (1-2 people): https://amzn.to/31zmGLz
Solo Stove Titan (3-4 people): https://amzn.to/2yUSwX1

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OBSERVATIONS:
In this video, I compare a Canway gasifier twig stove to an MSR WhisperLite International white gas backpacking stove and a Jetboil propane/isobutane-powered backpacking stove. Here are some observations:

Advantages of Twig Stove:
- Cost: twig stove $20, WhisperLite $120 and Jetboil $100.
- Fuel: twig stove $0, WhisperLite $13/quart (inexpensive), Jetboil $5/canister (expensive)
- Volume: twig stove and Jetboil a bit smaller than WhisperLite and fuel bottle
- Quiet!

Disadvantage of Twig Stove:
- Not as fast as Jetboil to set up, start and get water boiling.
- Can't use during some fire bans (check with local authority).
- Dry wood can be more challenging to find in snow or rainy conditions.
- Leaves soot residue on cookware.

CONCLUSIONS:
Will I be replacing my Whisperlite or Jetboil with a twig stove for use in the backcountry? No. The Whisperlite can't be beat for reliable cooking on long backpacking trips, and a Jetboil can't be beat for convenience on short backpacking trips.

But I do enjoy the twig stove cooking experience enough to enough to bring it along as a second stove on canoeing or sea kayaking trips, where weight and volume are less of an issue. I really like how quiet it is and like and really enjoy the overall ambiance of cooking over burning wood.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

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