The Honey Stove – A simple outdoor fire leaving no Trace
Want a simple & effective way of cooking on the trail whilst satisfying the primordial urge to make fire, which leaves no trace? Forget those noisy hi-tech petrochemical blowtorch cookers; come home to a real fire – the Honey Stove.
Six oblong 0.7mm steel plates lock together around two hexagonal ones to form a sturdy hearth for your cooking needs. About the size of a six inch cube when assembled, it has plenty of space for fuel and is sturdy when being used. Folding flat you don’t need to worry about space, and at 339g it’s a small price to pay for a hearth wherever you go.
You don’t need to take all components on a mission – just what you need – and there are a few combinations, such as making the stove four-sided instead of six. If there’s no fuel about (or you forgot to collect some on the way…) then an extra plate can accommodate a Trangia meths burner, if you want to bring a backup. Nice.
And the stand can accommodate pretty much any camping pan you care to mention, and the hexagonal rest means a more stable platform for round-bottomed pans like a mini wok.
I used small dry sticks first of all, with some dead bark as tinder. You’ll have a roasting fire in no time. I also tried with bracken alone, and boiled half a litre of water with a single filling, but if you try this make sure you leave lots of room for air to circulate in the bottom chamber.
So, if you like a real fire when you’re out & about, this is a great option, but please remember to use bare earth, a foil tray or big dry stone under the stove to avoid scorching grass.
This Honey Stove lives in my daysack now and the weight I save in leaving my flask at home is more than balanced by the fun I have making fires, all without leaving a trace…
Ultimately though, you need to know how well it performs, well here is the Honey Stove Review!
Organic honey sticks, How are they made?