Bushcraft Essentials Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Stove

An excellent little stove well made easy to put together and take apart once you reread the other reviews on hereYou can burn wood in this stove but i find it really shines when used with an alcohol stove you can safely use it without the front piece if you use the trivet's on the topI also have the XL which is a great wood stove this has proved to be a very useful backup for a quick cuppa on route and also for the early morning cuppa when you don't feel like lighting a fire, you will feel far more like lighting a fire and getting breakfast cooking after that first cupHope this helps DaiTime for a quick updateDamp night last night everything was damp not wet but dampDecided to try this little stove with wood pellets I had just about a mug full left and a splash of alcohol the mug full of pellets just about filled the stove the alcohol was just enough to get it goingKettle on first two mugs of water was heated to a simmer for coffeeThen went on the baconBacon cooked on went the eggs all cooked without putting anything else on the stoveBurn time was about 25 minutes before the flames died downThe only downside was that after the flames died the stove turned a bit smokey unlike the XL that burns the coals cleanlyAll in I have to say that i am more than happy with this little stove along with the XLBoth stoves burn with what i call a cooking flame a nice soft flame that's not to hot to cook with all the woodgas stoves that i have tried burn too hot to cook with great for boiling water but useless for cookingAs I said before i hope that this helps Dai

I've tried a few other stoves before like the Esbit and the British Army hexy stove, but they have all been lacking in some respect, where you can use it or what fuel you can use etc.I saw a video for the Firebox on youtube and thought it was great, but too big and heavy. So I started looking around for smaller alternatives, and there were a few.Most notable were the Emberlit and The Pocket Stove. I was poised to hit the BUY button on The Pocket Stove when I found a vid for The BushBox.The pro's and con's will differ for each of you depending on who you are, where you are and what you're using it for, but I found this to be the best for the following reasons:Out of the 3, the Bushbox was the cheapest at £20 (The Pocket Stove = £25) and the Emberlit around £26).(The BushBox came with trivets as standard, whereas the with others you had to buy things like this as accessories pushing up the cost).The Emberlit was too big for me (I understand they have now made a smaller version to compete with these stoves), the Pocket Stove was thinner and I didn't like the way you could see it flexing when the guy was putting it together).Both the Emberlit and The Pocket Stove have a funneled top meaning the pot stand area was quite small.By contrast, the BushBox was square at the top meaning I could stand more than a cup on it and still have it stable.The Emberlit only has a solid base plate WITHOUT holes, The Pocket Stove only has a base plate WITH holes, BUT the BushBox has BOTH meaning I can burn wood and have the solid plate underneath to catch the hot stuff, also, by swapping the plates around I can use this with my Trangia alcohol burner and solid fuels such as hexamine, making this more versatile and safer than the other two.I favour the Trangia with this, I haven't used one since I was a kid, but it works very effectively with this stove (I boiled 4 pint mugs from cold and got a fifth hot enough to wash in off one fill), and I know that when I run out of fuel I can switch to twigs no problem (meaning that I don't have to carry a ton of fuel with me or worry about running out).I love this stove. It's what I have wanted all along but didn't know it.It's sturdy, well manufactured (as you would expect from the Germans) a useful size, not too heavy (this packs away so light and small I don't know I'm carrying it (the pouch it's in probably weighs more!)), it's easy to put together and take apart.I can use it anywhere , it's discreet and doesn't give off much light or smoke and because it's got an ash pan it reduces the risk of setting fire to your environment.It's small enough to count as EDC if you're happy not carrying fuel for it.I have had this so that the trivets glow red hot, and yet it is cool enough to handle and put away a few minutes later.It CAN be a little labour intensive using wood, as you have to keep feeding it to keep it going, but I am going to try it with small barbeque briquettes or something similar to see if I can get away from that and get a more even and sustainable fire for the odd occasions when I am cooking for more than myself.Like I said at the top, we're all different and we will all have different requirements, so I recommend that you check out your options as I did and come to your own conclusions.But having said that, I have found NO drawbacks to this burner other than the one I mentioned. It is a brilliant little thing and I am sure I will be carrying this with me for a very long time and I wish I'd had it a long time ago.I would DEFINITELY recommend this stove to anyone. You won't be disappointed.

I opened the package with great excitement when this arrived. I have seen these being used so many times on You tube and had wanted one for some time.My initial reaction on opening was "is that it?" It looked a lot smaller than what I had been expecting, not being sure the order was right I checked things out carefully on the internet. What I had seen being used after Googling “BushBox” was the larger version, BushBox XL?What I had in my hand was the BushBox pocket stove. Double checked the description and yep, I’d got what I'd ordered and paid for. So first thing I would say is be aware of that, and the size differences and make sure you order the correct one for what you want or need.So with the pocket stove out of the bag on the kitchen side, I looked at all the bits and soon figured out how it slots together. There are NO instructions supplied in the packaging, you have to go online and search their company web site for them. Possibly a cost saving for them? Instead what they do give you is a window sticker for your car to advertise their company for them.Everything seemed to slot together easily and fit well, I then took one of my mess tins and tried it for size, It all seems very stable, I think placement and sighting “In the field” should be done very carefully though, due to it possibly being a little top heavy in use.I then went to take it apart, to put it back in the bag. And this is where I encountered some difficulties. It seemed to be jammed. Not wishing to force it too much I had a look for instructions and hints and tips online. The online manual says “Grab the short side plates at the top and push the top gently outside to overcome the little hooks which lock the plates in place.” So with much “gentle” pushing pulling swearing and grunting it finally came apart. I only hope this eases with use. It would be a pain to have it jam and not pack flat after use and kind of defeat the whole point of it.That’s about all I can say for now, I can’t write an honest review of the stove in use because I was asked to write a review before I had taken the stove out on its first trip out and tried using it. I only hope it lives up to other reviews and expectations.