The Best Wood Burning Backpacking Stoves of 2024 with Buyers Guide

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Carrying the best wood burning backpacking stove on a journey into the wilderness is essential. These camping stoves are lightweight, foldable and eco friendly.

A backpacking stove that burns wood can be used for cooking, for boiling water, and to keep you warm and cozy on a cold day or night. 

We’ve compiled all the details that you need to know to choose the best wood-burning backpacking stove for your style of adventure. This article covers the best wood burning camp stove options available on the market today.

What Factors Make The Best Wood Burning Backpacking Stove?

• Packability and portability
• Weight and size
• Stability and Strength
• Material and quality of construction
• Effectiveness at cooking and boiling

Benefits of Having a Wood Burning Camping Stove

Packable and Portable

The best thing about wood burning hiking stoves is that they are very lightweight. This makes them the go-to choice for many campers and backpackers. You don’t need to bring along fuel tanks that consume precious space in your pack. 

Most wood burning stoves fold flat as well becoming extremely convenient to pack away.

Having a lightweight stove is vital to your backpacking experience because an overweight pack is a hiker’s worst enemy. The benefits of having lightweight gear will reduce back and joint stress as well as save energy making your trip into the mountains or woods more enjoyable.

Zero Fuel Storage

Carrying a wood-burning camp stove on your camping or backpacking trip doesn’t require transporting dangerous fuel bottles or canister that can be punctured or explode. There are no restrictions on how you can travel because the travel restrictions only apply to camp stove fuel and not the stove itself

This is one of many reasons that wood burning camping stoves have become so popular with hikers and backpackers.

Minimal Environmental Impact

Wood burning stoves are environment-friendly because they have little to no impact on the ground where you’re cooking. They also make use of local fuel source that didn’t require a drilling, pumping and refining process. Gathering sticks, leaves and pinecones from your surroundings will provide you with all the fuel you need for cooking.

The small amounts of biomass burned in a stove may create a little bit of smoke but it is much easier on the environment than petroleum derivatives. The remaining ash also goes back into the environment as nitrogen helping to fertilize the soil.

Better Adventure Experience

What is camping without an open flame under the stars? Wood burning camping stoves, though small, can provide that little bit of ambiance and warmth to your outdoor adventure. 

The act of splitting and collecting wood for a camp stove brings you closer to nature and provides a good reason to explore your surroundings while out in the bush. Honing you bushcrafting skills of shaving bark, crafting firesticks and lighting fires are all great skills to master with practice.

Ultimately, the satisfaction of preparing a delicious meal on a fire that you created from nothing but your surrounding environment is something that a gas stove can never provide.

Multifunctional

Wood burning stoves are multifunctional because they can be used for different purposes, one of which is as a campfire. Say goodbye to cold nights and freezing temperatures because these camping stoves will surely heat you up.

These can also act as a very efficient insect repellant as the heat and smoke can drive away insects that might cause irritation, or worse, cause diseases such as zika and malaria. You can even use these as a source of hot air to dry your wet clothes overnight.

Wood stoves such as the Bio Lite CampStove 2 available on amazon generate electricity while burning. The energy is used to power a fan which gets the fire roaring with very little effort and also charges a detachable battery pack. Having a way to charge a headlamp and phone is a pretty handy feature while out in the woods!

Buyer’s Guide to Choosing the Right Wood Burning Hiking Stove

Wood burning stoves have become the go-to choice for campers and adventurers because of their many benefits: convenience, portability, environment-friendliness, and more. But choosing one is surely a bit of a challenge because there are a lot of different options out there.

To help make it easier for you, we’ve come up with some guidelines so you know what to consider when choosing one.

Weight

The first thing you need to consider when buying a wood burning camping stove is its weight. You want to have a lightweight stove so that it’ll be portable and convenient for you. This is very important especially if you’re out on a hiking trip.

You don’t want to carry a heavy stove on your back. Most camping stoves weigh around 0.5 to 1.5 lbs. It’s best to use that as a standard weight when choosing one.

Material and Quality

Consider the quality of the stove you’re getting. Make sure that it’ll stand firm when being used and that it can safely hold anything that you place on top of it. This includes pans, pots, kettles, and other utensils you might be using to cook.

Your camp stove is bound to get a few scratches and some discoloration after numerous repeated uses but it should not warp or rust. It may cost a little more to choose one that’s made from premium material like titanium or stainless steel but it’s often worth it. This will give it strength while still remaining lightweight. 

They’re also more durable in your pack, albeit a bit more expensive. Read over the reviews from others who have used the stove to ensure you get a lightweight hiking stove that can also take a lot of beating.

Boiling Time

The boiling time is another important consideration to make. You don’t want to wait long or have to use too much wood for your water to boil. The standard boiling time for wood burning camping stoves is from 2 minutes to a maximum of 10 minutes. This will vary depending on the fire size.

This also depends on the amount of water you put in your pot. The more water there is, the longer the boiling time. For most camping stoves out there, it takes an average of 4 minutes to boil 4 cups of water. And you can also bring a fire starter kit if you want to make the lighting process simpler.

Budget

Wood burning camp stoves are available in many different price ranges so knowing your budget will get you the right backpacking stove that won’t dig a deep hole in your pockets. You probably don’t want to settle for the cheapest stove on the market because these are usually substandard and are low quality.

However, you also don’t need to choose the most expensive either because there are a lot of high quality wood burning backpacking stoves available at competitive prices.

Know your budget, but don’t use price as a major determinant in your decision. Instead, do lots of research, ask other people who have used the product, and compare their features to get the best backpacking stove that fits your needs.

Warranty

You spend money on your wood burning stove with the hope of using it for a long time. You don’t want to spend it on something that’ll break after a few uses, right? That’s where warranties kick in.

Make sure that the backpacking stove you’re getting has a warranty. This can range from a few months to even years, but the usual ones have 1 to 2 years warranty with minor issues and factory defects being the usual ones covered.

Top 5 Wood Burning Backpacking Stoves

Canway Camping Stove

The Canway Camping Stove is one of the most affordable wood burning backpacking stoves on the market. It is very lightweight thanks to its compact design that allows it to collapse to the size of a small pot. You’ll have a lot of extra room in your backpack if you’ve got one of these.

Aside from its portability, this collapsible wood burning backpacking stove is also one of the sturdiest products out there as it’s made from high-quality stainless steel with a 3 arm support that provides a safe and stable platform for cooking on. This also lets it distribute heat evenly.

Say goodbye to fuel and alcohol canisters with the Canway because you simply just have to use wood or any branches or leaves you can find in your surroundings. Its secondary combustion design also keeps it burning more efficiently than a simple open fire would. 

It measures 5.2 in x 5.2 in. x 7.9 in., weighs a light 1.1 lbs., and comes with a 2-year warranty.

BioLite CampStove 2

The BioLite CampStove 2 is a portable power generating camp stove with built in fan and removable 2600ma battery. The stove is made from lightweight aluminum and the battery nests inside the stove for space saving portability.

The multi speed internal fan provides constant oxygen to the fire reducing fire management other than adding more wood.

While burning, the stove can provide enough power to charge a headlamp, a cell phone or most other small electronic devices. The battery can be removed and used as a charger which is really convenient for charging on the go.

Unigear Folding Stainless Steel Stove

The Unigear Folding Camping stove is a three sided camp stove allowing the user plenty of room to easily feed the fire with fresh combustible material. The stable cooking platform provides good air circulation and even heat distribution. 

The lightweight stainless steel design also has an adjustable ash tray allowing for the use of liquid fuels as well. It’s designed to make cooking on it simple and comfortable. This stove also comes with a grilling rack for cooking foods directly over the flames. Because this wood burning stove folds flat it’s a great solution for simple lightweight transportation.

Lixada Camping Stove

The Lixada Collapsible Camping Stove is one of the smallest and simplest products in this niche making it a great option for minimalist backpackers. It’s available in both durable stainless steel and titanium construction materials. The stove also has an anti-rust surface protecting it for years to come. 

This ultra lightweight backpacking stove can support heavy weight as well as very high temperatures. The Lixada is also easy to use because of its simple design, it can be set up in as little as 20 seconds and is large enough to handle small to medium size pots. It measures 3.7 in. x 3 in. x 0.7 in. and weighs 1.2 lbs in stainless steel.

nCamp Wood Burning Camping Stove

The nCamp Wood Burning Camping Stove is definitely one of the best camping stoves of today. People are saying that it is the ULTIMATE camping accessory due to its unique design folding to the size of a small book while also providing a sturdy cooking surface.  

One of its greatest features in its design is that its combustion chamber creates a ‘Venturi Effect’ for better and faster heating. The top surface also provides ample space for keeping utensils off the ground while cooking and a space to set metal dishes while transferring food between them.

The nCamp wood burning stove allows the use of both solid and liquid fuel sources for times when burning wood is banned or impractical. Whether you want to use an alternative like alcohol or solid fuel tablets this stove provides the flexibility to do so.

For more information on alcohol burners check out our Best Alcohol Stove Designs article.

Another great aspect of this wood burning backpacking stove is the optional nesting bamboo prep surface. With this great addition your campsite becomes a functional camp kitchen. The combo is simple to set up and take down, and the collapsible design allows you to carry it flat, reducing its bulkiness during your travels.

What Is The Best Wood Burning Stove For Backpacking?

Without a doubt, there are a lot of great backpacking stoves featured above but the nCamp Wood Burning Camping Stove is our overall favorite.

Aside from its easy to set-up design, it provides ample work surface to keep your utensils out of the dirt. it allows you to quickly produce a hot cooking flame using wood, liquid, or solid fuel sources. 

Also, The nesting bamboo prep surface is a great alternative to struggling to find a clean workspace while out in the woods.

That’s why the nCamp Wood Burning Camping Stove is the perfect choice if you’re looking for the best wood burning backpacking stove in today’s market.