It’s counter intuitive, but I’ve learned a top down burn is preferred with these. I fill the chamber with thumb to finger sized hardwood (splits even better). Packed tight. I light a tiny twig fire on top. (A starter tab helps but is not mandatory). As the twig coals filter in the gaps, the hardwood catches, giving a mini Swedish torch effect. Up to 15 min burn time before it goes to coals which maintain a low heat for another 15 to 20. This method allows you to make a pot of rice from intense boil down to a steamy long simmer 30 mins covered with NO REFUELING. With dry splits of hardwood, the top down method will boil 40 oz of water without having to stuff sticks in during the burn. Takes practice, but doable.
I have this stove and love its simplicity. Couple things to mention for those heading outside with a family: If you're like me, you're cooking for more than just one person. I use the a MSR Alpine 1.6 liter pot with this stove. It allows me to carry the pot with the stove inside. Heavy - yes, but I'm cooking for 3 - it is also a wider pot. This makes feeding the fire much more difficult. I also have a difficult time keeping the flame going on the calmest of days. I have remedied this by purchasing a silicone drinking straw to blow on the coals to bring it back to life. No more watery eyes and runny nose from sticking my face up to the stove to blow on the coals. Pros: Here in Wisconsin, there is free fuel everywhere. As long as it is dry fuel, you're good to go. (tip - gather WAAAAY more than you think you'll need.) This stove also works perfectly no matter how cold it is outside. No need to warm up cold fuel cans against your nice warm body. I love this stove!
The grill is actually very useful. After flame is out, you can remove the windscreen and put the grill on top to cook a good size steak, sausages and whatnot for one person.
Do you do much grilling? Cleaning the stove after grilling a steak on top of it must be quite a job. Baked on grease and juices that run down the inside and outside of the stove would be hard to remove. Also meat grease dripping down into the coals would flame up, and with no way to move the grill and meat farther away from the flames, would burn the meat.
Dayum brumfield your grill must be clean and looking new every time you used it huh yeah the grease will drip down but heat and fire will get most of it burnt off it's a little grill for c sake not a pot or pan
I'd mostly grill (small) fish (fillets) and maybe veggies with this, not so much meat, but I'm sure you could grill a reasonable sized steak with it if you prefer that.
Brumfield You’re right Sir,but to fix that problem I would just use small frypan,,I mean how much do you like to clean your oven at home or greasy barbecue...
I have this stove and would recommend it to anyone looking for one. I like the fact that the pot holder portion fixes in place and doesn't have those thin moving legs (they seem like a weak point in my opinion), and the little grill is a nice addition as well. The grill mine came with was in good condition, no bends or defects, and the bag was in good condition as well, no loose stitching. Money well spent in my opinion.
I prefer that stove over the others. Pot stand is definitely best, it will handle many different size pots with stability. As for the bag, for $20 bucks you can’t expect a Prada. 😊
I have that Tomshoo and have used it for the past 2 summers. I love it. I've also used it as a base/wind guard for my Trangia, on days where I didn't have access to wood. So far it has served me well, with no problems whatsoever. For the price, in my opinion, it gives me the best bang for the buck and it's a lot of fun to use. Great review Luke.
They work great with pellets also. About 20 minutes burn time for each cup of pellets and you don't have to keep feeding it. The grill works great for toasting bread once the flame goes out.
I have the same but the top section has 4 prongs that swing out for larger pots, I've used wood but burns quickly then I tried wood pellets, but the secret to the wood pellets is if you use cotton wool shove it in the middle of the wood pellets, add a bit of metholated spirit in to the wool, and this will help the wood pellets to start the burn, and have it 3/4 high of wood pellets, light the cotton wool , and this will give instant burn time of at least 45 to 50mins which is perfect for boiling potatoes and other veg in a big pan ... which I'll be doing this week whilst myself and Angie are camping, also I'll be using my Biolite stove with wood pellets to as it last longer plus bbq grill with it, and in the morning I'm using an Alpkit Jetboil type stove for a quick brew ... 😉👍🍺🍺 love your reviews Luke. .. ps try it with wood pellets and as they are hard to get to burn quickly use some cotton wool and lighter fuel soaked in the cotton wool , and you can literally start cooking ..
I bought one a couple months back. Love it! I put thumb to two fingers wide pieces of wood standing up in bottom but below the gasifier holes and then top with my tinder to light. From this way of filling I've gotten 20 minutes burn and another 10 minutes of decent heat. I wouldn't recommend using it on top of wood like in the video....maybe having the ash catcher under made it okay.
I have the same exact stove. I got it because of the pot support structure. Unfortunately it is the only really cheap part and does not sit well/level. Other than that, it works great! I've used it with wood but I've also used wood pellets like you would use in a smoker. That also works great. I've used a small cast iron skillet on it and that works really well.
I have an inexpensive eBay stove similar to this one. I ordered a top piece from Silverfire since it's a copy of their Scout stove, which works much better than what it came with. These stoves all burn well, but they really excel with wood pellets. They also fit perfectly in an MSR 650ml pot with the handle that folds over the lid and latches in place.
Been using this for a couple of months now,love it.From pulling up the truck to cup of coffee about 6 min,dump out the coals and by the time I finish my coffee, cold enough to repack and hit the road.
I have the same stove, if you drill out the square holes in the base with a step drill and increase the air flow the burn is much cleaner and the charcoal phase burns the fuel fully. One of the rules you find out from experience is not to add fuel above the height of the internal air holes . Thinner steel is better, the kind of temperatures in the stove won't degrade stainless steel so thicker metal won't be any benefit, the only worry is that Cheap Chinese stainless steel can be a very low chromium content and some of it will actually corrode.
I have a lot of TOM SHOO stuff and it is pretty good for the money. The Ti stuff is something I am very satisfied with. I have a 2mX2m tarp I use for a ground sheet and abused it pretty much all the time, never failed.
I have this stove I love it . I've used the grill once to grill a hamburger it work ok had to let the fire die down a little . Thanks for doing a review on this stove .
Seen this video and picked one up from Ebay for £12.99 + free postage. I haven't gotten around to firing the little stove up yet but all the parts are there so I am sure it will work as seen on UA-cam. Thanks for the review.
To some, it might be worth noting that this design of stove nests snugly inside the MSR Stowaway Pot 775ml. However, the downside of the MSR pot is that the lid is designed in such a way that what ever rain water runs off the lid goes inside the pot
I did buy one. Worked great. I always thought that stainless steel would no rust. Well with the heat of the stove and damp weather it does not!. The inside rusted away in a year. I have learned now to treat these stoves with a mineral oil to help them last.
If kept dry during the course of the camping trip, it will nicely avoid any rust. But I also carry a 3 x 5 “ microfiber cloth-sprayed with a WD40 type of oil & kept in a zip-loc bag. Keeping the stove dry is key, and easy to do as well especially when stored.
I've been checking these on Amazon, and there's also Lixada and a half-dozen or more other brands with exactly the same stove. So what's likely happening is that a couple of Chinese factories are rebranding these stoves under a number of different names to increase sales. Capitalism, Chinese style... :-D
I hate to say it, but the way you are using this stove is wrong, because of the way this stove works. Mind you, this is actually a wood carburator. The fire is not burning from the bottom to the top, but _the other way around,_ from the top to the bottom. And because of this, you need to reverse the usual layering of fuel that you are used to, with the small pieces meant to kindle the fire at the bottom and with the huge pieces on top. In this stove, you need to place the large pieces of fuel _at the bottom_ and the small tinder _at the top._ Another difference to a normal stove is that you need relatively little space between the pieces of wood/fuel, unlike what you are used from other stoves. You can cram you fuel into the stove a lot more tightly. What also works quite well is to fill this stove with small wood pellets just large enough to not fall through the grate at the bottom. The way this works is that when the fire at the top starts to burn, it will suck in air _from the top,_ which is then getting heated up and sucked towards the bottom. On its way down, it heats the fuel up and makes it release wood gas, which is _then_ sucked to the top again in the double wall of the stove and burned, creating _quite_ the heat as a result. Seriously, this stove can produce an _immense_ heat. I get half a liter of water to boiling point much faster than with any other hobo stove or portable mini stove I have tried, provided it is filled correctly.
If you find them for $13 like I did, they are perfect for fitting in a 16cm zebra pot, and can boil it when full without feeding fuel. But you have to practice with it. It's best to have hand pruners and tilt the stove sideways to fill with wood before putting on the pot stand
Got it in. It now comes with a grilling grate with a handle Amazon had the best price. Just tried it with finely split hard wood. Tested it in the kitchen sink lol to see if it set off the smoke detector or CO detector and neither went off. Boiling a cup of water in like a minute. Rolling boil. It's simmering right now over the coals. Good review totally agree. It's going with me on my next camping trip. It's half the size of my old cheesie battery operated unit.
My stove arrived the bag was better stitched, and the grill didn't have a dent in it, but is a bit flimsy. I think your review was very fair. I is a good stove though. It works well with my wider box mess tins without the cross support, and the top of it acts as a good wind shield, and has a good gap for feeding sticks. It makes it a joy to use. I have seen other designs, and although I haven't used them, I think the extra height given by the windshield and that gap for feeding sticks might give it an advantage over them. I noticed the caraway has near identical designed shield as well. Great review.
The grill is supposed to be slightly concave to be more stable when, unlike his placement on top of the crossbars, the grill is placed properly directly on top of the main stove body. Mine has held up well for it’s several months of use. So, quality wise, it’s just fine.
Hey just an idea but maybe the grill should be used without the pot support trivet and the bowing in the middle of the grill would not be such an issue?
Excellent review. I have this stove for my cook kit. All of the parts nest (collapse down to 3"). This in turn nests into my 2 liter pot, with enough room to nest a fuel canister, a BSR stove, folding spork, and small alcohol bottle. 3 is 2.
Works great,the only negative is the trivets sometimes get dislodged and difficult to put back while the stove is going,apart from that it’s great. Fill with upright sticks and burn from top down.Once gasification occurs theirs hardly any smoke,keep adding sticks to keep the gasification process going and you have a very efficient and stealth stove 👍
Thanks for this review Luke, and please, continue to review budget products, it really helps! Appreciate your approach and sincerity input on every review. Strength and Honor
Bought the Lixada, no grill but can fit folded into a zebra pot/sandwich pot, very convenient and when burning properly it does not smoke, just as the fire is growing and diminishing does it smoke. I tend to douse it in water to stop the fire smoking much, at the end of cooking. The advantage is being able to collect fuel, even damp fuel as you go along.
I really like gasifier stoves, I have had a couple over the years, and the one I carry now is my favorite so far. it is a Lixada I got it for around the $20 mark on Amazonand it seems to have a better quality stainless than some I have tried.
If you expect to boil coffee water with this before thru-hiking all day to your next campsite, you'll have to wait for it to cool down so you can put it in your pack. So you need to decide if this cooking system will work for you. Also not sure if wood-burning flames are permitted in all states/trails, so need to check. THANKS for your review, Luke!!
Great review. Like you said there are a ton of these stoves on the market. I had one similar to this one and it was good in my opinion I ended up passing it on to a buddy of mine from work when I bought the Solo 900 pot and stove which I like better because the stove nests inside the pot. But for $20 you can't beat that stove for sure.
Luke I'm going to order one, great review. The only flaw I can see by the video is the ash cup is smaller than the base thus letting ash possibly get through. Not a big deal, just wondering if well never mind, this has to be the best stove video review you have done. Love it big wolf family.
Great video. Your presentation is concise and the editing is excellent. Lots of gasification in the stove and none in the content. Thank you for posting.
For the bag, try cutting the loose threads down to nearly nothing. It may be a tidying up job that's not done, and if you pull it too much it may loosen, but if at least the ends of the seams are secured you can easily do that yourself. The point with the alcohol stove is, if it rains and your firewood gets impossible to work with, you have at least some way of making it work. And a bit of liquid alcohol poured over your firewood is a great fire starter, so it's nice to bring at any rate.
Did a whole budget hike/2night trip earlier this year. Me and a few friends are all on budgets and just starting out. This was my stove choice, and it worked great. Was a little tough lighting at first, but it had poured all day so thats to be expected. Once lit, it worked great
I bought one of these to keep in the car - fire is good. This review seems right on point, particularly that the grate is remarkably, um, inexpensive. It burns pretty well, and nests neatly in the MSR Alpine 775mm pot. I consider it an inexpensive SHTF piece of insurance, along with the ability to have an impromptu camp fire at the cottage or hotel [where allowed ;)].
I have one of these and like it a lot. Like another commenter, I really like the little grill, too. That grill is one of those things it is nearly impossible to find on its own, at least here in the U.S. I also like the removeable cross-brace pot support over the hinged kind on other stoves. It is the little things that make this stove kinda great. At least for me.
I got mine a week ago n use it in 3 parts had a extra lil pan flipped it upside down for Dutch oven place the base, gasifier, n base tray with the grill plate over it then the top pieces to the side with lil bit of coals so I Dutch oven my burger patties then grilled my fish fillets n that top pieces I put on side for toasting tortillas n burger buns it worked great
I have the Ohuhu version of the same stove. They all come from China with various top grids under various names. I sent a Canway (same stove) back because half of the lower unit's square holes weren't punched out. Bought the Ohuhu instead. Turned out to be the same stove. It's a hit or miss on QC on any of these Chinese Gasifier stoves. But, as you mention, for the money they are quite effective at what they do. Defects aside, I would say it's worth owning one.
I cooked on one of these for over a year and they are great. I would use the wood stove for potatoes and fry chicken with the meth burner and a few stones and it would be fine. Just need to make sure you have enough wood before you start. Getting it started is easier if you get birch bark and split wood.
There seems to be several of these floating around under different generic brands. I have basically the same one under a different name without the grill. Even came with the same crumby mesh bag. The stove is pretty great though. If you do want to be able to use it for an alcohol stove the civilian version of the Trangia fits in it nicely and it acts as a wind break and pot support and is far cheaper then the Trangia Triangle and is more versatile.
I ordered one of these with it's handle for twenty two dollar and fifty five cents. It was was reduced with amazon coupon. Well we all need to be grateful regardless.
Alexander Friis Solo has a better build quality... but 10x the quality? Solo does have a lifetime warranty, so kinda? Maybe? I prefer the solo obviously and I’ve got more than 1 person needs.
I just got mine in the mail yesterday. The package was small enough to fit inside my apartment mailbox. Looks great! I want to try it out at a park this weekend, but rain and thunder storms are predicted for the next 3 days. I doubt if I'll be able to find any dry twigs for a week.
Woth mentioning is that the version with the handle on the lower part also comes with a larger achpan that is bigger. Easy to use and it lives with an esbit alcohole stove and some cookware in my car. :)
Hello Luke, thank you for the review, great looking stove and at a affordable price, I just may have me another stove. Thanks again, have a wonderful week, take care and God bless you and your Family always. 🇺🇸🔥☕️🇺🇸👼🏻👼🏻
I love mine, it fits well in a msr pot to make it easy to transport. Would purchase again, you need half the fuel as used in the video and I haven't really bothered with the grill. It cooks well and cools quickly.
I have had trouble keeping mine fired up. Recently went back to the Little Bug Junior which seems almost foolproof. Maybe a tinder problem on my part, The Tomshoo really needs the right wood to keep going.
I have this stove . If you cut branches about the size of your thumb then turn the stove on its side and load it up and burn it from the top down it will be a completely different story
Lol thank you so much been looking at this for a backup cooking method. Amazon lol had reviews like it's a toy can only use twigs lol and it's not stainless steel a magnet won't stick. Lol. I'm sold. Update got it was even able to use my small GSI pressure cooker on it took 5 times reloading fuel using split hard wood.
Luke, what made me a true believer of this little stinker was a pot of cheese grits in about 20-30 mins. BUT...... the secret is to use Velveeta cheese. The more the better. Along with fried fish........Lord have mercy
The ability to use solid fuel is actually pretty good. Solid fuel tablets are not too heavy to carry, and could at least be used to give hot water when other fuel is too damp, you're too tired to collect dry fuel (maybe camping in a rocky area with few trees), or want low flame so you can use from within your shelter to avoid bad weather while not risking a fire. (of course, my little titanium esbit folding stove only weighs 12g so easy to carry alongside in any case :) )
@HH with alcohol tablets it is no more dangerous than any other alcohol stove. Of course I'd not use it on the floor of a tent with a inner 'tank'., Always preferring on the ground under a tarp or 'porch'. with hexamine you can still use it under cover but I like decent ventilation.
@HH alcohol burns pretty cleanly, but I always ensure I'm well ventilated as well. Sorry for my initially snarky response. I was responding to another, very rude, comment and accidentally posted it to you. (UA-cam + mobile = potential for embarrassment :) )
I have a slightly different version of this stove - "Ohuhu" with a different style pot stand section. This stove, like all gassifiers work best if you keep the fuel below the upper vent holes. I think these are pretty decent for around $20
All made by the same company. Only differences are the pot holder style and the portion on the to that allows you to more easily feed in more pellets or wood (use pellets). This one has the best pot holder and the cut out allows for easy fuel feeding. It's my choice overall.
You don't have to start the fire from the bottom up. Cover the ash grate with solid wood and cover that with twigs or whatever. start a little fire on top of the twigs and it will burn from the top down. Ps... If you are using wood don't put the little bowl in the bottom, it won't do anything.
I have one almost exactly like the Tomshoo (Tom's Who? Tom Shoe?) The bag mine came with is a lot sturdier. A little grill woulda been nice, but I've got one that works well with it anyway to better balance the pot on top. The one I have is well warn and well used. Beats that Lixida one for sure.
I use the titanium pits and bottle they have. It means I can have titanium without having to pay each. They do pop some weird old stuff as extras (frying pan has a washing pad) but worth exploring for budget ultra light weight. Quality not the same. But as an introduction it’s great!
Seems very good, just a bit heavy and a bit bulky. A slighly smaller one in Titanium would be nice. I do have a Ti wood burner, but it's the basic square type, not gasifier. Obviously gasifiers can't fold flat like the square type. Of course this is no more heavy or bulky than gas or a Trangia. But you need a pot as well of course. I recommend a Ti hanging pot and chain if you think you might ever need to cook with no stove at all.
hello, i use the same stove, the grill is a joke 🙂 , i always us a pan, it works, especially with a handful of pellets, it burns clean and long, primary for camp or canoe use. with strong winds and pellets, i prever a foldable windshield, than is burns save and clean. For small things i use also my trangia burner oder a smaller tin inside for a cup of coffee or only fast fried sausages. it works fast an clean.
@Luke. Am I missing something? It says " Gasifier ." My training and use of a Gasifier, was you store wood in a container that is sealed off from the main fire. Which heats the container with the dry wood in it. Thus as the wood gets hot.. gases are released and when enough has built up. You can ignite the gas. ( My experience was using a system to run Generator sets when liquid fuel was used up.
The way these work is the fire starts to release the wood gas, so they do smoke a little at first. Once going the smoke (gas) is pulled down and then back up through the double wall chamber and is lit when it exits the holes at the top for a clean burn. When working properly you won't get soot all over your pots as you would an open fire.
@@ogr8bearded175 nope, that's not how it works, the air is drawn through the side walls and preheated, it then mixes with the wood gasses at the internal ports at the top of the stove where the flame is produced.
@@snowflakemelter1172 I have this exact stove. I load it differently than the video with thumb to two fingers wide pieces standing up short of the upper holes and then smaller twigs horizontal on top of that and then my starting tinder. As it starts burning you can actually see a point at which you look down and see a layer of smoke about a quarter of the way up from the bottom wood tray. The smoke is still there, but is being drawn downward and back up the through the double wall instead of straight out of the chamber.
I use many things from TOMSHOO..They have great titanium pots. They are like Toaks but cost less. I've used them so many times and never had problems. So all depends but Still, they make some good stuff in my opinion. Moslty their Titanium products.
It’s counter intuitive, but I’ve learned a top down burn is preferred with these. I fill the chamber with thumb to finger sized hardwood (splits even better). Packed tight. I light a tiny twig fire on top. (A starter tab helps but is not mandatory). As the twig coals filter in the gaps, the hardwood catches, giving a mini Swedish torch effect. Up to 15 min burn time before it goes to coals which maintain a low heat for another 15 to 20. This method allows you to make a pot of rice from intense boil down to a steamy long simmer 30 mins covered with NO REFUELING. With dry splits of hardwood, the top down method will boil 40 oz of water without having to stuff sticks in during the burn. Takes practice, but doable.
I have this stove and love its simplicity. Couple things to mention for those heading outside with a family: If you're like me, you're cooking for more than just one person. I use the a MSR Alpine 1.6 liter pot with this stove. It allows me to carry the pot with the stove inside. Heavy - yes, but I'm cooking for 3 - it is also a wider pot. This makes feeding the fire much more difficult. I also have a difficult time keeping the flame going on the calmest of days. I have remedied this by purchasing a silicone drinking straw to blow on the coals to bring it back to life. No more watery eyes and runny nose from sticking my face up to the stove to blow on the coals.
Pros: Here in Wisconsin, there is free fuel everywhere. As long as it is dry fuel, you're good to go. (tip - gather WAAAAY more than you think you'll need.) This stove also works perfectly no matter how cold it is outside. No need to warm up cold fuel cans against your nice warm body. I love this stove!
The grill is actually very useful. After flame is out, you can remove the windscreen and put the grill on top to cook a good size steak, sausages and whatnot for one person.
Do you do much grilling? Cleaning the stove after grilling a steak on top of it must be quite a job. Baked on grease and juices that run down the inside and outside of the stove would be hard to remove. Also meat grease dripping down into the coals would flame up, and with no way to move the grill and meat farther away from the flames, would burn the meat.
Dayum brumfield your grill must be clean and looking new every time you used it huh yeah the grease will drip down but heat and fire will get most of it burnt off it's a little grill for c sake not a pot or pan
I'd mostly grill (small) fish (fillets) and maybe veggies with this, not so much meat, but I'm sure you could grill a reasonable sized steak with it if you prefer that.
Brumfield You’re right Sir,but to fix that problem I would just use small frypan,,I mean how much do you like to clean your oven at home or greasy barbecue...
@@barrybrum i have the Ohuhu and it works great grilling , the more u use it the better u get .
I have this stove and would recommend it to anyone looking for one. I like the fact that the pot holder portion fixes in place and doesn't have those thin moving legs (they seem like a weak point in my opinion), and the little grill is a nice addition as well. The grill mine came with was in good condition, no bends or defects, and the bag was in good condition as well, no loose stitching. Money well spent in my opinion.
I prefer that stove over the others. Pot stand is definitely best, it will handle many different size pots with stability.
As for the bag, for $20 bucks you can’t expect a Prada. 😊
I have the same stove. My grill wasn't dented and so far the bag has held up with no loose strings. Great stove for the price.
My little grille is also concave. If you have an extremely small cup, you can use the little grille without the crossbars.
I have that Tomshoo and have used it for the past 2 summers. I love it. I've also used it as a base/wind guard for my Trangia, on days where I didn't have access to wood. So far it has served me well, with no problems whatsoever. For the price, in my opinion, it gives me the best bang for the buck and it's a lot of fun to use.
Great review Luke.
They work great with pellets also. About 20 minutes burn time for each cup of pellets and you don't have to keep feeding it. The grill works great for toasting bread once the flame goes out.
I have the same but the top section has 4 prongs that swing out for larger pots, I've used wood but burns quickly then I tried wood pellets, but the secret to the wood pellets is if you use cotton wool shove it in the middle of the wood pellets, add a bit of metholated spirit in to the wool, and this will help the wood pellets to start the burn, and have it 3/4 high of wood pellets, light the cotton wool , and this will give instant burn time of at least 45 to 50mins which is perfect for boiling potatoes and other veg in a big pan ... which I'll be doing this week whilst myself and Angie are camping, also I'll be using my Biolite stove with wood pellets to as it last longer plus bbq grill with it, and in the morning I'm using an Alpkit Jetboil type stove for a quick brew ... 😉👍🍺🍺 love your reviews Luke. .. ps try it with wood pellets and as they are hard to get to burn quickly use some cotton wool and lighter fuel soaked in the cotton wool , and you can literally start cooking ..
I bought one a couple months back. Love it! I put thumb to two fingers wide pieces of wood standing up in bottom but below the gasifier holes and then top with my tinder to light. From this way of filling I've gotten 20 minutes burn and another 10 minutes of decent heat. I wouldn't recommend using it on top of wood like in the video....maybe having the ash catcher under made it okay.
I have the same exact stove. I got it because of the pot support structure. Unfortunately it is the only really cheap part and does not sit well/level. Other than that, it works great! I've used it with wood but I've also used wood pellets like you would use in a smoker. That also works great. I've used a small cast iron skillet on it and that works really well.
I've used this stove for a little over a year, and I have no complaints.
I have an inexpensive eBay stove similar to this one. I ordered a top piece from Silverfire since it's a copy of their Scout stove, which works much better than what it came with. These stoves all burn well, but they really excel with wood pellets. They also fit perfectly in an MSR 650ml pot with the handle that folds over the lid and latches in place.
Been using this for a couple of months now,love it.From pulling up the truck to cup of coffee about 6 min,dump out the coals and by the time I finish my coffee, cold enough to repack and hit the road.
Excellent stove! I'm using many products from this company, very budget friendly and good quality for the money.
I have the same stove, if you drill out the square holes in the base with a step drill and increase the air flow the burn is much cleaner and the charcoal phase burns the fuel fully. One of the rules you find out from experience is not to add fuel above the height of the internal air holes . Thinner steel is better, the kind of temperatures in the stove won't degrade stainless steel so thicker metal won't be any benefit, the only worry is that Cheap Chinese stainless steel can be a very low chromium content and some of it will actually corrode.
Can I aldo drill extra holes instead of drilling out the square holes?
I have a lot of TOM SHOO stuff and it is pretty good for the money. The Ti stuff is something I am very satisfied with. I have a 2mX2m tarp I use for a ground sheet and abused it pretty much all the time, never failed.
I have this stove I love it . I've used the grill once to grill a hamburger it work ok had to let the fire die down a little . Thanks for doing a review on this stove .
Seen this video and picked one up from Ebay for £12.99 + free postage. I haven't gotten around to firing the little stove up yet but all the parts are there so I am sure it will work as seen on UA-cam. Thanks for the review.
To some, it might be worth noting that this design of stove nests snugly inside the MSR Stowaway Pot 775ml. However, the downside of the MSR pot is that the lid is designed in such a way that what ever rain water runs off the lid goes inside the pot
I did buy one. Worked great. I always thought that stainless steel would no rust. Well with the heat of the stove and damp weather it does not!. The inside rusted away in a year. I have learned now to treat these stoves with a mineral oil to help them last.
If kept dry during the course of the camping trip, it will nicely avoid any rust. But I also carry a 3 x 5 “ microfiber cloth-sprayed with a WD40 type of oil & kept in a zip-loc bag. Keeping the stove dry is key, and easy to do as well especially when stored.
I've been checking these on Amazon, and there's also Lixada and a half-dozen or more other brands with exactly the same stove. So what's likely happening is that a couple of Chinese factories are rebranding these stoves under a number of different names to increase sales. Capitalism, Chinese style... :-D
Theft.
I hate to say it, but the way you are using this stove is wrong, because of the way this stove works. Mind you, this is actually a wood carburator. The fire is not burning from the bottom to the top, but _the other way around,_ from the top to the bottom.
And because of this, you need to reverse the usual layering of fuel that you are used to, with the small pieces meant to kindle the fire at the bottom and with the huge pieces on top. In this stove, you need to place the large pieces of fuel _at the bottom_ and the small tinder _at the top._ Another difference to a normal stove is that you need relatively little space between the pieces of wood/fuel, unlike what you are used from other stoves. You can cram you fuel into the stove a lot more tightly. What also works quite well is to fill this stove with small wood pellets just large enough to not fall through the grate at the bottom.
The way this works is that when the fire at the top starts to burn, it will suck in air _from the top,_ which is then getting heated up and sucked towards the bottom. On its way down, it heats the fuel up and makes it release wood gas, which is _then_ sucked to the top again in the double wall of the stove and burned, creating _quite_ the heat as a result.
Seriously, this stove can produce an _immense_ heat. I get half a liter of water to boiling point much faster than with any other hobo stove or portable mini stove I have tried, provided it is filled correctly.
If you find them for $13 like I did, they are perfect for fitting in a 16cm zebra pot, and can boil it when full without feeding fuel. But you have to practice with it. It's best to have hand pruners and tilt the stove sideways to fill with wood before putting on the pot stand
It's pronounced Tom Shoe. Hope that helps Luke. 👍
Got it in. It now comes with a grilling grate with a handle Amazon had the best price. Just tried it with finely split hard wood. Tested it in the kitchen sink lol to see if it set off the smoke detector or CO detector and neither went off. Boiling a cup of water in like a minute. Rolling boil. It's simmering right now over the coals. Good review totally agree. It's going with me on my next camping trip. It's half the size of my old cheesie battery operated unit.
My stove arrived the bag was better stitched, and the grill didn't have a dent in it, but is a bit flimsy. I think your review was very fair. I is a good stove though. It works well with my wider box mess tins without the cross support, and the top of it acts as a good wind shield, and has a good gap for feeding sticks. It makes it a joy to use. I have seen other designs, and although I haven't used them, I think the extra height given by the windshield and that gap for feeding sticks might give it an advantage over them. I noticed the caraway has near identical designed shield as well. Great review.
The grill is supposed to be slightly concave to be more stable when, unlike his placement on top of the crossbars, the grill is placed properly directly on top of the main stove body. Mine has held up well for it’s several months of use. So, quality wise, it’s just fine.
Hey just an idea but maybe the grill should be used without the pot support trivet and the bowing in the middle of the grill would not be such an issue?
I’ve had this exact model for 4 years, Great product, pairs perfectly with a Trangia stove. 👍👍👍👍
Excellent review. I have this stove for my cook kit. All of the parts nest (collapse down to 3"). This in turn nests into my 2 liter pot, with enough room to nest a fuel canister, a BSR stove, folding spork, and small alcohol bottle. 3 is 2.
Luke , my Man, use the grill without the pot holder.
Works great,the only negative is the trivets sometimes get dislodged and difficult to put back while the stove is going,apart from that it’s great.
Fill with upright sticks and burn from top down.Once gasification occurs theirs hardly any smoke,keep adding sticks to keep the gasification process going and you have a very efficient and stealth stove 👍
hi Luke i got my wood burning stove on wish for about £8 pound which works out about $14 and its absolutely brilliant
Thanks for this review Luke, and please, continue to review budget products, it really helps! Appreciate your approach and sincerity input on every review.
Strength and Honor
Bought the Lixada, no grill but can fit folded into a zebra pot/sandwich pot, very convenient and when burning properly it does not smoke, just as the fire is growing and diminishing does it smoke. I tend to douse it in water to stop the fire smoking much, at the end of cooking. The advantage is being able to collect fuel, even damp fuel as you go along.
I drilled the square holes in the base inner cup out as far as they would go and the burn improved significantly, hotter burn and faster boil.
I really like gasifier stoves, I have had a couple over the years, and the one I carry now is my favorite so far. it is a Lixada I got it for around the $20 mark on Amazonand it seems to have a better quality stainless than some I have tried.
If you expect to boil coffee water with this before thru-hiking all day to your next campsite, you'll have to wait for it to cool down so you can put it in your pack. So you need to decide if this cooking system will work for you. Also not sure if wood-burning flames are permitted in all states/trails, so need to check. THANKS for your review, Luke!!
Great review. Like you said there are a ton of these stoves on the market. I had one similar to this one and it was good in my opinion I ended up passing it on to a buddy of mine from work when I bought the Solo 900 pot and stove which I like better because the stove nests inside the pot. But for $20 you can't beat that stove for sure.
The 775ml MSR stainless steel pot will hold this stove and protect it during transport.
I have this stove...got it for my bday 2 years ago and love it!!
I have one and love it! Can’t say enough about them.
Luke I'm going to order one, great review. The only flaw I can see by the video is the ash cup is smaller than the base thus letting ash possibly get through. Not a big deal, just wondering if well never mind, this has to be the best stove video review you have done. Love it big wolf family.
Its not designed to be an ash cup that's why.
Hello Luke, great review on the Tomshoo stove. Keep up those great reviews. The very best you, Suzie and family. 🤗
Great video. Your presentation is concise and the editing is excellent. Lots of gasification in the stove and none in the content. Thank you for posting.
For the bag, try cutting the loose threads down to nearly nothing. It may be a tidying up job that's not done, and if you pull it too much it may loosen, but if at least the ends of the seams are secured you can easily do that yourself.
The point with the alcohol stove is, if it rains and your firewood gets impossible to work with, you have at least some way of making it work. And a bit of liquid alcohol poured over your firewood is a great fire starter, so it's nice to bring at any rate.
I got one last week and it works fine.
50% off on this now on Amazon. Makes it $15. Just saw the video earlier tonight, going to purchase this now.
Did a whole budget hike/2night trip earlier this year. Me and a few friends are all on budgets and just starting out. This was my stove choice, and it worked great. Was a little tough lighting at first, but it had poured all day so thats to be expected. Once lit, it worked great
The GRILL Grate Sets FLAT & Works Properly AFTER-AFTER You Remove the X Support!!
I bought one of these to keep in the car - fire is good. This review seems right on point, particularly that the grate is remarkably, um, inexpensive. It burns pretty well, and nests neatly in the MSR Alpine 775mm pot. I consider it an inexpensive SHTF piece of insurance, along with the ability to have an impromptu camp fire at the cottage or hotel [where allowed ;)].
I really like my canway, but I agree with you about the pot supports. Thanks!
I have one of these and like it a lot. Like another commenter, I really like the little grill, too. That grill is one of those things it is nearly impossible to find on its own, at least here in the U.S. I also like the removeable cross-brace pot support over the hinged kind on other stoves. It is the little things that make this stove kinda great. At least for me.
I got mine a week ago n use it in 3 parts had a extra lil pan flipped it upside down for Dutch oven place the base, gasifier, n base tray with the grill plate over it then the top pieces to the side with lil bit of coals so I Dutch oven my burger patties then grilled my fish fillets n that top pieces I put on side for toasting tortillas n burger buns it worked great
I have the Ohuhu version of the same stove. They all come from China with various top grids under various names.
I sent a Canway (same stove) back because half of the lower unit's square holes weren't punched out. Bought the Ohuhu instead. Turned out to be the same stove.
It's a hit or miss on QC on any of these Chinese Gasifier stoves. But, as you mention, for the money they are quite effective at what they do. Defects aside, I would say it's worth owning one.
I cooked on one of these for over a year and they are great.
I would use the wood stove for potatoes and fry chicken with the meth burner and a few stones and it would be fine. Just need to make sure you have enough wood before you start.
Getting it started is easier if you get birch bark and split wood.
Thank you. I've been looking at some more expensive & complicated versions. Now I can get this one & move on to my next item I will need.
I just make my own out of coffee and soup tins. Good review.
There seems to be several of these floating around under different generic brands. I have basically the same one under a different name without the grill. Even came with the same crumby mesh bag. The stove is pretty great though. If you do want to be able to use it for an alcohol stove the civilian version of the Trangia fits in it nicely and it acts as a wind break and pot support and is far cheaper then the Trangia Triangle and is more versatile.
Always a great presentation Luke. Thank you.
I ordered one of these with it's handle for twenty two dollar and fifty five cents. It was was reduced with amazon coupon. Well we all need to be grateful regardless.
Solid! Been using this and the solo stove for a few years now.
How does those two compare?
Alexander Friis Solo has a better build quality... but 10x the quality? Solo does have a lifetime warranty, so kinda? Maybe? I prefer the solo obviously and I’ve got more than 1 person needs.
@@supersymun how do you feel about performance?
Alexander Friis in terms of heat, they’re the same.
I just got mine in the mail yesterday. The package was small enough to fit inside my apartment mailbox. Looks great!
I want to try it out at a park this weekend, but rain and thunder storms are predicted for the next 3 days.
I doubt if I'll be able to find any dry twigs for a week.
Nice review, I decided to order one, largely because it doesn't seem to produce to much smoke, very discreet.
Woth mentioning is that the version with the handle on the lower part also comes with a larger achpan that is bigger.
Easy to use and it lives with an esbit alcohole stove and some cookware in my car. :)
I love it, really dig the grill, maybe the updated version will include a hot dog skewer?
Hello Luke, thank you for the review, great looking stove and at a affordable price, I just may have me another stove. Thanks again, have a wonderful week, take care and God bless you and your Family always. 🇺🇸🔥☕️🇺🇸👼🏻👼🏻
Have you used a magnet to check if its made from stainless steel? Usually, the magnet wont be atracted by stainless steel.
Great, concise, clear review. Thanks, bud!
Awesome, just bought this two days ago. Thanks for the review
I love mine, it fits well in a msr pot to make it easy to transport. Would purchase again, you need half the fuel as used in the video and I haven't really bothered with the grill. It cooks well and cools quickly.
Beside the the cost, how does this compare with other types of stoves?
I have had trouble keeping mine fired up. Recently went back to the Little Bug Junior which seems almost foolproof. Maybe a tinder problem on my part, The Tomshoo really needs the right wood to keep going.
This fits perfectly inside a MSR Alpine Stowaway Pot 775ml. Other models similar to Tomshoo design do not fit.
I bought the chinese version of this chinese version... but I'm happy to see that it was a good buy
Nice review Luke. Looks like a decent stove. I'm sure worth $20.
Get aliexpress its loads cheaper on there than it is on Amazon
Thanks Luke. Definitely I'll give it a try. Looks pretty good.
So... Where is the update video? Im still wondering if i should buy their bag or not
I have this stove . If you cut branches about the size of your thumb then turn the stove on its side and load it up and burn it from the top down it will be a completely different story
Thank you for this vid. A have buy a Canway and will try this stove the first time the next weekend. Many greetings from Germany!
Great! Which size is it? S or S4. I don't know the difference betwen those sizes, and You can get it in those options. Thanks!
Lol thank you so much been looking at this for a backup cooking method. Amazon lol had reviews like it's a toy can only use twigs lol and it's not stainless steel a magnet won't stick. Lol. I'm sold. Update got it was even able to use my small GSI pressure cooker on it took 5 times reloading fuel using split hard wood.
Luke, what made me a true believer of this little stinker was a pot of cheese grits in about 20-30 mins. BUT...... the secret is to use Velveeta cheese. The more the better. Along with fried fish........Lord have mercy
The ability to use solid fuel is actually pretty good. Solid fuel tablets are not too heavy to carry, and could at least be used to give hot water when other fuel is too damp, you're too tired to collect dry fuel (maybe camping in a rocky area with few trees), or want low flame so you can use from within your shelter to avoid bad weather while not risking a fire. (of course, my little titanium esbit folding stove only weighs 12g so easy to carry alongside in any case :) )
@HH with alcohol tablets it is no more dangerous than any other alcohol stove. Of course I'd not use it on the floor of a tent with a inner 'tank'., Always preferring on the ground under a tarp or 'porch'. with hexamine you can still use it under cover but I like decent ventilation.
@HH alcohol burns pretty cleanly, but I always ensure I'm well ventilated as well. Sorry for my initially snarky response. I was responding to another, very rude, comment and accidentally posted it to you. (UA-cam + mobile = potential for embarrassment :) )
I have a slightly different version of this stove - "Ohuhu" with a different style pot stand section. This stove, like all gassifiers work best if you keep the fuel below the upper vent holes. I think these are pretty decent for around $20
Great review... Now what about titanium next to stainless steel...? Which are the pros and cons... or the differences between both...? Thanks...
i'm pretty sure you have to take the top section off to use the Grill?
All made by the same company. Only differences are the pot holder style and the portion on the to that allows you to more easily feed in more pellets or wood (use pellets). This one has the best pot holder and the cut out allows for easy fuel feeding. It's my choice overall.
You don't have to start the fire from the bottom up. Cover the ash grate with solid wood and cover that with twigs or whatever. start a little fire on top of the twigs and it will burn from the top down.
Ps... If you are using wood don't put the little bowl in the bottom, it won't do anything.
Can you drop a can of alchohol fuel down inside for emergency fire, like being in a bad rain storm , no dry wood anywhere ? Better than an Ohuhu ?
I have one almost exactly like the Tomshoo (Tom's Who? Tom Shoe?) The bag mine came with is a lot sturdier. A little grill woulda been nice, but I've got one that works well with it anyway to better balance the pot on top. The one I have is well warn and well used. Beats that Lixida one for sure.
I use the titanium pits and bottle they have. It means I can have titanium without having to pay each. They do pop some weird old stuff as extras (frying pan has a washing pad) but worth exploring for budget ultra light weight.
Quality not the same. But as an introduction it’s great!
Seems very good, just a bit heavy and a bit bulky. A slighly smaller one in Titanium would be nice. I do have a Ti wood burner, but it's the basic square type, not gasifier. Obviously gasifiers can't fold flat like the square type. Of course this is no more heavy or bulky than gas or a Trangia. But you need a pot as well of course. I recommend a Ti hanging pot and chain if you think you might ever need to cook with no stove at all.
hello, i use the same stove, the grill is a joke 🙂 , i always us a pan, it works, especially with a handful of pellets, it burns clean and long, primary for camp or canoe use. with strong winds and pellets, i prever a foldable windshield, than is burns save and clean. For small things i use also my trangia burner oder a smaller tin inside for a cup of coffee or only fast fried sausages. it works fast an clean.
Fun review. I'd be interested but I already use a Bush Buddy. Now that I think about it, maybe just one more stove.
wish they make a titanium version.
They do
I love mine!! I use wood pellets.. Fast, hot....
Thanks for helping to put Americans out of work.
Land of opportunities use it don't be a hater bc you can get a job with endless traits/careers all around
@@profd65 blame the people who move the companies overseas jackass
The grill, I would use it for grilling dried fish from the Chinese market
This comment aged like milk lol
@Luke. Am I missing something? It says " Gasifier ." My training and use of a Gasifier, was you store wood in a container that is sealed off from the main fire. Which heats the container with the dry wood in it. Thus as the wood gets hot.. gases are released and when enough has built up. You can ignite the gas. ( My experience was using a system to run Generator sets when liquid fuel was used up.
The way these work is the fire starts to release the wood gas, so they do smoke a little at first. Once going the smoke (gas) is pulled down and then back up through the double wall chamber and is lit when it exits the holes at the top for a clean burn. When working properly you won't get soot all over your pots as you would an open fire.
@@ogr8bearded175 nope, that's not how it works, the air is drawn through the side walls and preheated, it then mixes with the wood gasses at the internal ports at the top of the stove where the flame is produced.
@@snowflakemelter1172 I have this exact stove. I load it differently than the video with thumb to two fingers wide pieces standing up short of the upper holes and then smaller twigs horizontal on top of that and then my starting tinder. As it starts burning you can actually see a point at which you look down and see a layer of smoke about a quarter of the way up from the bottom wood tray. The smoke is still there, but is being drawn downward and back up the through the double wall instead of straight out of the chamber.
I use many things from TOMSHOO..They have great titanium pots. They are like Toaks but cost less. I've used them so many times and never had problems. So all depends but Still, they make some good stuff in my opinion. Moslty their Titanium products.