I have it and the grill for about 2-3 years now, still going great, I mostly use it with pellets and 1 waxed wood chips firestarter, as in semi urban areas it is easier to carry pellets with you if the grilling is planned. The only thing I wished, was more pot varieties. And that it would be a bit less bulky in the bagpack.
Great review. Agree that it's a bit bulky. When it comes to the learning curve I belive that if you can make a fire you don't have a problem to light it. With some twigs birch bark and a ferro rod I got it going in less then 1 minute the first time. It's not for everyone but I love it and you never run out of fuel.
We really like these videos. Very informative. My wife ask me a question about which BioLite product charges quickest, or produces the most electricity? Is it the Camp Stove 2, BioLite BaseCamp, or BioLite FirePit? Many thanks, Harold
How noisy is the fan? Is it something that would disrupt campfire chat? Also, keep hearing about the aluminium probe being a potential melting issue. Any problems with that?
So I did an experiment on people saying using the pellets. That it last for 45 minutes. Well here are the results of my study with wood pellets. I filled the biolite with wood pellets all the way up the the bottom end of the probe. Also used the grill with the lid shut. To help it keep in the heat. Fan set to high. After stove was lit. It was left untouched. 0 min - Stove started with petroleum cotton ball on top of pellets. 6 min - 3 Red bars 8 min- 4 Red bars 9 min - 5 Red bars 10 min - 6 Red bars 11 min - 7 Red bars 17 min - Down to 6 Red bars 19 min- 5 Red bars 29 min - 4 Red bars 40 min - 3 Red bars 42 min - 2 Red bars. Fan turned to low. 48 min - Biolite shut off So to all that say the pellets are the way to go. It never reached max heat level. Which charges the battery the fastest. Also the grill didnt even get hot enough to cook anything more than a hotdog on. If you kept adding more wood pellets it may help. But the problem with the pellets are that they end up taking up so much space with the ashes that you cant fit many more in. Wood pieces split into bite size pieces seem to work the best for me. Just keep feeding the fire and it will be at max heat level in no time. Also that's part of the fun with this thing. Just sitting there and feeding it.
hey there fella mine come about 3 days Ago evreytime i knock it off it turns back on for me soon After when im having a fire or when i try to charge my phone now and then or a speaker it knocks itself off when the Battery's full
When you are on a shoe string budget like I am $200 can get you a whole mess of other just as useful camp gear. Maybe some day they will have a direct competitor and they will have to get serious about improving the product.
A whole mess of what kind of gear? Unless your going to Walmart. $200 may get me 2 things. Pack $200, hiking shoes $100, hiking pants $100, mora garberg carbon $100, tent $100-$300, sleeping bag $100. Now these are just some rough examples. So what kind of useful camping gear you talking?
@@floppinfish Perhaps they mean "useful" for camping once or twice a year under ideal summer conditions. If you want weather tolerant, minimum hiking weight, and puncture protection... that cost goes up significantly. Camping doesn't necessarily mean hiking either. If they are bringing their car or truck directly to the campsite, the weight of cheap camping equipment doesn't mean much.
Nearly ever review I've seen of this mentions that it weighs slightly more than a propane/canister stove. But does a propane/canister stove charge your phone? lol...
There,s a reason why i got A Biolite CS2 instead of a gas stove (Or a solo stove)... It just always works... I have used it in +35°c to - 32°c In the rain and in a snowstorm...It uses less than 1/10th of the fuel that a campfire would use...A gas stove (Jetboil) isnt going to work reliably at -32°c... And you can,t move a Solo stove while its running...
I bought a CampStove a few years back, and it broke after spilling some water on it. It´s a stove for cooking!!? And has NO protection against the elements. The worst of it is, Biolite cannot supply and parts for me. I dont exprct the CampStove 2 to any better protected against the elements. A expencive toy into the trash. I´m back to gasburner and a charge pad. :/
If you want to carry a lightweight easy to burn fuel, charcoal is the way to go. Weighs next to nothing, it's green, and it will burn clean making for much easier cleanup when you're done. If you want you can easily make it yourself for nothing, just make sure you use hardwood as softwood charcoal is pants.
Initially this is an amazing tool. However it is impractical. It is expensive, heavy and bulky- and to charge the battery requires constant work to feed fuel into the stove. It is more practical to bring a battery with you on the trail. Bring a portable solar panel if necessary but with most hikes, only a battery or two will cover all your needs. Cool product but not very practical.
I take this on 3 day backpacking hikes. I'm always using it. It's fun to use. Plus I use the charging feature as a bonus. I dont do social media. So I dont spend 4 out of 2 hours mindless scrolling. Therefore i dont need a nuclear reactor to power my phone. I love this device. It works perfectly for me.
Dear, I watched your review video about BioLite CampStove 2 review: Playing with fire has never been so fun on UA-cam, and you really have done a great job on this. I love your video style very much. We are setting up a new business on the (camping chair) and hope to extend our business. So can you test the product for us? We will appreciate it and we can pay for your effort. Best Regards
This is pure genius, but is it just a matter of the flame touching the metal rod for it to charge the battery? Obviously asking because in certain circumstances I would need to burn gas instead and it would be fantastic to charge anything with that flame, killing 2 birds with one stone, on paper at least…. I mean I get that this is both more and less than that at the same time, and that it might be in their better interest to actually limit the product’s versatility, but it would also be a shame to see something so potentially useful vanish from the market for being too nitchy…
BioLite has very poor customer service,I bought a led light from them that didn’t work I sent email after email for a return with no response Finley I had to get pay pal to make them give me my money back ,I’ll never buy from that company again
I have it and the grill for about 2-3 years now, still going great, I mostly use it with pellets and 1 waxed wood chips firestarter, as in semi urban areas it is easier to carry pellets with you if the grilling is planned.
The only thing I wished, was more pot varieties.
And that it would be a bit less bulky in the bagpack.
The fire heats a probe, which produces electricity, which charges the battery, which powers the fan, which fans the flame, which heats the probe
Great review. Agree that it's a bit bulky. When it comes to the learning curve I belive that if you can make a fire you don't have a problem to light it. With some twigs birch bark and a ferro rod I got it going in less then 1 minute the first time. It's not for everyone but I love it and you never run out of fuel.
Agreed
A nice alternative to the gas/electricity stoves. Great review!
Thanks!
Great video -- thank you for taking the time to make this review!
+BioLite Thanks for letting me check it out!
We really like these videos. Very informative. My wife ask me a question about which BioLite product charges quickest, or produces the most electricity? Is it the Camp Stove 2, BioLite BaseCamp, or BioLite FirePit? Many thanks, Harold
Great video! Keep giving us the pros and cons. Feels genuin then!
Currently with no power here in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 because of hurricane Irma. This looks very cool.
You and family doing ok now?
How noisy is the fan? Is it something that would disrupt campfire chat? Also, keep hearing about the aluminium probe being a potential melting issue. Any problems with that?
Buy this stove and play with fire all you want. Just don't tell your mom. 🤘
So I did an experiment on people saying using the pellets. That it last for 45 minutes. Well here are the results of my study with wood pellets. I filled the biolite with wood pellets all the way up the the bottom end of the probe. Also used the grill with the lid shut. To help it keep in the heat. Fan set to high. After stove was lit. It was left untouched.
0 min - Stove started with petroleum cotton ball on top of pellets.
6 min - 3 Red bars
8 min- 4 Red bars
9 min - 5 Red bars
10 min - 6 Red bars
11 min - 7 Red bars
17 min - Down to 6 Red bars
19 min- 5 Red bars
29 min - 4 Red bars
40 min - 3 Red bars
42 min - 2 Red bars. Fan turned to low.
48 min - Biolite shut off
So to all that say the pellets are the way to go. It never reached max heat level. Which charges the battery the fastest. Also the grill didnt even get hot enough to cook anything more than a hotdog on. If you kept adding more wood pellets it may help. But the problem with the pellets are that they end up taking up so much space with the ashes that you cant fit many more in. Wood pieces split into bite size pieces seem to work the best for me. Just keep feeding the fire and it will be at max heat level in no time. Also that's part of the fun with this thing. Just sitting there and feeding it.
🤔 I can always get max heat with pellets if i want and it burns A Long time... Also on wood/sticks
Have you tried charcoal? I find it works very well. I’ve not tried pellets yet but thanks for the information
i live in ireland, it rains ALOT. in summer the rain get warmer. i'll stick with my coleman dual fuel
I love this stove idea
The indicators are clearly visible at Daytime (At least for me)
How can someone fairly used to the outdoors have such issues getting a fire going?!
hey there fella mine come about 3 days Ago evreytime i knock it off it turns back on for me soon After when im having a fire or when i try to charge my phone now and then or a speaker it knocks itself off when the Battery's full
Great video. Best I’ve seen for this kind of stuff
Unless you need the USB output port (what little use it is), then the CookStove is cheaper, the battery lasts long enough for several days camping.
Clive Sinclair cookstove doesn’t charge itself though
When you are on a shoe string budget like I am $200 can get you a whole mess of other just as useful camp gear. Maybe some day they will have a direct competitor and they will have to get serious about improving the product.
A whole mess of what kind of gear? Unless your going to Walmart. $200 may get me 2 things. Pack $200, hiking shoes $100, hiking pants $100, mora garberg carbon $100, tent $100-$300, sleeping bag $100. Now these are just some rough examples. So what kind of useful camping gear you talking?
@@floppinfish Perhaps they mean "useful" for camping once or twice a year under ideal summer conditions. If you want weather tolerant, minimum hiking weight, and puncture protection... that cost goes up significantly. Camping doesn't necessarily mean hiking either. If they are bringing their car or truck directly to the campsite, the weight of cheap camping equipment doesn't mean much.
Nearly ever review I've seen of this mentions that it weighs slightly more than a propane/canister stove. But does a propane/canister stove charge your phone? lol...
There,s a reason why i got A Biolite CS2 instead of a gas stove (Or a solo stove)... It just always works... I have used it in +35°c to - 32°c In the rain and in a snowstorm...It uses less than 1/10th of the fuel that a campfire would use...A gas stove (Jetboil) isnt going to work reliably at -32°c... And you can,t move a Solo stove while its running...
Good point it also probably works better at higher altitudes compared to other stoves
Really good honest riview
What axe is that!? Looks dope
Zoomed in and saw Gerber! 🙌 BEAR GRYLLS SURVIVAL Hatchet Woot!
Why is it 130 again becauuse it comes with a battery pack u can get at walmart for 10 and a 40oz grill u can find for under 30 bucks
what was that song at the end?
I bought a CampStove a few years back, and it broke after spilling some water on it. It´s a stove for cooking!!? And has NO protection against the elements. The worst of it is, Biolite cannot supply and parts for me. I dont exprct the CampStove 2 to any better protected against the elements. A expencive toy into the trash. I´m back to gasburner and a charge pad. :/
If you want to carry a lightweight easy to burn fuel, charcoal is the way to go. Weighs next to nothing, it's green, and it will burn clean making for much easier cleanup when you're done. If you want you can easily make it yourself for nothing, just make sure you use hardwood as softwood charcoal is pants.
It would be easier bringing a cannister stove and an external battery.
Initially this is an amazing tool. However it is impractical. It is expensive, heavy and bulky- and to charge the battery requires constant work to feed fuel into the stove. It is more practical to bring a battery with you on the trail. Bring a portable solar panel if necessary but with most hikes, only a battery or two will cover all your needs. Cool product but not very practical.
Heavy and A bit bulky...But that doesn,t matter if you use this with Quad or Car...Then its awesome
I take this on 3 day backpacking hikes. I'm always using it. It's fun to use. Plus I use the charging feature as a bonus. I dont do social media. So I dont spend 4 out of 2 hours mindless scrolling. Therefore i dont need a nuclear reactor to power my phone. I love this device. It works perfectly for me.
Where are the minimods?
Luke Hobbs he hasn't done minimods for 2 years
Great review! Thank you for saving me 130 bucks.
Great for bug out bags
Dear,
I watched your review video about BioLite CampStove 2 review: Playing with fire has never been so fun on UA-cam, and you really have done a great job on this. I love your video style very much. We are setting up a new business on the (camping chair) and hope to extend our business.
So can you test the product for us?
We will appreciate it and we can pay for your effort.
Best Regards
This is pure genius, but is it just a matter of the flame touching the metal rod for it to charge the battery? Obviously asking because in certain circumstances I would need to burn gas instead and it would be fantastic to charge anything with that flame, killing 2 birds with one stone, on paper at least…. I mean I get that this is both more and less than that at the same time, and that it might be in their better interest to actually limit the product’s versatility, but it would also be a shame to see something so potentially useful vanish from the market for being too nitchy…
Nice idea but it's still way off being any actual use.
You just named every reason to NOT buy one. Hows the charge rate everyone avoids this. If its just a stove id rather buy a vire rocket.
Someone who is good with fire can get one of these lit without a 'firestarter', just sayin.
Congrats. Want a cookie?
BioLite has very poor customer service,I bought a led light from them that didn’t work I sent email after email for a return with no response Finley I had to get pay pal to make them give me my money back ,I’ll never buy from that company again
Don't Complain!
Don't Complain!!
Don't Complain!!!
Really sounds like a waist of money and weight.
Many better options for everything it does
why not just start a fire
FIRST