"I just have a hard time striking the fire steel, hitting the tab with the sparks, and not banging my stiker hand into the stove. I end up just lighting the tab on the ground and tossing it in before it takes hold. Don't have a good reason for using the firesteel to light it.. just wanted to know I could if I had to."

Maybe I'm insensitive to burning my fingers, but I always just hold the tab in my left hand, striker in my right, hunch over a bit to block wind, strike the tab (while still holding it) and then toss it in the stove... if you only fray one end (rather than opening up the whole thing) the frayed end will catch rather nicely and the solid end will take a while to catch which gives you enough time to toss it in the stove without risking burned fingers...

I imagine that the hold it while striking it technique wouldn't work if you frayed it out all the way (it's probably light real fast and burn your fingers)...

Jason Said: "My method is to hold a fluffed up tab BETWEEN the knife and the firesteel - scraping the firesteel through the tinder."

Hadn't ever thought of that... I'm surprised I never did considering that I was quite the pyro in boy scouts... if you don't shake the tinder off the knife, I imagine you can hold up a flaming blade that way... :D

Edited by jdmitch on 03/30/2007 14:14:40 MDT.

This stove has me curious. I like the idea of no re-supply and a lighter pack. I have only used a heavy whisper-lite and a giga power stove. How do you handle to soot produced and deposited on your cook pot? Do you just throw it all into a stuff sack or try to wipe it off with a towel? I'm not a neat nick, but I do not want the inside of my pack trashed.

This looks like the next evolution of stoves. Where I hike there are always a few twigs around.

Thanks

Dave

I don't think of it as the next evolution but rather the old ways coming back to prove they can still work. I am always amazed how fresh ideas on old concepts often yield the best results.

I am just going to put my pot in a bag to manage the soot. The pot, bag, and stove should clean off easily once at home.

So far I have lit the stove twice and have had no problems getting the Firesteel to light the Tinderquick. Still, I haven't determined if I like having the Tinderquick on top of the grill or below it.

One that would fit in the MSR Kettle would be the pint sized paint can. Someone will make one, hopefully Franz.

Of course your Weber is too, if you can fit it in.

Going over to my sister's on Easter. Wanted to show my nephew the stove (he hikes too). Thought what the heck, doing dishes anyway. Looks good! Still has the discoloration from the heat, but I can put it on the dining room table now.

I know what you're thinking. But, if she didn't see you put it in the dishwasher, and you can say you don't know how it got in there (with a straight face) it's a done deal.

See ya

Sam, I never would have thought to put it in the dishwasher but now that you brought it up, it sure makes sense. After all, it is a cooking utensil and it will get dirty.

My Bushbuddy is still in the box, unopened in as much as my wife won’t let me open it until my birthday. This new equipment poses a dilemma since I have heard it is somewhat flimsy, i.e. the light weight stainless steel bends quite easily. Is this true? Given the dimensions it won’t fit any of my light weight cook pots-.9L Evernew, Heinekin pot, Walmart Grease pot.

It will fit some of my heavier pots so it looks like I am going to have to arrive at some other solution for packing this mother so it won’t get all mashed up. I hear that BPL will be coming out with a new titanium pot to accommodate the Bushbuddy. I don’t want to spend the money for the Snow Peak. What are some of the packing techniques that some of the rest of you have come up with? Thanks,

John

Yes, some of the metal on the Bushbuddy Ultra is flimsy but that's the reason behind why it's so light. Like most ultralight gear it needs to be treated with respect. I would highly suggest finding a different cookpot to carry it in as without a protective shell around it you could really damage it in your pack.

Consider a Snowpeak 900mL pot as it fits perfectly in there. I took a dremel tool to all the handles, fashioned an aluminum lid and made a bail out of some aluminum wire (will be replacing with titanium) and the package weighs only 3.26 oz. Pair that with the 5.14 oz. stove, .38 oz spork and NO fuel and this is a winner.

Edited by sharalds on 04/07/2007 22:52:21 MDT.

Only 8.46 oz when I place them on the scale together.

I’ve been following this discussion as I am very interested in the Bushbuddy. I’ve done some searching outside this forum for more info about how the stove works and similar stoves. I have found a few pages that may be of interest to others who may not already know about these pages. Will the Bushbuddy ignite the creativity of inventers around here and generate many new designs like what we’ve seen with the homemade alcohol burners?

A homemade design and an explanation of how a batch-loaded, inverted down-draft gassifier works—

http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/WoodGasStove/

In ProLite Gear’s forum--

http://www.prolitegear.com/cgi-bin/prolitegear/forums/thread_display?forum_thread_id=21#43

Reed & Larson’s article on a wood-gas stove for developing countries. Got me thinking about larger energy issues too--

http://www.biomassenergyfoundation.org/LEARN/papers/woodgas_stove.pdf


Some other good leads within these links too.

Think I’ll make a Garlington stove.

--Mike

Edited by greenwalk on 04/07/2007 15:16:08 MDT.

super links - thanks!

I will try to make a Garlington stove, too.

stove science + Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise...

http://www.biz.colostate.edu/ms/gsse/ProgramOverview/Projects.htm

http://newsinfo.colostate.edu/index.asp?url=news_item_display&news_item_id=258787506

Bright Light Innovations stove

Edited by gmatthews on 04/08/2007 11:57:32 MDT.

The BB Ultra nests in the Walmart Aluminum Mug, wt 4 oz, just about perfect, like they were made for each other.

We have just received in our warehouse our custom titanium pots that fit the BB Ultra. They weigh 3.10 oz with lid, have a capacity of 39 oz. It will take a little time to get them inspected and then set up on the website for sale, but look for a small batch to be released on Tuesday, perhaps.

Hey Ryan, I have been patiently waiting for this pot,will it be comparable in price to say... the Snow Peak 900?

Nathan, it will be quite a bit more expensive than the 900. Titanium costs are through the roof right now, and mold costs must be amortized early in the production run, since these are small lots. It's made with very thin walled titanium which brings a higher incidence of manufacturing defects that must be rejected as well. It should be in the range of $65-$75 for members (cough, gag, wheeze, I know, I know...).

>They weigh 3.10 oz with lid

If the lid fits the SP900 I'd sure like to buy a lid only.

I think BPL could have a run on nothing but lids.

Edited by samurai on 04/07/2007 21:14:05 MDT.

George,

And thank you for the link to the fascinating Bright Light Innovations Stove. Amazing stuff. Any chance of emailing or posting another photo? I downloaded the file and increased the size but cannot see the stove clearly. Are you involved in this initiative?

It's staggering to think that 2 billion people cook with biomass. I heat my home with wood and use solar for hot water. I plan to use some wind energy in the near future too.

--Mike

Hermit's Hut has the Snow Peak 900 on sale for $33.78

http://store.hermitshut.com/snpetr900tic.html

Yeah, I tried the fit for this pot the other day and it's amazing... like the Bushbuddy was made for it. Wow! I then tried the MSR Titan kettle because I recall someone said it fit with the lid turned upside down... but it did not fit for me. The WalMart aluminum mug is a combo I'll have to try. Thanks for posting that.

You are welcome Jim. The mug was purchased back in January in the housewares section of the Santa Ana Walmart for approximately $2.75. It was sitting on my gear shelf and just looking at the mug it appeared too small for the BB. Out of curiosity I pulled the Bushbuddy and mug out and I was amazed out how perfectly the two matched. The weight and the price just tickle me to laughter.

Edited by johnk on 04/09/2007 09:29:46 MDT.

The new "Bushbuddy" Titanium Pot is now online. We have a limited stock now, with more coming later in the summer.

FireLite SUL 1100 Titanium Pot

More Pics:

Edited by ryan on 04/09/2007 13:29:12 MDT.