Reader Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5

First, to find the website note that Little Bug is spelled with no "e". The efficiency of this stove amazed me.
I have tried homemade versions of woodburners with little success, so I was skeptical. Wouldn't it be a nuisance to look for firewood and then a hassle getting a fire going? I was still thinking that way as I collected and stowed sticks, etc., in a stuff bag as I hiked. In camp, I started by lighting tinder from the top as suggested without much luck. Finally I started a fire the old fashion way with tinder on the bottom just on the ground. Then I placed the stove over the beginning flame. The immediate effect was to have the fire be self-fanned by the vents at the bottom. No need for me to blow on it now! I quicky added small pieces from the top and put on the pot. It was easy to add more sticks with the pot in place and in no time the fire was raging. In no time I noticed steam coming out from under the lid, so I removed the top. The water was not just boiling, it was roaring bubbles. Wow, I could not believe how fast that happened and I had not used anywhere need the wood supply I had colleceted. I never even used a piece larger around than a Sharpie marking pen, or about the size of my index finger. I never used sticks as large as the ones shown in the webpage photos. I was also just boiling two cups of water. I also had to use extra water to douse the fire as it was still burining full bore when I removed the pot. No need to use my trusted esbit stove as a back-up! I also think that using this stove would be a great way to melt snow for drinking water. If you are hiking anywhere near where wood sticks can be found for fuel, this wood burner would work great for that. In short, the only reason I cannot rate this with a 5 is that I have not tried any of the other features, such as hanging the stove or using it with alcohol, or with its simmer-system. This stove has none of the problems that Scott mentions in his review of the Stratus Trailstove. The Littlbug weighs 8 7/8 oz. on my scale, and easily comes apart into four pieces as shown on the website. Watch for patches of soot before stowing it around gear. Soot on the pot is burned into it so, that's not problem. A blackened pot burns more efficiently anyway, right? So, if you are ready for a wood stove, the Littlbug is a good one. NB. Mine is the smaller, "Junior", version. It is not newcessary to split pieces of kinding, but it can be done with a knife. Here are some pics:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/556839194qbaYfz

Edited by rambler on 01/04/2007 20:04:24 MST.

Rating: 4 / 5

I purchased the junior version recently and tried it out this past weekend. As I had never used a wood burning stove before I was a little apprehensive as to it's effectiveness. Just in case I took my fire-fly alcohol stove as back up.

I did not want to dig trenches but neither did i want to start a forest fire so I used a piece of Reynolds Wrap foil as a base. I started the fire on the foil before I placed the littlbug on top. The fire started easily using a couple of small pieces of esbit blocks and some small kindling.

Once I placed the stove on top of the fire the air holes did a great job of fanning the flames and it was easy to place more wood down the sides of the pot.

The water was boiling in next to no time. As I had not treated the water (which was my intention as I was boiling it anyway), I left it boiling for several minutes.

When I say boiling, I mean roaring boiling. The best thing for me was that it took only a small amount of wood to get the water to boil and it was still going strong when I took the pot off the stove.

It does leave soot on the stove and also on the pot but this is to be expected. Be careful when putting the stove into contact with the rest of your gear in your pack in this regard.

Overall I love this stove. It weighed 8.9ozs on my scales and as I do most of my hiking in forest areas this will work great for me in the future.

I did not get to try out the alcohol burning part of the stove .The only reason I rated it a 4 is because I wish it was a couple of ounces lighter. Other than that I love it and it will be one of the first things on my pack list from now on in.

Jim Chatterton

Rating: 4 / 5

I have some, but not enough experience with campfires and this stove seems like a good tool for me. My MYOG attempts were not satisfactory. This stove will let me dispose of my laundry lint and avoid buying fuel.

Likes:
-Weighs 5oz in woodburning mode (.1oz less than spec.)
-Allows a much smaller and faster effective fire than without a stove.
-Packability options: stores in a sleeve, not tied to one specific pot.
-Size: will allow real cooking.
-Seems durable, maybe even scout-durable.
-Price.
-Good instructions.
-Company seems socially engaged.

Dislikes:
-Alcohol config. seems poorly designed, but haven't tried it and won't. It is intended for Sterno.
-Sleeve could be an ounce lighter.
-No floor, but easily solved if needed.
-Ti would be lighter, but SS is OK for $60.