A Guide to Wood Burning Camping Stoves

The camping season is upon us, and whether you want to keep yourself warm or do a bit of cooking, a stove is an essential bit of kit. However, if you don’t want the expense or hassle of using a gas stove, then why not consider using a wood burning camping stove? If you’d like to know more about these ingenious devices, then keep reading…

Wood burning camping stove definition

As the name suggests, a wood burning camping stove is a small, portable stove which burns wood to generate heat.

Depending on the type of wood burning camping stove that you buy, you’ll find a number of distinct features including a set of feet to raise the stove off the ground, a small door through which you can add firewood, folding shelves which fold out from the body of the stove (to be used for heating food/drink), and a chimney flue.

As you can see from the image below, your typical wood burning camping stove is a compact, yet substantial bit of kit; far superior in many ways to the gas stoves that are often used for camping.

Shop Now - Stainless Steel Wood Burning Camping Stove

What can wood burning camping stoves be used for?

Aside from the obvious, providing heat, wood burning camping stoves can be used for a number of purposes, including:

> As an alternative campfire. An increasing number of campsites are banning open campfires, so a wood burning stove offers an alternative way of experiencing a real fire whilst you’re camping.

> Cooking! You’d be surprised at how many different meals you can cook using a wood burning camping stove. Because wood burning stoves can burn for several hours, you can cook the sort of adventurous meals that you couldn’t if you were using a gas stove that can only burn for minutes.

> Drying wet clothes and boots. You can leave wood burning fires running for a long period of time (provided you add fresh firewood when needed), meaning they are perfect for drying out wet clothes and boots.

> As a source of hot water for washing and cleaning. Nobody wants to wash themselves (or their pots and pans) with icy cold water. So, use a wood burning camping stove to heat up water for washing and cleaning whilst you’re camping!

> Patio heating. They may be called ‘wood burning camping stoves’, but you don’t have to restrict their use to camping! A wood burning camping stove is perfectly able to act as a patio heater too, providing warmth on those cool spring or summer evenings.

What are the benefits of using a wood burning camping stove?

If you’re in the market for a new stove for camping and other outdoor activities you’ll have no doubt discovered that there are many different types of stove on the market.

Is a wood burning camping stove really better than an alternative such as a gas stove? Our answer is an emphatic yes.

Here’s why:

Cost

Whilst wood burning camping stoves can be a little more expensive than gas stoves (but not always), they work out far cheaper in the long run.

Once you’ve purchased your wood burning camping stove, that’s it in terms of expenditure. Fuelling your stove is as simple as finding twigs, sticks and other small pieces of wood. Alternatively, you can buy seasoned firewood in small bags from supermarkets, petrol station forecourts and other convenient locations.

This compares favourably to gas stoves where you’ll have to pay approximately £10 for a new fuel canister everytime you want to use it. Over time, these costs can add up to a significant amount. It also tends to be more difficult to find these gas canisters for sale, with many people having to make a trip to a dedicated camping shop to get them.

Simplicity

Wood burning camping stoves are far simpler and easier to use than gas camping stoves. There are no fiddly regulators and hoses to mess around with and they are incredibly easy to set up.

The wood burning camping stoves that we sell here at Trade Price Flues slot together and can be assembled within only a few minutes. They’re also easy to pack away and store.

What’s more, there’s not really a whole lot that can go wrong with them! Compared to gas stoves, which will often require new hoses and regulators, wood burning camping stoves are pretty much bullet proof.

In terms of using a wood burning camping stove, you simply need to fill it up with firewood, light some kindling, close the stove door, adjust the air vents, and you’re done! You can have your stove providing warmth and comfort in only a few minutes.

Convenience

Have you ever started cooking a meal outdoors only to find that the gas canister runs out halfway through? We have, and it’s incredibly annoying!

Wood burning camping stoves eliminate this problem, and make cooking outdoors far more convenient. If you notice the fire starting to gutter, all you need to do is find some more sticks and feed them into the stove. Job done!

Sustainability

Wood burning camping stoves represent a far more sustainable alternative to gas camping stoves.

There’s no getting away from the fact that propane and butane are non-renewable sources of energy, which also give off carbon emissions.

Firewood, on the other hand, is a renewable resource which will almost certainly be in plentiful supply if you’re at a campsite or other outdoor area.

Plus, if you prefer to buy seasoned firewood, then you’ll be glad to know that the majority of seasoned firewood on sale in the UK is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

They’re cool!

We admit this is rather a superficial point, but wood burning camping stoves are so much more fun than the alternatives. There’s nothing quite like collecting sticks and then steadily feeding them into a stove.

Gas camping stoves are rather sterile and neutral in comparison.

Wood burning camping stoves provide you with the experience of a real fire, but in a controlled, manageable way.

With many campsites not allowing open campfires, a wood burning camping stove offers the best way of experiencing a real fire whilst you’re camping.

What features should a wood burning camping stove have?

As you’ve read so far, there are many excellent reasons to invest in a wood burning camping stove.

But, in order to buy the very best wood burning camping stove, there are some crucial features you should look for.

We’ve set out these essential features below:

Steel construction

First of all, you’re going to want to make sure that the wood burning camping stove that you select is made from steel.

This will ensure that you get a stove which is well constructed and which will stand the test of time. Whilst it may be tempting to get a lighter aluminium stove, we’d warn against this, as aluminium dents very easily and won’t last as long.

Here at Trade Price Flues, we offer two main types of wood burning camping stove. The first is a steel matt black stove which has a coating which is designed to radiate heat. The second is a stainless steel model which is also designed to radiate heat whilst also resisting corrosion and maintaining its shiny steel appearance.

Legs

In order to achieve the best heating performance from your camping stove, you want to make sure it has air circulating around it all times - even underneath. So, you want to make sure that the stove you select comes with folding or removable legs.

These will keep your stove off the cold ground and also help keep the stove steady on uneven ground.

With legs, a stove will also be at a raised height, thus making it easier to operate.

Large burn compartment

You don’t want to have to be continually throwing sticks and small logs into your stove. So, make sure that the stove you select has a large enough burn compartment.

We’re not talking cavernous here; just enough for some small logs and thicker branches.

Cooktop

For the complete camping experience, you want to be able to use your stove for cooking as well as heating.

So, look for models which include what’s known as a ‘cooktop’. This just refers to a flat, stable area on top of the stove body where you can place a frying pan, kettle or pot.

(As this picture shows, there is space on our wood burning camping stoves for plenty of food. For the best cooking experience we recommend that you use aluminium cooking paper (sold separately)).

Both of the wood burning camping stoves we sell here at Trade Price Flues include large cooktops, making them ideal for preparing meals outdoors.

Note - for added cooking space, look for camping stoves which feature fold-out shelves.

Flue

It’s essential that your wood burning camping stove includes a good-quality chimney flue.

A chimney flue is essential to the proper functioning of a camping stove, as it helps to channel smoke and other combustible materials up and away from your camping area (after all, you don’t want your tent or caravan to smell of smoke).

The flue will also create the ‘draw’ which is essential to the proper functioning of your stove, with the chimney helping to pull air into the heart of the fire.

When looking at camping stoves with flues, we strongly recommend that you choose models that have a collapsible flue. These types of flues can be easily taken apart and stored in the burn compartment for transportation.

Removable top plate

Do you want to be able to cook over an open fire? Then select a wood burning camping stove which has a removable top plate.

This allows you to cook directly over the flames of the fire burning within the body of the stove. Perfect for marshmallows!

A removable top plate is also handy for quickly boiling water in a pot.

Air vents/dampers

To be able to properly control the fire within a camping stove, you need to be able to regulate the amount of oxygen that’s reaching the fire.

The best way to do this is to use air vents or air dampers. So, make sure that you select a wood burning camping stove that includes these features.

On camping stoves, you’ll usually find the air vent(s) on the stove door. This makes it easier to see how the fire is progressing and whether or not you need to increase/decrease the flow of air to the heart of the fire.

Portability

You’ll also want to make sure that the wood burning camping stove you choose can be easily moved around.

After all, if you’re camping you’re going to want to be able to put the stove in your car at the beginning and end of your trip.

So, look for models which can break down into multiple parts, making them easier to move and store.

Camping stoves such as our Matt Black Camp Stove come with a handy carry bag, making it super easy to move and store them.

As you can see from the image below, it’s also possible to buy wood burning camping stoves where the burn compartment can be used to store components such as the chimney flue. Again, this is the type of feature that makes a camping stove much easier to move and store.

Weight

Related to the point above about portability, you want to check the weight of a camping stove before you buy it.

You don’t want to be lugging a stove around that weighs a ton.

Here at Trade Price Flues, we stock wood burning camping stoves which are lightweight without compromising on build quality.

Our Matt Black Camp Stove is 10.5kgs, whilst our Stainless Steel Camp Stove is lighter still at only 9.5kg.

The best wood burning camping stoves UK

Are you ready to buy a wood burning camping stove for your adventures this summer? Then check out the two models below.

The team at Trade Price Flues has carefully selected these two models as they represent the best value, yet highest quality wood burning camping stoves on the market, incorporating all of the essential features and properties that we’ve detailed above.

Matt Black Camp Stove

Shop Now - Matt Black Camp Stove

Perfect for outdoor heating, cooking and much more, the Matt Black Camp Stove is packed with handy features.

Provided in a single, integrated package, the Matt Black Camp Stove consists of five pieces with a 400mm chimney flue, an adjustable door damper and flue damper, a set of legs which can be nailed into the ground, a large burn compartment, and a removable top plate for boiling water and open fire cooking.

What’s more, the Matt Black Camp Stove also comes with a free stove glove, making it easy to open the stove door whilst there’s a fire burning as well as take hot pans, bowls and kettles off your stove.

As added bonuses, the Matt Black Camp Stove also comes with a free carry bag and qualifies for free delivery!

Stainless Steel Camp Stove

Shop Now - Stainless Steel Camp Stove

Designed to handle even the most demanding of outdoor heating and cooking tasks, our Stainless Steel Camp Stove has proven to be extremely popular.

Coming with all of the features you need in a wood burning camping stove, the Stainless Steel Camp Stove has a handy viewing window in the stove door, so you can easily keep track of the progress of your fire.

You’ll also find an easy to use air vent on the stove door, making it simple to control the fire within.

Other handy features include a set of folding shelves, which allow you to place larger pans on the top of the stove (or simply keep foodstuffs warm once they’ve been cooked).

All in all, this has everything you’d want in a camping stove!

This camping stove also comes with a complimentary stove glove and qualifies for free delivery.

Need to stay warm outdoors? We’ve got you covered

Whether you’re embarking on a trip to the wilds, or you’re relaxing in your garden, we’ve got a range of products that’ll keep you warm and dry whilst you’re outdoors.

Shop outdoor heating at Trade Price Flues now

For more home heating, chimney flue and stove advice, read the Trade Price Flues blog…

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