Rocket Stove Heavy Duty Portable Camp Stove for Outdoor Cooking

My wife and I live in a hurricane zone and have been affected by bruiser storms like Rita, Ike, Harvey. So we usually do something every year to increase our readiness. This year we added this stove.So I break it out of the box and decided to try to cook with it. An hour and a half later I got a fire going. I felt I should donate my camping gear and tear up my Eagle Scout card. Needless to say I was doing something way wrong. I was overloading the combustion chamber keeping air from flowing through it.Two days later I decided try again. This time I figured I need to go smaller, so I bought a bag of pecan wood to use as secondary kindling. I took one piece of pecan wood and used a hatchet to cut it into small pieces about the size of my pinky. I put a cotton ball with petroleum jelly on it into the chamber and carefully put my pecan wood pieces on top of the cotton ball (about 6). I lit the cotton ball and less than 5 minutes later I had fire. I placed 2 pieces of lump charcoal on it and now had a cooking fire. I took a medium skillet and made bacon and eggs for the family in about the same time it would take on the range (once the fire is lit). So as an effective stove replacement, so far it passes the test.Some observations:When you build a fire, think very small campire, not charcoal chimney. The only fire you will produce packing this thing full and lighting it are the flames of hatred that scorch your soul and nothing else.After the initial lighting, there is no smoke produced that I could see.There was no soot on the bottom of my stainless steel skillet.I only used 4 pieces of charcoal to cook breakfast and still had plenty of heat left over.The stove seemed to produce a steady, stable heat. It was like cooking on a range.I didn't have to tend the fire to often. I only had to add two pieces of charcoal.The sides got hot, but not enough to burn you.The handles make it easy to move. It is also light enough to not be cumbersome but heavy enough to be stable. It is too heavy to backpack with unless you have a mule with you.Cleanup is easy once it cools down. I honestly think it is better to let the fire burn out then empty it rather than close the doors and let it smother. It just seems just slow the burn when you do that, making you wait longer until you can clean it.I am sure if you got creative, you could use a fire steel to light it, but it would a little more complicated.Overall this is a great and efficient camping stove that should be part of your emergency preparedness kit. Also if you do a lot of camping, this stove would be ideal as it pretty much is an outdoor hot plate.There is something about cooking outside that is very peaceful. Definitely worth it.

Absolutely amazing!Without question I recommend this product. I bought one. Loved it so much I bought another.I'm a chef. 25 years in a professional kitchen. I'm finding a need to downsize my life and move me more towards simplicity and nature. I bought these for me, but as an banquet chef I'm already thinking about ways to incorporate these into live cooking demos and action stations for guests.- they are what they say they are.-the efficiency is astounding.-heat/preheat rapidly.-heat, sear, and boil rapidly with little fuel.-I've used yard waste, wood and charcoal and found them all quite capable. Charcoal though was the hardest. You just have to play around a bit. But once fully ignited, it works great.-it's astounding how so little fuel can work so efficiently. Other than charcoal, the fuels I use light really quickly. I was thinking of making a small charcoal chimney out of a can to get the coals really going before adding them to the stove. But it probably just takes practice.-it takes some practice to get the feed rate right and you learn to control the damper door to keep air at the right levels. But it's wonderful and it connects you to the actual process.It's like the difference between driving an automatic or a manual transmission. You actually have to be aware and participate. But it's awesome and sexy and relaxing.-I bought the pot skirts later, and they are absolutely worth it. They change in the forced heat intensity is amazing and turns dying embers into a hot spot warm enough to continue cooking.There is this PBS cooking show: New Scandinavian cooking. Where the guy takes his portable kitchen out to the most astoundingly beautiful places and cooks on site... I see how a person could do that with these. I look forward to the places I'm going to take them. I'm so excited at the prospect of finding spots here in Colorado like that and cooking under the open skies.Buy it! You won't be disappointed!Prepper!Chef!Outdoorsman/outdoorswoman!Or just backyard BBQ.They are worth every penny and it's nice to know I have a way to cook and boil water in an emergency.

The media could not be loaded. I go camping by myself on a regular basis and while I love a nice campfire, I never wanted to go through the trouble of making one just for myself.I looked into getting a small propane fire tower for ambiance and purchased two. One didn't work at all and the second broke and spewed propane all over the place. So much for that!Got this little stove and it is awesome! Fire is easy to start and easy to control. I can use small cut up logs or just sticks I find around the cabin. I use it with caution and care on the front porch. I can boil water for oatmeal and dishes on the stove top. When I'm done, I close up the doors and let the ashes smolder, contained and safe.This little stove has definitely enhanced my camping experiences this year and I definitely recommend it!

I knew the dimensions before I bought it but man is this small. It's small but mighty! I fed it and it simmered a quart of water in 5 mins! It was a boil by 11 mins!!! I used a 15" iron skillet with a lid. It is well built and a bit heavy to lug around for hiking (you need iron pan to cook as well). It is so low to the ground it was annoying to feed so I was placed it on a 1.5 inch thick 12 x 12 slate ($10 at local landscape supplier) base on top of my cast aluminum patio table. I boiled water for an hour and the temp of the outside of the stove was about 220 F max. The stone was around 110 F. I felt the table under where it was located and it was only warm. It takes a descent amount of attention to keep optimal. If you like to play with fire and cook this is a great product!