Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a Scout leader I've found this stove useful since nearly anywhere we camp there's plenty of fuel to feed it. With this stove there's no reason to pack fuel. We use a large Dutch oven on top and cook our meals in that. It also works well with large cast iron fry pans, which distribute the heat nicely. You can also get a steel wok that fits nicely in the center for stir fry. Keep the kids not working on the meal busy by having them gather the fuel ;-) This model is the best one of the series, it has the 6 pot supports and both a fuel door and a lower door for controlling the burn rate. This is a stove you have to tend to. The fuel chamber is pretty small (which helps it burn so clean), but this means that in a matter of 15 minutes it'll burn out if you don't tend to it and constantly feed it sticks. You don't have to put many in for it to be hot, but you do have to lay them out on the feed rack and keep them feeding into it. Don't think you can fire it up, walk away for an hour like you can with charcoal and come back to a cooked meal. This is not that type of stove. You can use it with charcoal and coal and then it'll burn for much longer. I like knowing I have this stove in my garage since in any kind of emergency I can get a very hot fire going and there will be fuel. For the Zombie Prep group, it's also a covert way to cook, because the flame is contained (not visible) and there's essentially no smoke it burns so cleanly. In nearly every emergency, there's wood of some type around that would be freely available to fuel this stove. An easy way to light this stove is to place a small chunk of fire starter (sawdust packed with wax) in the burn chamber on your first few sticks and light that. In a few minutes it'll be hot and burning well. Kindling works well too, and once the burn chamber is hot it'll keep everything going nicely. Open the bottom door all the way to increase the air flow at lighting time, close it partially to control the burn rate once you have your fire going. You can also change between the 2 included grates depending on the size of your fuel and how your wood burns. One grate has wider openings than the other and smaller pieces tend to fall through if you use the larger grate. This stove design is called Rocket Stove due to the swirling action in the burn chamber. The creator has opened up his patented design to help enable impoverished countries get these at less cost and improve their cooking conditions. *** Nov 2012 I was asked about using coal in this stove. The only coal I have tried is Charcoal, which works great and lasts longer than wood. I don't have lump coal to try but it does come with a coal grate and says it works well with coal too. 4 stars for a great stove that cooks with nearly any wood source, not 5 since it's high maintenance to keep the fire balanced.