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The first time we saw the BioLite camping stove, it was a fantastic idea that seemed sadly like vaporware. Now it’s real, redesigned, available for sale at around £150, and will be awesome for wilderness geeks everywhere.
The idea is brilliantly simple: burn whatever you find in the woods — sticks, leaves, pinecones, whatever—and let the stove transform the heat into electricity you can use to charge via USB — and it should provide about the same output as your laptop. No bulky solar panels, no extra battery packs — though it will add just under 1kg to your kit. And since it’s a real fire and not some extra charging gadget, you can actually use it to boil water and cook with — and that’s really why you’re sitting out in the wood anyway, right? [BioLite via BoingBoing]
Ok, I have a question. Please don’t take this as some sort of fanboy argument but I have seen it here a few times and am genuinely curious.
The body of the article clearly states that this is a usb charger and can therefore charge anything that can be connected via a usb lead. Why then does the article title specify “Charge Your iPhone with Burning Pine Cones” ?
I’m not accusing the site or even Mr Biddle of bias. I assume that there is a reason for the choice of wording, whether it be that naming a specific gadget makes the headline more “punchy” or metrics that show you get more clicks when you mention the iPhone or more new people coming in via a Google search.
If you would rather not reveal the innermost workings of Giz, then that’s fine, I’m just curious.
i would guess google too. i guess ‘iphone charger’ is a pretty good search term. i must admit i did not notice it in the first place, i just thought it looked like an interesting gadget, but you’re totally right. does ‘Charge absolutely anything USB with Burning Pine Cones’ not sound more impressive? anyhow, i guess giz need to turn a few tricks to get views/bring home the bacon, so whatever is good for them it’s not really effecting me adversely.
Iphone pine cone, maybe it was a rhyming thing?
You know,I never spotted that.
My Dad just got one of these for his birthday (to keep his *Android* phone charged in the wilderness!)
He gives it a big thumbs up – the fans inside mean it burns very efficiently , and all the heat exchange mechanism means the outside stays pretty cool.
It’ll only add 3.6kg to my kit? That’s only 1.6kg more than my tent. It’s too bulky for me, compared to my usual cooking kit and a spare phone battery/emergency charger. I’m sure those that go glamping with their car to a camp site will find a use for it but it’s just not for me.
Yeah, car camping only. I’ve got my minty boost for when it needs to be light and the car charger for everything else.
I went camping with mates a month ago and my journo friend emailed these guys for a shot of one to review for the paper. They sent him a press kit.
Trekmates, on the other hand, sent us a weird stove that works with water and hot pouches and makes pasta and stuff without flames (ergo without carbon monoxide byproduct). It was rather good.
“No bulky solar panels, no extra battery packs”
Just the hulking monstrosity that is this camping stove. The functionality of which could be replaced with a couple of pocket sized 7,000-10,000mah portable batteries.
Carbon Monoxide? Or can I have one of these sat on my desk at work to also keep me warm during those coming winter months(?)…. (or in fact our current British summer rain)
yep i want one, i do go camping fairly regularly and while i always enjoy it usually by the end of the first night everyone has drained their phone battery dead using it as a stereo, when youre spending 3-5 days miles from the nearest chance of a charge this would be awesome, i have no problem with the extra weight, ive carried tons of AA batteries for little charge things for juicing my phone and speakers and torch, but those things cut through batteries rather fast, usually i have to take at least 20 batteries with me (and bring the dead ones back, its not like there are bins out in the woods)
although ill agree with what others have said, why does it say its for charging an iphone, that looks like a usb port to me, im guessing it will charge any usb device or is it primed to explode should you dare connect any non apple product to it?