A camp stove that heats your food and charges your mobile devices long after sundown? You heard right, the BioLite CampStove does just that. Heat generated from the stove is converted into electricity, allowing you to plug in via USB and charge your gadgets.
The creators of BioLight became interested in a “sustainable stove” that lessens emissions and eliminates a camper’s need for petroleum-based fuels as well as batteries. It claims its namesake BioLite stoves “make cooking on wood as clean, safe and easy as modern fuels while generating electricity to charge phones, lights and other electronics off-grid.”
Charger unit on side converts heat to electricity, and a USB plug delivers the juice
This is at least the second version of the flame-for-electricity stove concept from the company. TechCrunch and other publications covered the first generation stove. The images here are a new version, which has several upgrades and a new form factor.
Personally, I am excited for this solution. Having enough time and sunlight to charge my devices on paddling or backpacking trips has always been iffy. As a result, I’ve been a bit reluctant to lean too heavily on solar chargers. But a stove with this sort of compatibility would let me decide when and where I charge my electronics, most likely at night in camp while dinner is simmering and we’re hanging out under the stars.
If it works as advertized, the BioLite stove is a pretty amazing invention. Using only twigs for fuel, you’ll be able to cook soup in a pot on top and plug in your USB device on the side. The charge time is comparable to charging via a USB port on a laptop computer, the company cites.
http://gearjunkie.com/images/7562.jpg
Weighs 2 pounds, packs up small as a water bottle
The stove comes with its own stuff sack, packs down to about 8 × 5inches, and weighs 2 lbs. Cost will be $129 when it’s released this spring, just in time for camping season.
More detailed tech specs regarding charge times will be available when the product goes on sale. For now, check out the company’s site at Biolitestove.com.
—Pam Wright is a contributing writer for GearJunkie and an editor at UpNorthica, a publication on canoe camping and the North Woods.
