**If you are in a hurry I recommend the TOMSHOO Camp Stove as the best wood burning camping stove for its incredibly efficient design and great price point**
Burning up gas canisters and fuel sources can be expensive and terrible for the environment. Getting yourself a camping stove will make your cooking set up take less time to get set up and less expensive in the long run. Knowing if you need a square or cylindrical design and what that means for your wood burning is going to affect your camping trip. Learn which one is going to cook what you need in an efficient time in the best wood burning camp stove reviews below.
What Makes A Great Wood Burning Camp Stove
Design
The two major design styles to consider when looking through wood burning camp stoves are the square and cylindrical shapes.
The square camping stoves often fold down to take up a small amount of space and are best for backpacking or hiking trips. They get the job down but can be more difficult to start and keep your fire going. On the other hand, they are easier to feed fuel into like wood pieces or pellets.
The cylindrical options are much more efficient for wood burning because there are no openings on the sides of the panels. All the heat is designed to flow upwards towards your pot or pan. They almost always include a small opening at the top to feed more weed into and will include small holes around the bottom or mid-area to increase air circulation.
I’ve included one option on this list that will produce some serious heat and comes with an attachable chimney. It’s heavier and can do some serious outdoor cooking. But the other choices will be best for hiking, backpacking, or camping.
Weight and stability
Almost all options on this list are going to be extremely lightweight. Anywhere from 1lb-5lbs is the usual weight for a square or cylindrical design. Even though they’re lightweight their low center of gravity can keep them upright in most outdoor situations.
It’s important, especially for the square designs, that they can hold up to pots and pans and don’t buckle under the pressure. Most options on this list aren’t meant for large pots or pans. They definitely wouldn’t be useful for large skillets or dutch ovens.
But I did include one option that would handle any kind of cooking you have in mind. It’s only feasible for car camping but it can keep a your tent warm and cook any meal you have in mind.
Features
There are certain parts of a camping stove that can make your cooking a bit easier. Cross stands sit atop the stove and allow you to place your pots or pans on top of for more stability. Some of them have serrated edges to create more friction.
One option on this list is a forward-thinking brand who has included an electrical device on the side of the camping stove that gains power from the heat of the fire. It’s these types of advances in camping gear technology that allows the pastime to continue from generation to generation.
If you’re going to be doing a lot of different types of cooking then you will want to get a camping stove that includes a stainless steel grill mesh net or make sure your stove comes with a grill net at a topper.
Best Camping: TOMSHOO Camping Stove
Much like other cylindrical wood burning camping stoves the TOMSHOO is a very efficient option that will keep your firing burning surprisingly long and will use up all the fuel you put into it. The double wall design actually heats up the cool air that comes into the stove giving you a much more efficient burning method. There’s also a serrated cross pot stand that goes over the top of the stove so that if you are placing a pot or pan you can be sure it’s going to stay in place and not spill over the sides.
Just to make it easier on your there’s also a BBQ grill net made from stainless steel with a handle that comes in handy when you need a more flat surface to fit on top of your wood burning stove. And when you’re running low on fuel there’s a small opening at the top where you can feed in some more wood to keep your fire burning strong. The TOMSHOO has a fantastic price for the quality of camping stove you’re getting and you’ll be able to use it for several seasons to come.
Best Backpacking: überleben Stoker Flatpack Stove
The uberleben Stoker Flatpack Stove is extremely durable and sturdy because of its extra thick 304 stainless steel. It’s also anti-corrosive and should be strong enough to hold cast iron skillets. Because the five panels are independent of each other they lay flat into the waxed canvas sleeve for easy portability and almost no storage space. It’s a true backpacking wood stove.
The large circular hole in the front panel allows you to add more wood continuously to our fire to keep it going for hours. Assembling and disassembling can be difficult, especially since some of the end pieces can be sharp to the touch, but once in place its unlikely it will buckle or collapse. If you’re needing a lightweight and extremely portable wood stove that you can count on to hold up in any scenario the Uberleben should be top of the list.
Best Car Camping: Winnerwell Nomad Medium Tent Stove
This is going to be the biggest and most durable options for wood burning stoves on this list. At 20 pounds its going to be pretty specific for car camping trips and won’t be nearly as portable as other choices. It does have four legs that fold up underneath the stove that prop it up to give it some distance above the ground. But you will want to keep a flame resistant material underneath to make sure there are no accidents.
It also comes with five sections for a chimney pipe, one spark arrestor, and one ash scrapper. The chimney can stack to release the smoke well into the sky and can even work inside a tent if given the right kind of camping tent design that allows for a chimney. There’s a couple of stainless steel side sections that fold up to become a handle for transporting the Winnerwell. The sides and chimney pipe can get red hot so you never want to walk away while this is in use. The price is on the higher end but considering the high quality materials being used and incredibly efficient heat given off, the Winnerwell is worth the investment.
BioLite Campstove 2 Wood Burning Electricity Generating & USB Charging Camp Stove
The unique design is what makes the BioLite stand out from other wood burning camp stoves in the market. Attached to the honeycomb stainless steel mesh where the wood burns is an electrical device that comes with a charger, LED dashboard, cooking light and internal jets. You’re not going to find anything like it elsewhere.
It has a charger for quick replenishing but it can also take charge from the heat energy produced from burning wood. So the longer you have your fire going the more the device will charge. It comes with a small, flexible light that plugs into the device and can give you some extra light when you’re cooking at night. It also powers four internal jets with various speed settings that will help keep your firing burning hot and efficiently. The heat energy can take a while to recharge the device so there are some improvements to be made. But for the forward-thinking camper who is looking for ways to make their outdoor experience sustainable, this product is right up your alley.
Lixada Camping Stove
The Lixada Camping Stove has a great design that will allow you to keep feeding wood into the burning compartment for longer cooking times. Three of the four walls are all solid but the fourth wall actually has a large square hole. This is where you will be able to keep your firing going by placing wood in the lower compartment. And there’s also several holes at the bottom grate to allow extra airflow to make it easier for the fire to continue burning.
The Lixada folds up into a compact size and comes with a pouch for easy transport but you will want to be careful when folding it up. Only one of the pins that holds the wood burning camp stove together is supposed to separate from the structure but in reality all four pins have been known to become loose. If you happen to lose one of these pins in the outdoors then the whole product becomes unusable. This would be a great addition to your outdoor cooking arsenal when you need a quick boil for your coffee or soup.
REDCAMP Wood Burning Camp Stove
One of the more unique features of the REDCAMP Wood Burning Camp Stove is the square grate at the top of the structure. You can easily place food directly on the grate or have a convenient flat surface to place small pots and pans. There is a small door at the bottom of the front side of the REDCAMP that will open to allow additional wood pieces to be thrown in. This keeps heat in while still giving you some flexibility to keep your fire going.
There are air circulation holes located around the bottom to make it easier for your fire to start and continue burning for hours. You’ll also get a small ash catcher that easily slides into the very bottom of the REDCAMP. You can remove and clean it after a lot of use. Once you’re done with your cooking you can fold up the wood burning stove with no problem and place it into the packing bag with handles for easy transport. This is an incredibly portable option that provides a safe way to get your cooking done in the outdoors thanks to the flat grate at the top of the REDCAMP.
Unigear Wood Burning Camp Stove
The open design and grill top of the Unigear Wood Burning Camp Stove makes it extremely versatile while providing stability for your cooking gear. There is no front panel for the Unigear and you can see right into the inner working of the camp stove. There is an ashtray right underneath the coal grill and a pot stand to top everything off. The pot stand doesn’t make it ideal for smaller items that could fall through if you are trying to place them directly on the stove but it does fit 10in skillets or cooking plates perfectly.
Because of the open design you don’t need to necessarily use wood. You can actually use spirit burner, coal, gas, or fuel tablets instead. This makes it much more efficient to be used for any occasion while outdoors. Other options on this list are too small and limited to be able to use in a variety of ways but that’s not the case with the Unigear. You’ll end up finding a lot of reasons to take this wood burning camping stove with you to the outdoors and it’s portable enough for traveling.
Ohuhu Camping Stove
Whether your needing to grill some hot dogs or fry up some potatoes and eggs, the Ohuhu Camping Stove will have you covered in any situation. The cylindrical design is perfect for cooking because it keeps the heat moving upward towards your food at all times. And you have two different options for your cooking surface. The grill top is a flatter surface that you can throw sausages or corn on top of and you also get a pot supporter that will hold most small pots and pans.
There are circulation holes at the bottom of the base that will bring in more airflow to keep your cooking fire burning hot. Because of the efficient design you wont need to continually put wood back into the chamber as often as you would with wood burning stoves that comes with a wide open mouth. The downside to this is that it isn’t as easy for you to refill your wood without taking off your pot or grill top. It also compacts in size from 6in to 3in when you put it away into its carrying bag. For the price point this is one of the best made camping stoves that will keep your fire going and still be portable enough to haul around to any camp site.
kampMATE WoodFlame Ultra Lightweight Portable Wood Burning Camping Stove
Built like many other square camping stove designs, the kampMATE WoodFlame wood burning stove has some unique differences that sets it apart from the crowd. For starters, the cross stand that sits atop the stove is a much needed addition compared to the others that leave this piece out. It allows you to set down your pots and pans securely on a flat surface without worrying it will tip into the fire or become unstable.
Setting up and putting away the kampMATE is simple with the 5 individual panels that fold down easily and fit into the size of your backpocket. You will need to be careful with handling it because the stainless steel is fairly thin and can cause a cut on your hands if you’re not careful. There’s a wide open mouth at the front of this wood burning pocket stove where you can continue to feed wood pieces to keep your fire burning without sacrificing cooking time. If you are wanting to stick with the square wood burning stove design, this is a great upgrade from the other more standard options.
Lixada Camping Stove Two Size
The Lixada Camping Stove is a lot like the other model on this list except you have the option of two different sizes. With a medium and large option you can choose between 16’ and 19’ in height. You also get the added cross stand that fits atop the camping stove and is perfect for setting your small pots and pans without worrying about instability. You still get a large open mouth to keep feeding in your wood pieces so that you fire burns for as long as you need. And the convection holes at the bottom of the grate and side panels help increase air flow for more efficient wood burning.
You can set up and break down the Lixada in seconds thanks to the 5 individual panel design but you want to be careful because the stainless steel material can accidentally cut you due to its thin frame. But the Lixada Camping Stove is durable and you can rely on it to hold up in any outdoor situation. Campers looking for a portable, lightweight solution during their backpacking trip will find the Lixada is an obvious choice.
CANWAY Camping Stove
The CANWAY Camping Stove is a cylindrical design with three softly serrated arms that will support any small pot and pan while your outdoor cooking. Theres a small opening at the top of the wood burning camping stove that allows you to continually feed wood to keep the fire burning long. And the secondary combustion that allows air flow to come in at the top of the stove as well as the bottom can keep your fire going for up to 20 minutes.
You can pack away the CANWAY into a small, compact size and use the mesh carrying bag to haul it around your campsite. This is a very well designed camping stove that only really comes together nicely because of high quality design. It fits together nicely, burns for a long time, and is easily portable. Any camper needing a reliable outdoor cooking stove that takes less effort to keep burning than other choices will enjoy the CANWAY design.
Summary
My choice for the best wood burning camp stove is the TOMSHOO Camping Stove because of its incredibly efficient design and great price point. It’s portable and easy to set up plus you’re going to get a ton of future outdoor trips out of it. There’s other choices that might be more portable or produce a stronger flame, but if you need something that is going to perform well and be easy to set up this is a great option.
