If you are looking to get that beautiful wood burning feel with a camp stove that produces a little amount of smoke and charges your phone, then Biolite BaseCamp Stove is the best option in its class. We will be doing an in-depth review of this Camp Stove in this article where we will try to cover every pros and cons that you should know about before taking that purchase decision. This BioLite Camping Stove is a costly product and we don’t want your money to be wasted.
Main Features of Biolite Basecamp Stove:
Sturdy Structure with Smart Design:
When you would see this BioLite Camp Stove, the first thing that would probably arise in your mind is it’s wonderful design. It bears a wide-spreading heating surface, which can accommodate large-size cooking-pan.
This Biolite wood camp stove includes an internal fan that boosts up the efficiency of the stoves’ flame. It also bears a steel tray for carrying the wood sticks or branches. Moreover, this unit features a 4-stand steel base. It enables this unit to stand on the ground with proper stability and balance.
Adding to this, BioLite BaseCamp Stove bears heavy-duty structure made of steel. It can resist any type weather condition. If you have BioLite BaseCamp Stove, you can enjoy camping several times a year wherever you wish. It is sturdy enough to offer long-term reliable service. It is truly worthy of the money it costs.
Uses Natural Fuel:
The foremost benefit of this BioLite BaseCamp Stove is it can use natural fuels, like, woods, twigs, branches, etc. In one hand it gets you rid of carrying bulky and expensive fuel canisters and on the other hand, it protects the nature from the chemicals of artificial fuel. Therefore, this BioLite Wood Burning BaseCamp stove is both cost-effective and eco-friendly.
Thermo-Electric Stove:
The most exclusive of this BioLite product is it features a thermo-electric stove. This camp stove creates heat by burning natural fuels. And, then unlike the usual camping stoves, it can convert the heating power into electricity. Using this electric power, this unit can charge up a powerful internal battery, run an internal fan and power-up a USB port.
Powerful Battery:
When you are using a stove that does not run on electricity, you have to make sure that the battery is good enough to make sure that you do not starve. Think about it. We do so much to make sure that our cell phone batteries do not die off. We use power banks and even then, we are not satisfied with the results.
On the other hand, BioLite BaseCamp Stove is something that is making food for you in need and if you do not have a good battery there, it does not really make much sense. Thanks to BioLite for providing a 2,200 mAmp-hour lithium-ion internal battery with this unit.
Transformation of Flame – Grill to Boil:
Camp Stoves are not the cooking station that you have in a home, where you experiment with food and come up with interesting dishes. Simultaneously, you do not want your camp stove to cook food which is bad in terms of taste. This is a tough combination to maintain and this BioLite BaseCamp Stove does that pretty well.
It’s highly efficient system allows you to control the flame upon your need. For instance, if you wanna make some burger, you can transform the flame to dissipated heat for grilling. Or if you wanna boil water, then you can change the flame to get direct heat for boiling.
Transformation of flame is an important feature that you want to be present in every stove that you buy. It is easy to cook with this camping stove. BioLite makes sure that the foods are easy to cook and the transformation or transition periods are easy enough to handle and to be satisfied with.
LED FlexLight Illumination:
In most of the cases, it becomes dawn, when the campers end their daily trails or hiking and then set for cooking/boiling some food/water. In these situations, a LED light’s illumination can make the task a lot easier and comfortable.
Thanks to BioLite for attaching a one-touch LED FlexLight with this BioLite BaseCamp Stove package. It’s illumination can also help you to monitor the dashboard in the dark. It is definitely an advanced option that you will be happy about.
Other than BioLite, a very few camping stove brands can offer you such an exclusive feature.
Smart Dashboard:
At the end of the day, each camper wants his/her camp stove to be more user-friendly and perform more efficiently. You can easily monitor all the changes of your thermo-electric stove with the help of this smart dashboard. To be more specific, you can check out the strength of flame or the amount of generated electric power through it’s smart display.
You can also control the LED FlexLight as well as USB power output using this dashboard. What is more, it’s one-touch function feature really makes this process much speedy and flexible.
Though the inclusion of such an advanced controlling feature is not something that is a must-have for a camp stove, it would help you to control the unit much efficiently and thus, make the cooking/boiling task easier and effortless than the rest of the camp stoves out there.
USB Port Add-on:
No, it’s not a science fiction that you are cooking with a camp stove and simultaneously you are charging your phone or tablet or MP3 using that same stove. As mentioned before, BioLite BaseCamp Stove comes with a smart dashboard.
Here you will find a USB port with 5-watt power output capability. You can use it to recharge your personal electronics depending upon the current status of stove-battery. It is not a luxury feature, rather it can be a lifesaver when you are camping back-country and your phone has run out of battery.
Read, Best Backpacking Stove Reviews 2019
Trusted Brand:
The BioLite is one of the popular brands, who produce quality camp stoves under affordable price-range. People admire the BioLite camp stoves for their advanced technology, reliable service, all-inclusive package, innovative design, etc. for many useful reasons. Like the other BioLite stoves, their Base Camp Stove is trusted enough by the campers to enjoy a safe outdoor journey.
Huge Size for Group Cooking :
So, you guys are traveling in a group, right? Not everyone travels in a group but that does not matter to be honest because this is a stove that is very light in terms of weight. As the stove is light enough and also big, it is a great option for everybody.
The Biolite Camp Stove System can easily cook for a group of up to 8 people at ease. It’s grill surface features 138 square inch area. You can cook up to 10 burgers at one time on this grill surface which is standard enough. However, we are not saying that you have to make burgers on this one. That was just to help you with the idea.
All Rounder Model:
This is one of those few models out there that comes with everything that you need or might need in future. When we buy things like camp equipment, we don’t really have that much leisure hours to buy related items separately such as the battery or the wire or a bag for the stove.
The good news is that this BioLite BaseCamp Stove model comes with every single thing that you need, including powerful battery for long-hour service, smart dashboard for easy handling of control buttons, capability of flame transformation for precise heat control, enough capability to cook for a group of campers, etc. many other essential features.
You just buy this device and keep it in your suitcase. You do not have to even check whether there is enough equipment inside or not.
Biolite Basecamp Stove Review: Video
Pros:
- The stove is very big and can easily cater to a large group of people.
- It’s wide-spreading heating surface accommodates large size pan.
- It’s internal fan boosts up the efficiency of the stoves’ flame.
- This thermo-electric stove converts heating power into electricity.
- It has a smart dashboard featuring smart display.
- It can charge electric devices through USB power output.
- It’s one-touch LED FlexLight illumination helps to monitor the dashboard in the dark.
- Very durable and can easily sustain a few tough trips.
- Good for not only grill but also boil.
- Comes with all the details that you will need in a cooking station.
Cons:
- Only a single size is available with a single color option which might be a limitation.
- Not a good option for solo travelers as you do not need such big units alone.
- Some people reported that the fan does not work properly after a few months of usage.
- You might need to change the battery every year as it is not that durable (complaint of some people).
Final Verdict:
Overall, BioLite BaseCamp Stove is certainly one of the best camp stoves 2019. This thermo-electric stove offers some exclusive features, such as, sturdy structure, smart design, larger-pan holding capacity, heat monitoring dashboard, flame controlling system, LED light illumination, USB Charging option, etc.
Though the price is on the higher end, it is still a good one if you are in group traveling. Yes, if you are a solo camper then we do not think this is the best solution for your needs but it is a great option for group campers to choose.
Other Top Camping Stoves 2019:
- MSR Whisperlite Universal Stove Review.
- MSR DragonFly Stove Review.
- Biolite Woodburning Camp Stove Review.
- Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel Stove Review.
- Ecozoom Rocket Stove Versa Review.