Bush Cooker Mini Review

[hedgepig]

I bought a Bush Cooker from Backpackinglight.co.uk just before Christmas and spent the first 4 nights of 2009 out on the hills. Bloomin' cold it was!

Anyway, it was the first chance that I had to test out the Bush Cooker. It was too bloody cold to be bothered taking photographs of the cooker in operation so I went out today to take some pictures of the stove set-up and use and do a quick write up of my thoughts on it.

I can't see any way of attaching the images directly to this post and I don't have them uploaded to flickr so that I could link to them - therefore the full mini-review can be found here - Bush Cooker Mini Review but I'll copy my thoughts and brief conclusions here too:

Thoughts and Conclusions
I was using this system in cold, but fairly dry, conditions in a mountainous area with a 4 season tent. As there is quite a bit of smoke produced while the fire is lighting up I would not want to use the Bush Cooker inside my tent (for these pictures I was a some local woods and I would be happy enough using the Bush Cooker with a tarp. The problem with not being able to use the Bush Cooker inside a tent would come if the weather was particularly wet - I can envisage that it would be quite difficult to get the cooker lit in really wet conditions. I think this is were the meths backup would come into its own. I'm more than happy to use a meths burner inside my tent porch. Indeed the ability to use the meths burner as a backup is useful in the winter when it is cold and dark and the urge to get into your sleeping back to keep warm but and you want to brew a hot drink without struggling out of your tent and getting colder than the warm drink warms you up. I don't see myself using the Bush Cooker as a standalone system in the winter, but perhaps in the summer, with a tarp and bivvy bag instead of a tent (and in an area where there is going to be dead wood to burn).

 

[Opal]

That is a crackin' review, hp

 

[wicca]

I was only looking at those on the website this evening HP. Great review mate, that cooker doesn't look as if it will stand much rough treatment though.. I too started the year like you, couldn't get the tent fly zip down in the morning..frozen solid..

 

[hedgepig]

Cheers guys, glad you found it interesting/helpful!

Wicca - the metal the cooker is made out of is pretty thin. It has to be this way for weight reasons, but the downside it that it is a little flimsy. That is why you really need to carry it in your cook pot. I wouldn't put the stove directly in my bag without anything else to protect it - it would get bashed up in no time!

Oh and frozen zips - just a good excuse to stay in the bag a little longer

 

[webmuppet]

Was that a solid 4 days in the mournes on your own? I'd love to read a blog about what you got up to.

 

[Treeclipper]

I ordered one of these from Backpackinglight on the Monday after Xmas and it arrived the next day. Since it arrived I think ?, I've used it almost every day .
It has definitely replaced all my hobo stoves, it fits inside my 14cm billy nicely with the rest of my cooking kit. (Trangia burner(clone), small hip flask filled with meths, a couple of hexi blocks and a bag of gel fuel, pot gripper,kfs & swiss folding cup) . This now meets all my cooking needs, I've tried it with all above fuel types & it works well boiling water really quickly.
Using it as the original woodgas stove is my favourite, 2 mins at any site to get enough wood for my cuppa and meal. Normally about two good fist fulls of twigs works well for me.

I had it out in the local woods at the weekend and took a small 8inch frying pan with me to cook a couple of rashers of bacon and an egg and had no problem keeping the heat up for this with just twigs.
The other thing I like is it also works as a comforting safe fire that needs minimal attention when just sitting relaxing with my bacon and egg buttie & a cuppa.
I would recommed the Bush Cooker to all.

Tree, ' just an other happy customer, no connection to BPL '.

as an addon to above, will need to make a bag to keep rest of my kit clean, new project for me , need to get some scrap leather

 

[hedgepig]

Was that a solid 4 days in the mournes on your own? I'd love to read a blog about what you got up to.

Yep, I went out on New Years Day and didn't come back until the Monday. Gloriously quiet away from the normal routes. I didn't really do much bushcraft stuff - I was there to take pictures ... and I got some crackers

I ordered one of these from Backpackinglight on the Monday after Xmas and it arrived the next day. Since it arrived I think ?, I've used it almost every day .
It has definitely replaced all my hobo stoves, it fits inside my 14cm billy nicely with the rest of my cooking kit. (Trangia burner(clone), small hip flask filled with meths, a couple of hexi blocks and a bag of gel fuel, pot gripper,kfs & swiss folding cup) . This now meets all my cooking needs, I've tried it with all above fuel types & it works well boiling water really quickly.
Using it as the original woodgas stove is my favourite, 2 mins at any site to get enough wood for my cuppa and meal. Normally about two good fist fulls of twigs works well for me.

I had it out in the local woods at the weekend and took a small 8inch frying pan with me to cook a couple of rashers of bacon and an egg and had no problem keeping the heat up for this with just twigs.
The other thing I like is it also works as a comforting safe fire that needs minimal attention when just sitting relaxing with my bacon and egg buttie & a cuppa.
I would recommed the Bush Cooker to all.

Tree, ' just an other happy customer, no connection to BPL '.

as an addon to above, will need to make a bag to keep rest of my kit clean, new project for me , need to get some scrap leather

How does the gel fuel work with it?

I'm going to make a pot cosy to help with cooking and to keep my kit clean.

 

[Treeclipper]

How does the gel fuel work with it?

I'm going to make a pot cosy to help with cooking and to keep my kit clean.

The gel fuel is there if there's no other way to get the twigs to light i.e. if my tinder gets wet, squeeze a little over the twigs give it a minute to soak in, run over stuff then a spark from my steel usually gets it going.


a pot cosy sounds a good idea, what would you make it from?

 

[widu13]

Make a pot cosy from the foil backed bubble pack insulation that B&Q etc sell. It's the same insulation as 55mm of polystyrene (allegedly).

You will need a different cosy for each pot. Make a bottom and a top as well and you won't need to simmer anymore- boil and leave in the cosy for the simmer time plus 5 mins and you get the same result.

 

[hedgepig]

The gel fuel is there if there's no other way to get the twigs to light i.e. if my tinder gets wet, squeeze a little over the twigs give it a minute to soak in, run over stuff then a spark from my steel usually gets it going.


a pot cosy sounds a good idea, what would you make it from?

Ah right! That's a good idea - I do the same thing with meths and cotton wool if I've got a cold Trangia that won't light.

As the the cosy material I bought some stuff from BPL ... but it sounds exactly the same as what widu13 describes.

Make a pot cosy from the foil backed bubble pack insulation that B&Q etc sell. It's the same insulation as 55mm of polystyrene (allegedly).

You will need a different cosy for each pot. Make a bottom and a top as well and you won't need to simmer anymore- boil and leave in the cosy for the simmer time plus 5 mins and you get the same result.

What he said

 

[drewdunnrespect]

ausome review sound like the perfect little cooker