The Great Outdoors

Went out a couple of weekends ago to Tyresö Nature Reserve with my buddy G and the dog, mostly just to get outside and enjoy an open fire. The birth of my daughter last week prevented me from posting this until now, and unfortunately this extreme cold snap we're expecting will probably prevent me from getting out when we are up in Hälsingland this weekend. It will of course be far too cold for little one, but let me tell you, she is worth everything I ever have to give up or postpone for her. It won't be too long 'til she's coming out with me in any case.




















During the afternoon in Tyresö I also got the chance to use the Bushbuddy Ultra. It was a little trickier to light in damper conditions, but I kept it going for about 3 hours with very little wood. I must say that having an axe - Gränsfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet - was indispensable in keeping it stoked, but only since I was essentially using it as an extra campfire. Using it as a stove for 20 minutes could probably be achieved just as easily with a few handfuls of twigs.
















It wasn't too cold, just below freezing, and the open fire, hot tea and a warm meal made it more than comfortable. Just a few hours, and a walk back to the car in the dark, but it sure felt good to get out.

Bushbuddy Ultra

I must have been a good boy this year. I opened up my stocking on Christmas Eve to find among other things, a Bushbuddy Ultra and I couldn't wait to try it out. So much so that I took it out on Christmas Day into the woods in Hälsingland and fired it up.

Reviewing the Bushbuddy Ultra

As you can see I lit first time with the help of some dry tinder, and it took about 700ml of water up to a rolling boil in about 10 minutes. Not quick, but not incredibly slow either. It should also be noted that I had placed it on a tree stump at a little over waist height and there was a slight breeze in the air which of course affected performance. In a more sheltered spot I'm sure it would have more effective. Nevertheless I'm very pleased with it, and the simplicity of finding fuel wherever and whenever you are near woodland means that I'll likely use it year round in this enivronment. Add up the cost of all those gas canisters that you'd otherwise use and it's cheap too.

To top it off the stove is lightweight at 155g, which together with pot and lid, and considering that I need not carry any fuel, gives me a cooking system which tops the scales at about 275g. That's only a little more than a regular sized butane canister, and about a third of a Trangia cookset (half if you're only carrying one pot). That said, in especially windy conditions, where shelter is hard to come by, I'd rather rely on the Trangia. It is of course true that in those situations one is generally above the tree line, the stove not really being suited to that environment either where fuel is lacking. As for gas stoves, I can't see me going back. Butane canisters are heavy, and without shelter prove to be inefficient. They weigh about as much empty and I do not enjoy having to carry them back to civilisation as dead-weight in the pack. The only place I could see a gas stove being useful is far below freezing above the tree-line, but that's still a pretty moot point since I don't really spend very much time above the Arctic Circle.

Sure your pot gets dirty, irrevocably so, but you can always pack it away in a bag. Besides wood ash doesn't spoil food in the same way as ash from an alcohol stove will. What's that? Gas is faster. Sure, but what's the hurry? You're in the great outdoors to kick back and take it easy a little, not clock watch over minutes here and there! If you are looking to make the transition to a wood burner, I don't think you'd look back, I certainly won't. I simply look forward to the multitude of adventures that I'll share with this little beauty of engineering over the years to come.