Fireant,Titanium, Multi-fuel Backpacking Stove Great for Camping and Survival

This is really the best way to describe what the Fireant is and does: it's a fire in a box. A very efficient fire in a very small box.You just click it together, put some flammable stuff inside, strike a spark and boom, you got a small, economical and relatively (!) safe fire, that can be moved anywhere and also works as a stand for your pot.All it takes is one or two arm-length twigs. You casually snap these off a tree on the trail, tuck them in your backpack's side pocket, and in the evening, it will comfortably boil a liter of water for you and still leave some wood for laters. (Mileage may vary with different types of wood.)I usually find myself not bothering with fuel at all, however. I just lie down next to the stove and pick whatever small sticks are lying around. When it's about to burn out, I just lazily reach for a few more twigs or cones and that's it. Crazy :).I also like to use this stove as a small bonfire, casually roasting sausages or small skewers of bacon, onion, cheese, whatever really...On the off chance that there's no natural fuel around (or in extremely wet conditions), I can use some Esbit that I always carry with me as a precaution. Simply pop the small metal plate in its place near the top of the stove and you're ready to cook. This is great for a quick cuppa when you plan to pack up and hit the trail asap.To sum up, here are some pros and cons:Pros:+ Small. Super thin when packed, weighs nothing. (I regularly find I've been carrying it in my EDC backpack for weeks simply because I forgot to take it out after the hike and never noticed.)+ Efficient. A few sticks and twigs is all you need.+ Universal. Runs on wood, but works with Esbit as well as Trangia.+ No fuss. Assembling and disassembling is a breeze. Easier and safer than making a regular fire.Cons:- Requires near constant attention. Since the Fireant is really small, the fire inside it can naturally only be so big and will flame out after a while. This is somewhat alleviated by the bottom feeding mechanism, where you can feed it with longer/thicker sticks, slowly tucking them further inside as they burn off. But it still requires some baby sitting. It's almost like a little toy, a fire tamagotchi... Which is fun, but probably not for everyone.- Can't be used on all surfaces. Although it's very undemanding and mobile, you'll still need to choose carefully where you put it. The base gets very hot eventually and will char most surfaces beneath it. Also, after some time, small embers will inevitably start falling out the small vent holes at the bottom. All in all, you don't want to use this on your shiny kitchen table. Nor on a bed of dry grass. A rock or a small patch of dirt is all you need though.- Not bomb proof. While the whole product is very well made, the titanium sheets are still just that - sheets. They can bend in your backpack if you pack them in a silly way. When assembled, the thing will hold even a large dutch oven, but you don't want to step on it or drop your bag at it. Luckily, most damage should be a undoable by bending the sheets back to their original shape.

I collect backpacking stoves and own many brands of all types and I always find the Emberlit stoves to be the most efficient. From packability standpoint the Emberlit stoves excel and the fireant is tops in this category. The light weight titanium makes this an extremely compact less than 3 oz package. Compare the size and weight to a stainless steel hinged wood burner of the same size and you will immediately feel the difference. The hinged stainless steel stoves are quick to deploy but also are exreamly heavy and actually far more unstable due to the wire leg supports. Both work well but in the packability and use the fireant wins hands down. The competitive hinged versions do offer quick set up and take down when compared to the fireant but after initial use the assembly of the Emberlit product is quick and simple. The ability to use multiple fuels again nothing new to the market with the fireant, the difference is the Emberlit product does this task in a more elegant fashion with less components. Some of the competitive stoves of this size require three or more additional small parts to accomplish the multi fuel task. The fireant has the most effective use of the fire box when compared to the competitive stoves, side loading and plenty of draft to burn even damp wood, the Emberlit stove typically require less stroking to keep a nice burn going. The addition of Trangia burner is a little tricky the first time but not difficult, the fuel plate works will with solid fuels and the slots will also accept a live fire burner if needed. The Emberlit products are not the top of the line in engineering prowess, they are simple effective and efficient. I have a few stoves that are actually a type of titanium origami and to be frank I don't want to think extensively when assembling my stove, I just want to cook my food and get on with my time outdoors and the Emberlit products excel at that task. As for the folks that complain about sharp edges ... really yea there may or may not be some sharp edges and yes this is light thin metal we are dealing with so be careful and take precautions as you should with any sharp objects, keep in mind the act of starting, maintaining and extinguishing a fire in the outdoors is also a dangerous task that requires some thought and precautions. The Emberlit Ti fireant is no more expensive than the folding stainless steel stoves, less expensive when compared the white gas stoves and Even less expensive than the Chinese round wood gas stoves everyone seems to like for some reason. Emberlit is a made in the USA product that just works ... the fireant will have a permanent place in my EDC bag.

Aside from the assembly stumbling, this kit works well with the white fire cubes. 8 Oz of water boiled in about 5 minutes. It’s lightweight, lies flat disassembled, and is easy to stow.