Four Dog Stove Bushcooker LT I

I recently purchased a Bushcooker LT 1 from Don Kevilus of Four Dog Stoves. I had heard a lot of really great things through the online backpacking communities about this stove and I decided to take the plunge.

Pros:

Multi fuel-This stove will burn nearly any solid fuel, or denatured alcohol, or a combination of. Being designed primarily as a wood-gas stove.

Lightweight- at 2.5oz(includes ash plate and alcohol cup), the Bushcooker itself is 2.2 oz

Small/Compact- Fits neatly and securely in a Snow Peak 700ml mug or similar size mug.

Efficient fuel burn

Cons:

Small fuel capacity- This model of the Bushcooker is designed for solo use, so is a more compact version. If you are cooking a meal that takes longer than 10-12 minutes or so then you will have to refuel during operation. This especially comes into effect for meals that require a lot of simmering, but can be overcome with some advance planning. More on this later.

Price- a tad high, but is slowly overcome by fuel and weight savings.

Bushcooker LT 1 2.5 oz 3.5"x4"

I have been able to do about 60 test burns at home, 4 day hikes, and 3 overnighters. And a 4 day trip that gave it my final stamp of approval. So far I am incredibly happy.

This is primarily a wood-gas stove. This means that it is a double wall design that has a secondary combustion of the wood-gases released by the primary burn. And as such, good fire building skills are crucial to efficient operation of this stove.

A combination of fuels can be used at any time. Wood and alcohol. Wood and esbit. Esbit. Alcohol.

It is best to use wood that is twig sized, and no bigger than pencil size. Larger finger size pieces can be used but are not as efficient due to the small size of the stove.

I primarily use just alcohol in the mornings or anytime when I just want a quick cup of joe or hot water for oatmeal, soup or whatnot. And wood, or a combination of fuel types depending on the conditions(i.e. if it's really wet I will use a 1/4 oz of alcohol to help get the wood going in a pinch) any other time.

I can get 2 cups of cold water to a boil in 6-7 minutes using my snow peak 700ml mug. Or a liter to a boil in the same time if using a wide pot, in my case a 1.5 or 2 liter MSR stainless steel pot. I also was able to get a full GSI kettle to a boil in 6-7 minutes. A windscreen is useful with a narrower pot such as the snowpeak mugs, and help to greatly reduce boil times.

Using wood only the times can vary from 6-23 minutes or so. This is dependent entirely on the users fire skills and conditions. A windscreen is useful in windy or otherwise inclement weather, especially with narrow pots.

Charcoal! The simmers best friend. A little longer boil time of about 14-20 minutes, but with a total burn time of 45-60 minutes with 2-3 lumps or briquets. This works perfectly for baking.

Boil times have been consistently at 6-9 minutes throughout all of my tests, as long as a windscreen was implemented during breezy or otherwise bad weather.

1-1.25oz of alcohol or 3-4oz of dry twigs will achieve the stated times.

A pot of at least twice the size of the stove top will provide the most efficient heat transfer and result in quicker boil times, while the narrower the pot the longer time it will take to get a boil.

The Bushcooker LT 1 seems to be very well made. It is hand made out of titanium right here in the USA. The stove has permanent pot supports attached to the stove, which seem very strong, and have securely held all pots involved in testing (Snowpeak 700 mug, MSR 1.5 and 2L ss pots, and a GSI kettle). The stove comes with an ash plate, and a alcohol cup. The ash plate is used to prevent scorching of the ground underneath the stove.

The Bushcooker can also be used as a smudge pot to help with bug control by burning green or otherwise damp wood or grasses.

I highly recommend this stove, you will not be let down.