Customer reviews from bioliteenergy.com
BioLite - CampStove 2 with FlexLight - Yellow/Chrome
Average customer rating
4.5
(96 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 96 reviews
5 Stars
71
4 Stars
13
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
5
1 Star
4
83%of customers recommend this product.
(
48 out of
58)
Customer Reviews for BioLite - CampStove 2 with FlexLight - Yellow/Chrome
Customer Rating
5
Awesome Stove
on May 19, 2017
Posted by: Anonymous
Clean burning and very hot. I really like the display to tell about the fire strength, fan spend, and battery charge. This is my second stove from biolite and I love the upgrades. The grill works great also, I've got a small fry pan to cook my sausage and eggs and it works great, I've even made toast. I wish biolite would come up with an adapter so I could use my kettle pot on the grill while I'm cooking with the fry pan (great idea?). Thank you customer service for your great support.
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Customer Rating
5
Using CampStove 1 since 2012
on June 19, 2020
Posted by: David
from France
Length of ownership:1 year or longer
Eight years using CampStove 1, still working great, I felt the product deserves a review.
To be fully satisfied with the stove, keep in mind the drawbacks:
1) You need time to collect and trim the wood to the right size. Not that much time, but it can't be overlooked.
2) You need *dry* wood (and average to good quality). Usually wood is easy to get while camping but dry wood can be more challenging to find sometimes.
3) For best results, you need to keep feeding the stove at a very regular pace. Of course no one should leave it unattended but you can't even sit a few steps away to prepare something else, without stopping your activity and going back to the stove for one more wood stick or two, at least every minute.
4) Version 1 couldn't do simering (low gas power equivalent), version 2 should be better at that with the new fan control, but I doubt it is completely solved since it's more an assisted wood stove problem: blowing air will always ramp up power, and not blowing gives smoke.
I'm sure that any evaluation other than 5/5 stars has something to do with ignoring those drawbacks at first.
And here are my answers to those drawbacks:
I don't mind 1 and 2 since I have time in camping to wander about and collect wood. I keep a bag of dry sticks just in case I don't have time or if the rain has damped the woods. For Island camping we took a few pieces of wood with us by plane (no trees over there). I can't stress enough the advantages of not carrying flammable gas or liquid when boarding planes ;) ... while still being able to start cooking right upon arrival without searching for a compatible gas cartridge \o/For 1 and 2, using wood pellets is a solution too.
The no 3 is a matter of habit, get organized to deal with that, if you don't want then the stove isn't for you.
And the 4 means even more handling to take out the pan and put it back on the stove every 10-15 seconds... but simering isn't that frequent for camping cooking.
I don't mind 1 and 2 since I have time in camping to wander about and collect wood. I keep a bag of dry sticks just in case I don't have time or if the rain has damped the woods. For Island camping we took a few pieces of wood with us by plane (no trees over there). I can't stress enough the advantages of not carrying flammable gas or liquid when boarding planes ;) ... while still being able to start cooking right upon arrival without searching for a compatible gas cartridge \o/For 1 and 2, using wood pellets is a solution too.
The no 3 is a matter of habit, get organized to deal with that, if you don't want then the stove isn't for you.
And the 4 means even more handling to take out the pan and put it back on the stove every 10-15 seconds... but simering isn't that frequent for camping cooking.
That said... I must tell I'm still very proud of being one of the early adopters, the stove is great. We also use it on occasions in our home's garden for some messy cooking like frying.It has been a reliable main cooking stove for all our camps since eight years, still counting. We love it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Posted by: Tracey
from Woodland Hills, CA
Length of ownership:1 month
Verified Purchase:Yes
This is amazing! Just hard to get the temp up to charge the thing entirely... AND when I had too much fire going, the top melted a little. BUT it is still cool!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from bioliteenergy.comBy BioLite, CS, July 7, 2020
Hey Tracey, the power module could have been damaged as a result of placing it downwind of the fire. If you have any questions about fire building or use of the stove, reach out to us here: https://www.bioliteenergy.com/pages/contact and we'll gladly help!
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Customer Rating
1
Waste of weight in the pack
on June 27, 2020
Posted by: cdoyle
from Montreal
Length of ownership:3 months
This is basically how using this stove goes:
Start fire, fire has one bar intensity.
Crank up fan to max, reach 2-3 star intensity.
Add fuel, fire becomes a smoke machine, one bar fire intensity again.
Repeat.
Start fire, fire has one bar intensity.
Crank up fan to max, reach 2-3 star intensity.
Add fuel, fire becomes a smoke machine, one bar fire intensity again.
Repeat.
Was never able to reach full fire intensity, even with fan on max. Battery never basically was losing as much power to the fan as it was gaining from thermoelectric generation.
After 45 minutes of fighting with it I gained 4% phone battery.
I should point out that it was VERY dry where I was camping so my fuel, (twigs etc) was definitely as good as it gets.
I don't see ANY way this could ever boil water or cook something.
Basically carrying this thing into the back country was a waste of space and weight in my pack.
The person I was with also took a stab at it and had the same experience.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from bioliteenergy.comBy BioLite, CS, June 30, 2020
Hi there, we are so sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience with the CampStove 2! Our support team will gladly walk through troubleshooting steps and help with fire building so that your CampStove 2 operates well. You can reach out to us here: https://www.bioliteenergy.com/pages/contact
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Customer Rating
4
Solid campstove, does the job!
on December 21, 2019
Posted by: Jsmiff6
from Kapolei, HI
Length of ownership:3 months
I have used the CampStove2 a few times. Overall, I love it. It burns sticks well and throughly, and the fan system is easy to use and burns the sticka quickly. The electric motor's battery recharges quickly. It also charged my Note8 phone relatively quickly.
My only issue is you cannot charge the battery for the motor while it is in use.....meaning the battery for the fan is draining and I plugged in the battery pack into another power source but the battery pack would not charge. This would extend the time the fan could spin.
If Biolite could make the battery pack charge while in use, this would be perfect. I highly recommend this compact little stove if you are going backpacking.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Customer Rating
5
As described which is a good thing
on April 26, 2020
Posted by: Marshall
from Texas
Length of ownership:1 month
In love with this, my only improve for the next gen would be higher output from the USB port, and include 2 ports.
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Posted by: Andrew
Length of ownership:1 month
Verified Purchase:Yes
I was pleasantly surprised by the Campstove 2 when after leaving it to smoulder for 15 minutes, it suddenly bursts into flame! I am optimistic about my Campstove 2 in the future because I expect it will become easier to use with practice. Does anyone know if this stove is legal in Canadian fire-ban areas?
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com
Posted by: Cindy
from WA state
Verified Purchase:Yes
I got some pellets from the hardware store and they work great! I'm a car camper (so weight isn't an issue) and wanted something small and quick to heat water for tea/coffee and dehydrated meals. The light is useful and the power port is nice to have. I also have the kettle pot and coffee press though i haven't used the press (instant coffee is easier :) I'm really happy I got this stove!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting bioliteenergy.com