I’m a Chef Who’s Cooked Outside for Almost 40 Years—and This 20% Off Camping Stove Is a Must-Buy

Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

I tested it and can confirm it’s a great value.

One of my rules about camping: even if we’re in the woods, we don’t need to eat like monsters. So, dishes like chicken cacciatore (hunter-style chicken, naturally) or risotto, cooked over a fire, are often on the menu. But I also live in a semi-tropical environment, and there are only a few months each year when cooking over a large fire can be regarded as pleasant.

That said, when BioLite asked if I wanted to test the EcoZoom Versa camping stove, I was so intrigued that I took it for a drive in the summer heat. Why, you ask? Because the stove uses biomass like twigs, branches, and charcoal as fuel, it stood out as an alternative to open-fire or gas cooking. To get to the point, I’d recommend the EcoZoom Versa even at full price, but I want to call out its limited-time discount of 20% off during Prime Big Deal Days.

BioLite EcoZoom Versa Camping Stove

$160

$128

Buy on Amazon

If you’re thinking about portability, the EcoZoom Versa weighs 14.5 pounds, which is heavier than most camping stoves. It may be a little much to carry for long distances, but the silicone grips on the handles make moving it easy. I wouldn’t go into the backcountry with this, but it’s perfect for car camping or short walks to a campsite. At 12.5 inches tall with a diameter of 11 inches, it should hold your cast iron skillet, Dutch oven, or camping cookware. Just remember to set it up on level ground to prevent spills.

The Setup

Unboxing and setting the stove up couldn’t have been simpler. There are two pieces, the stove and a stick holder, which sits in front of the firebox opening. You put them in place, and the stove is ready to go. The operating instructions are brief but precise: place sticks on the stick holder, light the fire inside the firebox, and regulate the heat with the damper door below the firebox, and the size and number of sticks you feed it. 

The Fuel

Along the way, I learned some finer points about using the EcoZoom. First, use sticks no bigger than your thumb, as these fit into the firebox hopper the easiest. Second, don’t overload the firebox, as it might smother the fire. Third, it burns these smaller sticks quite quickly, so you’ll need to tend the fire by pushing the wood on the holder into the fire frequently. 

Though it’s needy when it comes to feeding it wood, it burns thoroughly and completely, leaving nothing but white ash to empty when the stove cools, which was pretty impressive given that my found firewood was anything but cured and dry. On the cooling note, I checked the exterior temperature after 30 minutes, and it was cool to the touch and safe enough to relocate before a storm came up.

The Cleanup

Cleanup was simple. I opened the damper and firebox doors, turned the stove upside down, and shook it. It was reasonably clean, but for storage and eliminating wood smells, I rinsed the last bits of ash with a garden hose and let it dry in the sun for an hour.

The Verdict

I wanted to see how long the EcoZoom Versa would take to boil a large pot of water as a general assessment of its heating. The stove reaches up to 23,000 BTUs, which is enough heat to boil a pot of water or sear meat. (BTUs measure the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1°F, and we recommend at least 20,000 BTUs for these tasks.) After some fumbling, it came to a boil right around the 60-minute mark, which would have been significantly shorter had I worked out the fire situation before attempting this test. 

Taking my learning curve with the fire tending out of the picture, I’d take this stove on my next camping trip without hesitation. This stove is great for people who don’t want to cook on gas or kerosene stoves but don’t want the hassles of building a proper cookfire. The EcoZoom Versa can utilize more than wood, too. It will run off charcoal, corn cobs, dried animal dung, or any other biomass you might have at hand, which lets you adapt to your camping environment and the available fuel sources.

At the time of publishing, the price was $128

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.