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Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Sierra Zip Stove > Owner Review by Mike LipaySierra Zip-Stove - Owner Review
Background: I've been camping, hiking, and backpacking since the '60s, mostly with the Boy Scouts though I've put on quite a few miles solo, and with my kids. I am, by no means, an ultralight camper, my pack weighs in at 29-33 lbs (13-15 kgs). I prefer an external frame pack because I like to have places to attach "things". I prefer a hiking staff to trekking poles, compass to GPS, film to digital, fire to fuel. My backpacking is pretty much limited to weekends, and one full-week per year (usually in the summer). I pretty much stick to the Allegheny Mountains (Pennsylvania and West Virginia), although it has been a dream of mine to do a trek in Alaska.
General Data: ZZ Manufacturing markets the Sierra Zip Stove as a lightweight (not ultralight) stove for backpackers, bikers, and campers. Weighing in at only 1 lb (454 g), and with no fuel to tote, this certainly makes the mark. Description: The Sierra Zip Stove comes in two pieces, the upper section referred to as the "combustion chamber," and a lower section consisting of a fan, battery/switch, and a support stand. The inside of the combustion chamber (where the fuel goes) measures 4" round by 2-3/4" deep (10 cm x 7 cm). Unassembled the stove measures 5" round by 3.5" (12.7 cm x 8.9 cm), with the stand and battery pack storing inside the stove. Assembled the stove measures 6-1/4" high (16 cm); with the windshield it tops off at 7-3/4" (19.7 cm). The stove comes with a small two-speed fan that operates off of a single AA-size battery (battery is not included with the product), ZZ Manufacturing estimates the battery life at 6 hours. Options available include:
Field Information: This stove has been used extensively since 1994, exclusively since 1997. I bought this stove after reading a review in a magazine that praised it for its one major advantage over other stoves: no fuel to buy or lug around. I liked the idea of not having to deal with the hassles of liquid fuels, and not contributing to the landfills with empty container fuels. In addition to that, most of my hiking and backpacking is done in the Allegheny Mountains where free fuel is in almost limitless abundance.  The concept of the stove is simple: put chunks of burnable fuel (wood, pinecones, nuts, etc.) into the chamber, start the fan, light it, put a pot on top of the stove and cook away! What could be simpler? Well, it is a little more difficult than that the stove comes in two pieces: the combustion chamber and the fan, these must be snapped together before the fun can begin. Also, I found that any size piece of fuel won't fit because of the size of the chamber, what does work are pieces no more than 4" (10 cm) long, and around thumb thickness (1" to 1-1/4", or 2.5 cm to 3 cm).
Using the stove is not much different from cooking over a campfire. The first step is to put small burnable items (pinky size or less) into the chamber, followed by a small piece of fire starter; turn on the fan to low then light the starter (for this I find a match easier to use than a lighter). After the fire catches I add larger pieces of wood and turn the fan to high, if needed (usually for roasting, baking, or if I'm in a hurry). If it weren't for the cross grate in the upgrade kit I would have to lift the pot off of the stove in order to add more wood, the cross grate sits on top of the stove, and the pot sits on top of the grate. Four openings exist between the pot and stove now through which I can add wood without having to lift the pot. It's easier this way, but not required. The wood will burn down to ashes; build up of ashes isn't a problem, even after a 2 hour cooking demo for Scouts the amount of ashes in the bottom wouldn't even amount to a handful. With regards to firestarters, almost anything can be used (and I have used almost everything): ZZ Manufacturing sells their version for $5.25 US which contains 108 "chunks," typically taking 3 chunks to start a fire (36 fires in a pack). On their website ZZ Manufacturing also suggests the use of cotton balls impregnated with petroleum jelly which can be stored in film canisters. I have used these and found them a bit messy to make and to use (fingers pick up the jelly). My personal favorite is to take cotton balls, shove about 6 into a film canister (the type where the lid snaps inside, I get them free from my local photo lab who just tosses them anyway), then pour in rubbing alcohol (higher the percentage of alcohol the better). I've kept the starters stored for 6 months and find they are still well saturated with alcohol. I have also used the wax-impregnated starters sold for use in fireplaces, one bar will last several years as only about a 1/2" cube (1.3 cm) is all that is needed to start a fire.  According to ZZ Manufacturings' website, the Sierra Zip Stove should take 4 minutes to boil a quart of water. I know when I'm cooking with liquid fuel I'm very conscious of how long it takes to cook since I'm paying for the fuel, but with this stove I've never really been concerned. After all, if water boils in 3 minutes or 5 minutes what's the difference? The fuel is free and I'm usually in no hurry to get anywhere. However, for the purpose of this review I did a timing under the following conditions: 1 qt (0.95 L) water (starting temp 43 F, 6 C), outside temp was 33 F (0.5 C), pot uncovered to see when it boils, fan setting on low speed. Based on this my cook time was 15 minutes. I'm sure these were not the conditions under which ZZ Manufacturing did their tests, but in the Allegheny Mountains in February this is reality.
The first concern I had was over the battery life do I have to carry a 12-pack of batteries to get me through the weekend? Will it wind up costing me more in batteries than fuel does in a regular stove? I can't answer exactly how long a standard set of batteries would last as I have used rechargeable batteries since day one, but I can relate the following experience that should help. My son and I were on a long weekend (3-day) trip and we decided to treat ourselves to a "real" dinner the first night out. I had made an oven that could be used with the stove so we decided to have a roast the first night out, the oven simply sits on top of the stove in place of a pot. After a normal breakfast and lunch (about 15-20 minutes cooking each) we cooked a 2 lb (908 g) beef roast, along with baking two potatoes. I rarely use the fan on its high setting as the low setting is sufficient for frying and boiling. This time though, having to get the oven to roasting temperatures, I used the high speed. We cooked for close to an hour before the roast and potatoes were done. After that we cooked two more breakfasts and lunches, and one dinner, before heading home all done on a single rechargeable AA battery! Even though I use rechargeable batteries, and a single battery would be more than enough for a weekend trek, I always bring a spare. Even rechargeable batteries die, and I have had it happen on more than one trip over the last ten years. Being a winter camper I did call one of the major battery companies to ask their opinion of what to use during the winter (batteries deliver much less power when cold), their suggestion was to stick with lithium batteries when the mercury dips below 40 F (4 C), this I have done and have never experienced failure due to temperature, even on trips where the temperature dropped below freezing (down to 5 F, -18 C). The second concern was about the quantity of wood I would need to make a basic meal mostly requiring boiling water, then boiling a pouch for 10 minutes. After all, one of my desires was to get away from hauling liquid fuel I didn't want to replace 2 lbs (908 g) of fuel and bottle with a cord of wood! As it turns out I have, over the years, managed to simplify the amount of wood I need: a single plastic sandwich bag of burnables is enough to cook one of my standard meals. So I carry a small ditty bag and pick up fuel as I walk along, when the bag is full I know I have enough to cook my next meal. One of the other advantages, for me, is contributing to the improvement of camping areas; Pennsylvania's Forestry motto is: "leave it better than you found it," so when I get to a camping area I can usually find enough partially-burnt wood to cook the evening meal, and reduce the waste in the area. Cleanup is rather easy, I just let the stove cool off, generally by the time I'm done eating, and spread the ashes around the stove burns so efficiently all that remains in the combustion chamber are ashes. Another concern I had with this stove was its reliability, how long would the fan and battery pack last? Well, I've been using it for ten years now, and only replaced the fan once and that due to my own bumbling. I was cleaning the stove at home and dropped the fan on the garage floor, then knocked a hammer off the workbench landed right on the fan. Short of that I haven't had a single problem in all that time. While I have been upbeat about the Sierra Zip Stove it's not without its faults. The base is a little wobbly, according to ZZ Manufacturing the stove was designed that way to help with uneven terrain. If I keep with the recommended 1 qt (1 L) pot size this works out remarkably well in most situations. However, I have had accidental spills when using a 2 qt (2 L) pot, and some of the terrain has caused concerns. The base is a simple 3" (7.6 cm) square, finding enough level space in the rocky Allegheny's can be tough some times. They have corrected this with their Titanium stove as it comes with a traditional 3-point stand, unfortunately this improvement hasn't made it to the standard Sierra Zip Stove.
Conclusion: I think that at $52.00 US the Sierra Zip Stove is very reasonably priced - especially when compared to liquid fuel stoves which I've found start at around $49.95 US. When I take into consideration the savings in not having to purchase fuel, the stove will pay for itself quickly. I wholeheartedly have no problem recommending this stove to anyone looking for an alternative to a liquid fuel, a replacement stove, or a first-time purchase. Added note: In the times we live in today this is a good alternative for the hassles of transporting fuel when flying to a trip location. All that needs to be packed is the stove, fuel can be picked up while hiking, and there are no partially filled containers to deal with on the trip home.
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