Tester Bio
I live in North East Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities but backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3-season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. I will use the wood stove during this test though. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information

Item:	WildWood I backpack stove
Manufacture:	Makaira Metalworks
Year of manufacture:	2006
Company URL:	http://makairametal.com
Size:	5 1/2 in (14 cm) diameter and 4 3/4 in (12 cm) tall
Advertised Weight:	17 oz (482 gm)
Verified Weight:	16.9 oz (479 gm)
Stuff Sack Weight:	.4 oz (11 gm)
MSRP:	$30 US

Product Description
The WildWood I backpack stove burns natural fuel. It is quite compact when dissembled but when put together it is a fairly big stove. It is also seems very sturdy once assembled. It is backed by a free replacement/repair guarantee if it fails. See my Initial Report for a more detailed description of the stove.

Testing Locations and Conditions
I was only able to test the stove on one short overnight hike. It seems like my hiking plans for the past few months have always been canceled due to some emergency. This hike was only about 2 miles (3.2 km) round trip but in some remote woods behind my house. I experienced some rain and the woods were soaked. It was 57 F (14 C) when I left the house and the overnight low was 44 F (7 C).

Field Test Information
As I alluded in the above section, the conditions were not that great. However, I learned quite a bit about using the Wildwood stove and some of its limits.

For starters, the week leading up to this hike was pretty much a non stop rain event. On 2 separate days we received just over 2 in (5 cm) and just over 3 in (8 cm) of rain and the total for the week was around 8 in (20 cm). Then as the day for my hike dawned it rained all day and I was debating going or not. I could not leave until after attending a 2 PM funeral anyways. However, it cleared up just long enough for me to hike down to the creek, set up camp and cook supper. I even went back up the side of the mountain to an overhang just in case it started raining again but was able to finish supper before it set in raining again.

fire

I decided I would first try lighting the stove with just carefully selected twigs and dry leaves I found inside the overhang. I was not sure how much I would need so I gathered a few more small dead limbs from close by. I tried to pick limbs that were up in the air which were damp but not soaked like the ones directly on the ground. I found that even the dry leaves were almost impossible to get burning. They must have soaked some moisture form the very damp surrounding woods. After several attempts I gave up and decide it was time to cheat. I had my alcohol stove and some fuel (denatured alcohol) as a backup so I carefully put 2 capfulls (I estimate 1/2 oz {15 ml}) on the wood in the stove cooking

. It burned fast and furious for about a minute but I still had no sustainable fire. I was about ready to break out the alcohol stove but decided to give it one more try. I let the stove cool off a little and made sure the wood in it was not too hot. I put 4 capfulls (I estimate about 1 oz {30 ml}) on the wood and put my lighter to it. I got a pretty good puff as it ignited but it stayed lit this time. I carefully fed bigger sticks until I had a blaze going which was reaching a foot or more out the top of the stove. I let this burn down and added a few more twigs and my cook pot.   I first heated 12 oz (355 ml) of water for my instant hot coco. It heated the water very fast (in about 4 minutes for those who must know). I took the pot off and poured the water in my cup and set this aside. I then added a few more of the larger twigs and opened my can of ravioli (I know, not exactly backpacking fare) and put the same pot back on the stove. It had a nice smell as it cooked and I had to fight my dogs for my supper. I had fed them before heading out so I didn't feel too sorry for them but relented and gave them each a spoon full at the end and even let them lick the pot clean. Of course I then put some dirt and leaves in the pot for a quick scrub and then boiled some more water in it. By the time I was ready to boil the water for cleanup the stove was almost out. However a few twigs and a little puffing brought it back to full power.

After supper I returned to camp but left my stove sitting under the overhang. I did carry my other gear including the Wildwood stuff sack. I still had a little wood left over which is pretty remarkable considering how little I initially gathered. I wanted to leave it in the dry in case it rained some more. Probably a good decision as it rained for about 2 hours before clearing and getting cold.

For breakfast the next morning I had no problem getting my fire going because I made sure to use enough alcohol the first time. I did gather a little more fuel (twigs) on the short walk from my campsite up to the overhang. I only needed to heat about 2 cups (473 ml) of water this time so breakfast preparation was fairly quick compared to supper. I poured off what I needed for my coco and used the rest for my oatmeal. After eating I added a few more twigs and heated a little more water to make short work of cleanup.

I will add that the stove cools fairly fast. After boiling the cleanup water it took me about 5 minutes to be ready to put the stove up. I knocked it over and away from the few remaining coals while I did my cleanup. It was still pretty hot so I waited a few more minutes. However, at 10 minutes it was just bareley warm and perfectly safe to handle.

Lessons Learned
For starters, (and don't ask me why) when it has rained for several days, it it hard to even get dry leaves to burn. Secondly, once I had a fire burning, even very wet stuff burned easily. I also learned that I had no problem boiling extra water for cleanup. I do this when using my alcohol stove but I have to carry extra fuel. When the woods are your fuel filling station this is not a concern.   I was also pleased at just how little fuel it took to run the stove.

Future Testing
I certainly hope to use the stove more over the remainder of the testing period. The stove is now in its stuff sack with a light coating of corn oil. I will try to test the stove in better conditions but late fall and early winter time around these parts can be damp and dreary so no promises on the nice weather. I will try to get in a longer hike and cook a little more substantial meal.   I will report how this goes and any concerns or problems I notice.

I would like to thank BackpackGearTest and Makaira Metalworks for the opportunity to test this stove. I hope my findings are beneficial to all who read it.

Read more reviews of Makaira Metalworks gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

Field Report

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