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If you knew me well enough you would know that I'm very honest about how gear I own performs and I will never recommend something I wouldn't use myself.
With that being said I wanted to do a review on the "Littlbug Senior Stove." There are alot of things I won't cover because there is numerous information on youtube and the site itself. www.littlbug.com
I will start out by saying Littlbug customer service is great and they have a big following. They offer two models the Junior and the Senior. If I would recommend a size it would be the senior and I usually camp by myself, I feel the Junior is a little too small. They are made out of stainless steel and not only burn wood, but also act as a wind screen/trapping heat for an alcohol stove. As far as size for packing I can honestly say it works well for me. The flat curved shape allows it to be wrapped around a sleeping pad, inside of a sleeping bag or simply put into a pack with gear stowed around it. I forgot if the stove bag is optional or comes with it, but it is a good design keeping your other gear from getting full of black soot. It is easy to put together, take down and cools off fairly quickly. The Senior is about 8" in dia. and 7" tall without the pot stand. It's a great design for areas that don't allow open fires...it's basically a mini version of a large fire ring. I do like how well the vent holes work, but wish it had a method of controlling the amout of intake. To me that isn't really a big deal because you can do the same thing by blocking some of the holes with rocks and/or dirt. They sell a chain acc. for holding an alcohol stove, but I feel it isn't needed. I simply set my alcohol stove on the ground with what I'm heating on top of it and then place the Senior right down over it. They also sell a support system for hanging, but I can't see that giving me any advantage for the way I camp. Most importantly I think it burns very efficiently and the design works well. I'm not going to touch on how long it takes to reach a boil because that can depend on so many things. I will say my Zebra pot took very little time on a fairly small amout of wood...the pot holds 2 quarts.
Would I buy another one? Yes, but if your like me it would be easy enough to make your own.
What don't I like? The pot stand design is poor in my opinion. I threw mine out and have replaced it with stainless tubing. I simply bought some stainless tubing, cut it into 4 pieces...one for a back-up and 3 for actual cooking/my pot stand. In the pictures below I was experimenting with an old grate and some rod before I purchased the stainless tubing.
You will notice I offset my pot on purpose. I offset it opposite the vent holes which are facing into the wind. This draws air in and forces the flames and heat against the back wall and up under the pot. I could put 4 stainless tubes in, but don't need to with it offset and this opening allows for very easy wood feeding.
In closing it would be easy enough to make if you like to do those things, if not I would recommend it with the understanding the pot support is poorly designed in my opinion and should be changed. I will probably be making my own design soon from scratch, but that's just me. I will not bash the company because all in all I think it beats the other designs on the market and they are a PLEASURE to deal with. Customer service in my opinion is a BIG part of any purchase! It's also made and assembled in the USA employing people with disabilities which I think is very cool!
Draw your own conclusions and don't be afraid to ask me any questions or do your own research. I have posted pictures below showing the way the pot is offest, how the flame burns under the offset pot, it taken apart, packed away and with my Zebra pot sitting on top of an alcohol stove inside of it. My Rat RC-6 is in the picture for a size ref., the knife is 11 3/4" over all. If the pictures seem out of order I apologize ahead of time. There is also one picture which is not mine showing the curved pot stand that comes with it.
Take Care,
Snow Walker
With that being said I wanted to do a review on the "Littlbug Senior Stove." There are alot of things I won't cover because there is numerous information on youtube and the site itself. www.littlbug.com
I will start out by saying Littlbug customer service is great and they have a big following. They offer two models the Junior and the Senior. If I would recommend a size it would be the senior and I usually camp by myself, I feel the Junior is a little too small. They are made out of stainless steel and not only burn wood, but also act as a wind screen/trapping heat for an alcohol stove. As far as size for packing I can honestly say it works well for me. The flat curved shape allows it to be wrapped around a sleeping pad, inside of a sleeping bag or simply put into a pack with gear stowed around it. I forgot if the stove bag is optional or comes with it, but it is a good design keeping your other gear from getting full of black soot. It is easy to put together, take down and cools off fairly quickly. The Senior is about 8" in dia. and 7" tall without the pot stand. It's a great design for areas that don't allow open fires...it's basically a mini version of a large fire ring. I do like how well the vent holes work, but wish it had a method of controlling the amout of intake. To me that isn't really a big deal because you can do the same thing by blocking some of the holes with rocks and/or dirt. They sell a chain acc. for holding an alcohol stove, but I feel it isn't needed. I simply set my alcohol stove on the ground with what I'm heating on top of it and then place the Senior right down over it. They also sell a support system for hanging, but I can't see that giving me any advantage for the way I camp. Most importantly I think it burns very efficiently and the design works well. I'm not going to touch on how long it takes to reach a boil because that can depend on so many things. I will say my Zebra pot took very little time on a fairly small amout of wood...the pot holds 2 quarts.
Would I buy another one? Yes, but if your like me it would be easy enough to make your own.
What don't I like? The pot stand design is poor in my opinion. I threw mine out and have replaced it with stainless tubing. I simply bought some stainless tubing, cut it into 4 pieces...one for a back-up and 3 for actual cooking/my pot stand. In the pictures below I was experimenting with an old grate and some rod before I purchased the stainless tubing.
You will notice I offset my pot on purpose. I offset it opposite the vent holes which are facing into the wind. This draws air in and forces the flames and heat against the back wall and up under the pot. I could put 4 stainless tubes in, but don't need to with it offset and this opening allows for very easy wood feeding.
In closing it would be easy enough to make if you like to do those things, if not I would recommend it with the understanding the pot support is poorly designed in my opinion and should be changed. I will probably be making my own design soon from scratch, but that's just me. I will not bash the company because all in all I think it beats the other designs on the market and they are a PLEASURE to deal with. Customer service in my opinion is a BIG part of any purchase! It's also made and assembled in the USA employing people with disabilities which I think is very cool!
Draw your own conclusions and don't be afraid to ask me any questions or do your own research. I have posted pictures below showing the way the pot is offest, how the flame burns under the offset pot, it taken apart, packed away and with my Zebra pot sitting on top of an alcohol stove inside of it. My Rat RC-6 is in the picture for a size ref., the knife is 11 3/4" over all. If the pictures seem out of order I apologize ahead of time. There is also one picture which is not mine showing the curved pot stand that comes with it.
Take Care,
Snow Walker
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