Bushbuddy Ultra vrs. Bushcooker Lt.

Huh, is it just me or does the Bushcooker look like the offspring of a late night Tri Ti/Bushbuddy rendevous?

>>Does anyone here have an opinion on the matter?

Yes: reward Fritz for his ingenuity and give your business to him.

Cheap knock-offs should be treated as such. (I'm looking at you Bushcooker.)

I have the Bushbuddy and it's my favorite stove. You can't go wrong with one if you have the money to spend.

I don't own either stove, and both look great.

I don't see the Bushcooker as a "cheap knock-off", though. Well thought-out, different design, smaller, and lighter weight. I, for the life of me, can't see a knock-off here.

Dave, not trying to sound rude, but you come across as such lately. Maybe it's just me. (I know I sound rude here, but I honestly don't intend to. Just wanted to let you know what I'm hearing.)

Todd

Dave,

"Cheap knock-offs should be treated as such. (I'm looking at you Bushcooker.)"

I've not seen one in person but, I'm curious as to why you say "cheap knock-off" in reference to the bushcooker lt? Why do you think the bushbuddy is superior to the bushcooker lt? Just from looking at specs and photos (no hands on experience either one) the bushcooker lt looks like a lighter alternative of similar design (conical not cylindrical) and has the advantage of coming in several sizes. I for one am interested in the largest option in order to cook for several people.

-Ian

>>I don't see the Bushcooker as a "cheap knock-off", though.

Depends which Bushcooker you're talking about. I lose track, honestly.

This one is certainly a knock-off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBWLlgJD2Ec

The Four Dog Stoves one isn't very different either. It's another take on the double skinned gassifier stove. So its a cone and not a cylinder, big deal. Just look at this:

http://tjamrog.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/backpacking-stove-review-bushcooker-titanium-lt-1/

Plus, I hate how that Jamrog guy only posts on BPL to pimp the Bushcooker. I'm thinking he's a Four Dog shill. Every single one of his posts is made for one purpose: to pedal the Bushcooker.

Todd: I'm okay with being rude. Sometimes I even enjoy it. Theft of intellectual property is worthy of derision.

>>Why do you think the bushbuddy is superior to the bushcooker lt?

Sealed bottom, no fire scar.

If it weighs more, so what. I'll carry the extra ounce with pride knowing I bought it from the guy who came up with the idea for it.

What makes you think any of the Bushcookers are better than the Bushbuddy? Just curious.

For what it's worth, you could easily put a bigger pot on the Bushbuddy.

As far as I know, Fritz designed the Bushbuddy himself and, through refining hobo stove designs, is responsible for the the recent popularity of UL downdraft gassifiers. The idea was his and it is his sweat that these knock-offs are attempting to capitalize on.

I don't see how there's much of an argument otherwise.

Here's a comparison…

http://ccorbridge.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/bushcooker-lt-ii-vs-the-bushbuddy-ultra/

(Heavy Hint…the Bushcooker doesn't win the speed comparison)

Holy crap! I opened a real can of worms, it seems, by posing this question.

My main motivation was that, while I was leaning very strongly toward getting a Bushbuddy, I didn't have the information I now possess — namely, what do you do if there's no dry wood available? I thought that as the Bushcooker allowed for the use of alcohol, and other "bio-mass," I'd be in better shape.

But, for all intents and purposes, reading up on people's reviews of, and experience with the Bushbuddy, it seems like the no-brainer choice. I'll just carry some esbit or FireLite tabs as backup.

You can use alcohol & esbit with the Bushbuddy. I'll post more about how if you like, but there are already some good photos about how do so here in the forums.

Hint: Trail designs gram cracker with just the top piece. Antigravity Gear 4" windscreen cut to size. Replace the Gram Cracker with a soda can stove if you like. You can also use a Trangia stove with it in an alternative setup.

Best stove ever.

Watch this clip on a very close clone of the BB:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBWLlgJD2Ec

Its easy to adapt the BB to use esbit, trioxane or an alochol stove.

b.gin

Also, check this out;

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=19676&disable_pagination=1

Dan's post from 4-17 has a photo of a good set-up.

William,

Thanks for the link. Nice to see the comparison. For one, the Bushcooker 3 person model looks smaller than the Bushbuddy, which I think is marketed for 1 or 2 people.

Ian

Just buy a pint or quart paint can for $1.50 and make your own hobo stove.

Fritz is not the inventor of the BushBuddy. The inventor, who owns the patents, is Professor John Hall of Portland University, which gave the right to manufacturer and sell the BB to Fritz Handel. Fritz builds around 1000 BBs a year, and the European/ Dutch Bushcooker is build with permission from Fritz to serve the European Market. They’re not of the same high quality as Fritz’s work, but are getting there.

About the new Bushcooker in a cone shape, which is heavily advertised here by the mentioned guy, so I can not comment on it, but feel the same as Dave – the dude is only here to promote that cone shaped Bushcooker.

I myself have a BushBuddy Ultra, and you can read more about it here and here. In short I can say that its the best cooker ever, and I am very satisfied with it.

Hendrik,

That's interesting information regarding the Bushbuddy. Thanks for posting that.

Are you sure Fritz didn't design it as well? Do you have links regarding John Hall? Has he designed anything else of interest?

>>In short I can say that its the best cooker ever

We should start a Bushbuddy Appreciation Society.

As someone who doesn't yet own a BB, after all the extraordinary posts you and others have written about this stove, consider me an honorary member of the its Appreciation Society.

I'm getting one ASAP. Can't wait.

Tim.

You’re welcome Dave. Here a link to a short Bio about Prof. John Hall, last paragraph is of interest. There once was another link on the Portland University’s website to his inventions, but that doesn’t work anymore. From that site came the information that the Prof. had the patents for the wood burning and gasification stove – the BB. He has six patents in that area, no idea what the other five exactly were about.

I don’t challenge Fritz’s handcraft skills whatsoever. The BB is perfectly made, and I have met many people who told me “I can make that myself” where I just silently thought “Good luck with that!”. It might be that Fritz perfected the BB, and the BB Ultra seems to come from him (and Ryan Jordan?]. Its time Fritz gets an account here, so he can answer all questions concerning the BB!

Maybe as our first action of the Bushbuddy Appreciation Society we should thus get Fritz a BPL Membership.

Tim, a good decision, and welcome to the Bushbuddy Appreciation Society!

With all the interest, heated debate and confusion in the forums on this topic, I would love to see the BPL staff do an article/review on the existing wood burning stove options. ;-)

Thanks, Hendrik.

As regards confusion, it seems there's ample evidence on this site, and others, that the Bushbuddy is streets ahead of the competition.

I ordered mine today (an early Christmas present), and according to Fritz it's shipping Friday. In for a penny, in for a pound (so to speak) I ordered a Tibetan Titanium 1100 from England.

Psyched. Going out on the Long Trail late next month. This is going to make my pals salivate with envy.

Tim.

There was a post in a previous thread which claimed that the original "Bushcooker" was on the market before the "Bushbuddy". If that truly is the case, then I would have to question people calling the refined versions (LT1, LT2, LT3) a "cheap knock-off".

Downdraft gassification has been exploited in many large stove models for a long time. I would be interested to see what part of the Bushbuddy is patented.

I am considering getting an LT1 for my solo setup. At 2.5 oz, I think it is very much worthy of my investigation. But I am waiting for some more reviews before pulling the trigger. The review linked to in this thread has raised concerns though. Clearly a 23 minute boil time on the LT2 is vastly different than the manufacturers claim. So either the stove was defective, the reviewer had no clue what he was doing or the manufacturer is stupidly thinking nobody will notice his claims are erroneous.

I just got back from a couple of nights with the Bushcooker LT 1. I've owned a Bushbuddy in the past, but I decided to sell it and buy the Bushcooker.

The Bushbuddy seems to be wood first, everything else an afterthought. While it works great, I am forced to use alcohol more and more due to fire restrictions…and I like to follow the rules, I figure for the most part they are there to protect the places i cherish most in the world. So, yes, you can make a little jig for the top of the Bushbuddy and dump an ounce in the well. But it wasn't very efficient as a primary way to use it. Also, it required at 900 pot, and I really like traveling with my 700 pot.

So the Bushcooker LT 1 fits perfectly in my 700 pot and it's lighter than the Bushbuddy. The Bushbuddy dows seem a bot more bulletptoof in terms of construction, but I think the Bushcooker is fine if you treat it with even a modicum of care.

So, on to the burns. The LT 1 burns an ounce of alcohol beautifully, brought my 2 cups of water that was out in the 20 degree temps to a boil. A few tests at home before leaving convinced me that the Bushcooker actually boiled water in alcohol mode faster than several of my stoves (Trangia, Fancy Feest and so on.) That actually surprised me. In wood mode it was fine, I had to feed it a bit more than the Bushbuddy because of the smaller burn chamber I guess.

I would prefer the bottom was fixed as someone mentioned, then I wouldn't worry about scarring, but the titanium disk is fine, though I would prefer a bit larger. If they welded the alcohol dish to the bottom plate it would still work as intended with one less piece to lose – but beyond that I wouldn't change a thing.

j

Thanks John. The bushcooker lt1 is on my Christmas list. Hopefully Santa will look favorably on me this year.

I have an Evernew small pasta pot that will fit this stove very nicely. Should make a perfect versatile solution for a solo setup.

As for that Jamrog guy, he just finished a thru hike of the pct carrying his bushcooker lt1. It sounded like he mainly used it with alcohol. You can keep up with him on his blog at
http://tjamrog.wordpress.com/or look up him up on trail journals under "Uncle Tom".

Here is Uncle Tom's long term review of the Bushcooker LT1 after using it on his PCT thru hike.

http://tjamrog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/bushcooker-lt1-long-term-use-report/

Slight drift here but it's relevant…

What about the Antig Woodlore stove?

The maker posted a sale for BPLers over thanksgiving and I am intrigued.

Specs are the same as the Bushbuddy Ultra (which he also sells) although on his website it says the BB ultra is made of stainless steel. Isn't it supposed to be titanium? But the Woodlore only costs $27 compared to $120 for the BB???

http://www.antigoutdoors.com/collections/wood-stoves/products/antig-outdoors-woodlore-stove

It seems (from first appearances) that the BushBuddy's somewhat better burning efficiency it would be better than the Caldera Cone Tri Ti.

But then ther's all that heat lost below the pot with the BushBuddy whereas the CC Tri Ti has a tight "seal" on its pot.

Also the CC Tri Ti is known to NOT require constant feeding and tending like the BushBuddy because it will accept larger fuel sticks when in use.

For these reasons and the CC Tri Ti's flat packing I'll be orderint it this coming January.