Bushbuddy vs. Tri-ti Caldera or any othe woodburning stove

Larry, the tri-ti is very new; that is why there are no reviews. There are only a few in existence world-wide. One of our members has one and maybe he will comment.
(Mine is on order! :)

“One of our members has one and maybe he will comment.”

I’m pretty sure that would be me ;). I’d been bugging TD / TiGoat about it since Rand first announced it. So, consequently ordered one the (maybe the day after) it launched.

My initial comment can be found at the post “I’ve got a Tri-Ti! La, la, la, la. I’ve got a Tri-Ti! La, la, la, la.“

I’ve yet to have a chance to burn wood in it (or anything), as it’s still the middle of the work week. I doubt I’ll get a chance to burn anything this weekend as we’re road-tripping to chicago for a friend’s weedding.

Regardless, I’ve used enough fires and homemade woodstoves in my life to say the design is solid and I’d fully recommend it to anyone. Please note, I opted for the Tri-Ti over a BBUltra even though I already owned a SP900 (the size pot the BBUltra was sized for), that’s how much I like this design.

PS – Note that the TT isn’t going to ashi-fy everything like the BB does (a function of the gassifier design), but it will likely come close. The TT is, in many ways, an upgraded / tweaked “hobo” stove (which are darn good woodburning stoves, and dead simple)

Thanks for your comments. Please let me know how it works for you. Have you personally used a BB for comparison?

Thanks – Larry

“Thanks for your comments. Please let me know how it works for you. Have you personally used a BB for comparison?”

Unfortunately, I have only been able to save up enough of my ‘discretionary allowance’ (the stuff my wife can’t give me crap for spending), to allow for the purchase of one of the two (I chose the Tri-Ti). However, I have every intention of buying a BB in the future.

Having said that though, I’ve MADE a number of inverted downdraft gassifying wood stove (the principal that the BB is made from). They work great, however, in my opinion making homemade IDD woodstoves is overkill for most people, they can be a pain to tweak the build and if it’s not built right it actually performs worse than a simple hobo stove. (my personal favorites for homemade stoves is a raised floor hobo… think Stratus TrailStove)

Now, that goes for HOMEMADE IDD stove. From what I can tell, BB has done EVERYTHING right in the design and it’s as much a work of art as it is of science. You’re not going to have to tweak / twiddle with it, it’s just going to work (presuming you know how to start a fire).

The reality is, you won’t go wrong with either. Essentially, with the Tri-Ti vs BB, you’re looking at the following prons and cons:

BB: ++Great Woodstove Burning
+Compact, Leightweight Package
-/+ Esbit use is possible but fiddly
-alcohol use non-existent

TT: +Good Woodstove Burning
++ Great Alcohol Burning
++ More Compact/ Lighweight
+ Esbit use just fine

Basically, if you want the pinnacle of backpacking woodstoves, buy the bushbuddy. If you want lots of options and lighter weight, but the Tri-Ti (which comes with a ‘free’ pot – you’d have to buy a pot for the BB if you didn’t have one already)

Just to muddy your mind a bit more, here are some other woodstove options I’ve considered:

LittlBug
Makaira Stainless Pack Stove SPS (only available direct from Makaira)
Grilliput+Compact Firebowl (or maybe just make a Hoboelite woodburner stove from a SS vegetable steamer)
45 Gram Wood Stove Stainless Steel

where does one get the mesh replacement stuff?

I don't recognize what it is a replacement for…

Having used hobo stoves of various types but NOT having used a gasifier stove I'll still take a Bush Buddy stove on the strength that it's going to be more efficient of fuel and less smokey and maybe even hotter W/ the same fuel.

Perhaps Bush Buddy needs to look at the Caledera Cone's efficiency of shape and tweak their stove a bit more. And of course they could make it from titanium or Unobtanium instead of stainless steel. Heh,heh

Eric

Alan,

If you dig around in the thread, it's a replacement globe for a standard propane lantern (coleman or others). People have reported finding them at Wal-Mart on a regular basis.