A Campfire That Makes Electricity? The BioLite CampStove 2 PLUS Is Also Great for Emergencies
The BioLite CampStove 2 PLUS is a compact stove that burns wood to make electricity — and uses that power to blow air into the fire. With the optional grill you can even cook a huge bone-in steak. You do need to keep feeding it wood, but it’s packed with the fun of cooking over fire.
The CampStove 2 PLUS with the power module attached.With the optional Portable Grill attached.You can add wood through the grill’s feed door.The module’s LEDs light up while it’s running.A huge bone-in steak on the grill.
## Small and easy to carry
The legs fold up.
The stove itself is compact, and the legs fold up. Camping gear tends to pile up fast, so anything easy to pack is a win.
Fire makes electricity, electricity feeds the fire
The back of the power module.
The cool part: it turns the heat from burning wood into electricity. There’s a built-in 3,200mAh battery that stores the power, and you can use it to charge USB devices.
Buttons on the front of the module.
It also uses that electricity to spin a fan that pushes air into the stove. In practice the fire lights easily, and once it’s going, you can adjust the flame by changing the fan speed. Super handy.
Generation tops out at 3W, and USB output tops out at 10W — those are separate numbers. It doesn’t mean you’re generating 10W the whole time it’s burning.
The optional grill handles a big bone-in steak
Cooking a bone-in steak on the optional grill.
This time I added the optional Portable Grill and cooked a bone-in steak. The grate is wide for such a small stove — plenty to cook a family meal.
The steak starting to get a nice sear.
Even a big cut got a proper sear. Adjusting the wood fire as you cook is half the fun of this stove.
The grilled steak, sliced and plated.
Slice it up and you’ve got a pretty epic plate. For a stove this small, you can make something surprisingly impressive.
You’ll need to prep wood and keep feeding it
You’ll need to cut wood to fit the small stove.
The catch: you need wood that fits the small burn chamber. Thick logs won’t really work, so it’s easier to split them thin ahead of time.
Wood inside the burn chamber, seen through the feed door.
It doesn’t hold much at once, so you’ll be adding wood pretty often while you cook. The grill does have a feed door, but plan on some refueling work.
Very little ash left over
The small amount of ash left after use.
One thing that impressed me: how little ash is left when it’s done. Refueling takes some effort, but I like how cleanly it burns.
It can run on twigs and makes electricity where there’s no outlet, which also makes it interesting as emergency gear. Since it’s an outdoor tool, it’s a good idea to get used to it on regular camping trips.
Power generation, airflow, and the joy of cooking — all in one compact stove. If you love fiddling around by a fire, the CampStove 2 PLUS is a seriously fun gadget.
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