Solo Range Lite Evaluate: The Smokeless Hearth Pit Goes Light-weight for the Backcountry

After a protracted day on the path backpacking, you need a scorching meal shortly. However there’s additionally one thing magical about an actual fireplace within the woods — versus the hissing of isobutane burners.

There are a selection of light-weight range choices in the marketplace as of late that attempt to make cooking a breeze. The Solo Range Lite is a simple approach to nonetheless have a hearth, with out the trouble and smoke of a conventional fireplace. The Solo Range makes use of its signature 360-degree Airflow Design that burns gasoline extra effectively, creating a warmer, much less smoky fireplace.

Solo Range is probably going greatest identified for its massive smokeless fireplace pits. The big metal fireplace pits are ubiquitous on social media and glamping websites throughout the nation. Nonetheless, Solo Range additionally has a pint-sized model, particularly geared toward backpackers trying to go light-weight.

The idea is just like the larger model. It’s a small metal range that generates warmth utilizing small twigs, sticks, and kindling as gasoline. The Solo Range Lite Gear Equipment ($155) features a nesting pot, an alcohol burner, firestarter, tinder on a rope, and windscreen — and the Lite range itself.

Intrigued by the setup and promise of a low-smoke easy-to-use range, I opted to shelve my gasoline gasoline range to provide the Solo Range a shot on a latest tenting journey in Montana, after which British Columbia.

In brief: Given the appropriate situations and set of circumstances, the Solo Range Lite is a unbelievable choice to cook dinner meals and boil water within the backcountry. And nothing fairly beats the environment of cooking over an open fireplace. It’s no surprise the Solo Range Lite is GearJunkie’s favourite wood-burning possibility for Greatest Backpacking Stoves. 

Solo Range Lite Evaluate

Assembling the Kitchen

The Solo Range Lite gear equipment comes with six separate objects to hold to create your backcountry camp kitchen, together with the range, pot, alcohol burner, fireplace striker, windscreen, and tinder-on-a-rope.

The guts of it’s the ultralight chrome steel camp range, which weighs in at 9 ounces and stands 5.7 inches tall. If this was all you carried, it might be thought-about ultralight. Nonetheless, as soon as I included the opposite supplies, it clocks in at greater than a pound. Nonetheless, fairly light-weight all in all for a wood-burning range.

You too can deliver as many or as few of the equipment as you want. The range by itself will work nice to provide a small campfire to cook dinner over.

Establishing the range is fairly simple and straightforward. Merely take away the stand that nests on the range and add tinder or sticks to the range. Solo Range recommends utilizing hardwoods akin to birch or maple if potential, which burn extra effectively and assist with the smokeless fireplace. I used some sticks that did produce somewhat little bit of smoke, however not so much.

I shaved a little bit of tinder into the fireplace and used the Ferro rod to spark the wooden. Whereas maybe not as fast as clicking a starter on a Jetboil, in a short while I had a pleasant little fireplace going. The stand sits within the range, after which the pot sits simply on prime and holds as much as 30 ounces of water.

Your complete setup is steady and appears actually modern with all of the metal. The pot with a foldable deal with and lid jogs my memory of a giant Snow Peak mug. And the varied cooking choices with an precise fireplace are good to have. There’s something about gathering downed wooden to make an actual fireplace that I take pleasure in, as I’m certain many different backpackers, significantly purists, do too.

The wooden fireplace is the differentiator right here with the Solo Range, and likewise might be its downfall. With the variety of wildfires within the West, fireplace restrictions might restrict the usage of this sort of range. Earlier than setting out, test with native companies to make sure that an open fireplace is allowed.

Cooking within the Montana Backcountry

Fortuitously for me, the realm I used to be in allowed fires, so I used to be capable of check out the Solo Range with the river as my backdrop.

First I made a decision simply to attempt boiling some water contemplating that’s typically the extent of cooking within the backcountry. The range completed this with little effort. Inside a couple of minutes, the water within the metal pot was roiling and prepared for espresso, tea, or a backpacker freeze-dried meal.

One notice: The pot does get highly regarded, so it’s good to have a glove or bandana available to make use of if you seize the handles.

If all you might be doing is boiling water, this setup may very well be thought-about overkill. A number of the different programs akin to Jetboils or MSR’s WhisperLites are as gentle, if not lighter, and might boil water sooner.

Nonetheless, should you plan to do any cooking the Solo Range is a good choice to have. I combined up some recent soup within the pot and it labored nice. Solo Range sells varied equipment that make cooking in a pan or skillet simpler, too. It’s additionally pleasurable to have somewhat campfire going as soon as you might be executed cooking to eat by or take pleasure in a drink subsequent to.

Cleanup with the system is fairly simple as effectively. Merely clear the pot, extinguish the fireplace, empty the ash, reassemble the range within the pot, and you might be good to go.

I had fairly good climate and dry gasoline to make use of when testing out the range. Nonetheless, if you end up in moist or windy situations, it may be somewhat more difficult to get the range began. That’s the place the windscreen or alcohol burner can come in useful.

The light-weight eight-paneled windscreen folds out and might encompass the range to assist block the breeze. And the alcohol burner is a pleasant backup gasoline possibility. It holds denatured alcohol and incorporates a flame regulator as a failsafe firestarter as wanted.

Solo Range Lite: Well worth the Effort?

I view the Solo Range Lite as just like cooking over an open fireplace versus a propane grill when automotive tenting. There are pluses and minuses to each.

Should you take pleasure in cooking over an open fireplace, then the Solo Range is a good possibility for backpackers. It’s light-weight, easy, sustainable, and comparatively simple total. Plus, you get the pleasure of the snap, crackle, and pop related to a wood-burning fireplace.

In comparison with a light-weight isobutane range setup, it does require somewhat bit extra work upfront to assemble wooden and begin a hearth, and it could take somewhat longer to cook dinner with this setup.

Nonetheless, there’s no want to hold gasoline with this range that’s excellent for a few folks and nests completely into the pot. In case you are flying someplace for a backpacking journey, comfort is good should you carry Solo’s Lite Equipment — don’t fear about discovering gasoline if you arrive.

When cooking, I had to ensure to repeatedly feed the fireplace, even eradicating the pot at occasions so as to add gasoline, as a result of the system does burn via sticks and twigs quite shortly. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it system. It requires you to have a tendency the fireplace to make sure that it continues burning.

Remaining Notes

Solo Range’s gear equipment is just not a must have, however it’s a good addition to get. I don’t know if I’m offered on buying and selling out my isobutane range for this setup but, however I’m undoubtedly a fan and plan to make use of this on backpacking journeys this fall.

When you have the flexibility and need to cook dinner over an open fireplace, the Solo Range Lite is a stellar possibility.

Test Range Lite Value at AmazonTest Equipment Value at Solo Range