The National Forest here in southern Arizona lifted the fire bans in the last few weeks. We have been finally getting some serious rains that have greened up the desert. Previously only petroleum stoves with on/off valves were permitted but now campfires and wood stoves are legal again in hundreds of square miles of the nearby wilderness.

I’ve used a titanium Emberlit stove for years and the fuel needs are scant and pretty much negligible. For cooking and longer simmers it takes a handful of pencil sized sticks and two or three thumb sized sticks of about 15” long, far less fuel than even a small campfire. It is very efficient burning everything down to fine white ash. We have a Caldera Cone ti-tri as well for wood, alcohol and esbit but I prefer the Emberlit or Trangia most of the time.

We have even more experience with alcohol stoves and simmering techniques with them, other advanced cooking techniques too. But we usually take a remote canister stove for its ultra convenience. Our setup there is super efficient and no soot.