Originally designed for use in humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts, the Anevay Frontier Stove provides a simple, rugged, and reliable wood-fueled cooking and heating solution that is safer and more energy efficient than an open fire (Anevay indicates that the Frontier Stove is 8 to 10 times more efficient than an open fire). The stove is easy to assemble, easy to ignite, and easy to operate.
Suitable for use in tents, huts, yurts, and the open air, the stove can be quickly and easily disassembled into a compact package suitable for transport by vehicle or pack animal.
The stove was available for $300 at the time of this writing from CampingKettle.com. It is manufactured in Cornwall, England.
Background
I have reviewed a number of small stoves over the years and both described and documented my hands-on tests of them in SurvivalBlog. Here are links to some of those reviews:
One limitation of all of the biomass stoves that I have reviewed in the past is that none of them were designed for effective use inside a tent or other small shelter. So when I saw that CampingKettle.com was offering a wood stove suitable for inside use, I was immediately interested. I asked them if they could provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation, and they were kind enough to agree. Four days later the box arrived from Canada via UPS.
First Impressions
The stove arrived in a 21x13x13 inch shipping box that weighed just over 33 pounds. The box was shipped from: 100 Four Valley Drive, Unit B, Concord, Ontario, L4K 4T9 in Canada.
Upon opening the box, I was surprised to find that it contained not only the stove, but also tinder, kindling, fuel, and even matches along with the directions for lighting the stove. That was a nice touch. I guess that Anevay decided that if they provided everything needed to light the stove correctly the first time, users would have an easier time lighting it correctly the second and subsequent times.
The actual stove weighs 26.5 pounds. It is 12 inches wide, 20 inches long, and extends to 95 inches above the ground with the five flue sections fully assembled.
The top of the cooking surface stands 20 inches above the ground when the legs are extended. That was a fairly comfortable height for cooking while sitting next to the stove.
The firebox is approximately 16.5 inches long, and 9.5 inches in diameter. Each flue section is approximately 16.5 inches long, including a 1.5 inch flange that fits inside the top of the previous section of flue. One of the flue sections is provided with a damper for controlling the draft. The cooking surface measures approximately 17.5 by 9.75 inches. A removable horizontal round plate is located toward the front of the cooking surface, and is approximately 6 inches in diameter.
After a quick examination of the contents, I put everything back in the box, and set it aside to take along to our annual church family camp.
Family Camp Tests
At a family camp last summer, I set up the stove near our camper. Setting up the stove was quick and easy. It basically involved pulling out three pins so the legs could unfold, replacing the pins when the legs were fully extended to hold them firmly in place, removing the flue sections from the body of the stove, and then fitting the flue sections to the exhaust vent of the stove. As I mentioned above, one of the flue sections includes a damper. The section with the damper is probably the first or second section that should be fitted to the stove. Igniting the stove was also simple and straightforward. It involves making sure the damper is fully open, arranging the fuel just inside the door of the stove, arranging tinder and kindling in front of the fuel, and igniting the tinder with the door fully open. Once the fuel is burning well, the door can be closed all but a crack. The latch is designed to hold the door in place in a slightly open position. It is recommended to operate the stove with the door in this position, which allows the proper draft with minimal risk of sparks escaping the stove body.
I used the stove throughout family camp to cook meals for my wife, “Kari”, and me and to heat water for washing our dishes. I was able to cook with much less fuel than I would have needed for cooking over an open fire. The long flue also vented exhaust gases well, allowing me to cook without any smoke in my face or exposure to excess heat. That is a real advantage for camp cooking. I believe that it was the late Patrick F. McManus who wrote that camp food is usually raw or burned, but the camp cook is usually medium rare.
The stove is designed for the fuel to be concentrated in the front of the firebox. The back of the firebox serves as a secondary combustion chamber. Since the firebox is only about 16.5 inches long, fuel for the stove should ideally be cut to about 8 inches or less in length. Once the stove is burning well, combustion is so complete that the exhaust from the flue is virtually smokeless.
The stove could be started cold and successfully bring a kettle filled with 52 ounces of cold water to a rolling boil within 30 minutes. With the plate on the top of the stove removed and the bottom of the kettle in direct contact with the flame, this time could be reduced to 20 minutes. This is comparable to the performance of a 1,000 watt electric hotplate.
There are a number of items of optional equipment available for the stove at the manufacturer’s website. This optional equipment includes things like a fire mat to place under the stove to protect a tent floor, a spark arrestor to place at the top of the flue, a carry bag, and flashing kits for use in tents, huts, sheds, or other small shelters. Various cowls, cookware, heat shields, care and maintenance items, and fuel are also available on the website. Of all of this optional equipment, the carry bag is the item that most captured my interest, followed by the flashing kits.
The stove received quite a bit of positive attention from our church family. The most common semi-positive comment that the stove received was that it is “cute”. That might not appeal to you if you are looking for a macho vibe. But if you are secure enough in your masculinity, you probably won’t care whether or not the stove is cute as long as its works well. And most of the ladies, of course, won’t let the fact that the stove is cute detract from their appreciation of its effectiveness.
Frontier Stove History
The original Frontier Stove was designed in 2007 for use in humanitarian aid. Its purpose was to allow disaster survivors to keep warm and to safely prepare food. Anevay reports that over half of the world’s population still cooks over open fires, and that deaths from respiratory diseases caused by inhaling fumes from open fires result in more deaths annually than malaria and AIDS combined. Over 15,000 of the stoves were sent out as aid between 2007 and 2017.
Already by 2009, outdoorsmen had begun to notice the effectiveness of the Frontier Stoves and to buy them second-hand wherever they could find them. Cheap knock-offs began to be produced by other companies. These copies were not always safe. Anevay decided to begin offering the stove directly to the consumer market.
The retail market demanded improved finish quality. Disaster survivors were not very concerned about a few scratches and dings as long as the stoves worked. Consumers were a little more fussy about the quality of the fit and finish.
Anevay has subsequently introduced a number of other small stove designs, with at least seven major models available at anevaystoves.com at the time of this writing. The site also has helpful information like recipes, tips for starting fires, stove selection, and installation instructions for various types of structures.
Conclusions
If you are looking for a stove that can be effectively used inside a small shelter like a tent or out in the open air, you might be interested in the Anevay Frontier Stove. It is easy to pack, easy to ignite, easy to use, and light enough to transport via vehicle or pack animal.
Disclaimer
CampingKettle.com provided me with a sample of the Anevay Frontier Stove for testing and evaluation. Camping Kettle, Emberlit, Siege Stoves, and Minuteman Provision Company had previously provided me with samples of other stoves for past articles. I tried not to allow the kindness of these vendors to interfere with my objectivity, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.
