Base stats:
– BTU:  4-9K depending on wood
– Weight:  4.5 oz
– Stove comparison chart

The Emberlit Mini is an amazing stove.

As a multi-fuel stove, this rocks, fitting alcohol stoves, sterno fuel cans, esbit style fuel gels, charcoal, and of course wood.

It is unbelievably light. and all five pieces have a little hole in one corner so you can tie them together to avoid losing pieces. I would prefer a small flat case to carry it in like the Emberlit Ti full size stove has.

For my purposes, the Emberlit mini is actually a much better fit than the full size version. I own both, but the great thing about the mini is that I can use my windscreen, which is a bunch of folding slates that when setup is about 9.5″ tall, and that would protect the Emberlit and the cup/pot that is placed upon it from heat stealing wind very well, greatly improving heat efficiency.

The opening at the top doesn’t require cross bars, which means fewer pieces to potentially lose, and a slightly wide cup will fit on there no problem. I have seen youtube videos where a slightly narrower cup was used on the Emberlit mini, where the base fell through the top opening, but the handles of the cup kept it from falling, which allow the sides of the cup to be heated well, thus improving heat efficiency in boiling water. But it seemed a slightly clutzy method, and the cup didn’t appear straight.

Yet another plus is that the fuel is kept well off the ground while burning, drawing air in from holes in the side above the “floor” of the stove. I like this better than the Vargo titanium, though, if the Vargo had a solid base and holes on the side, I suspect I’d want both, as the Vargo’s advantage is that it’s all one piece.

This unit is also good with a small frying pan, but you do have to watch it carefully, as you don’t have a lot of instant heat throttling with wood fires. Once interesting note, though, is that with a stern can, you get good simmering heat with this stove.

As a backup stove for a quick weekend trip, I would highly recommend this stove. And for an extended solo trip in the backcountry where twigs are readily available, and especially where we’re talking mostly a water boiling function for hot drinks and re-hydrating food, I would highly recommend this as a primary stove.

I would recommend other stoves for extended trips where more flexibility is required in the type of pots or pans used.