Titan Woodburning Stove by Solo Stove
The wood-fired Titan stove cooks hot backcountry meals for two to four people using thumb-sized wood collected at campsites.
Titan Stove Specs
MSRP:
- Just the Stove and Stuff Sack: $89.99 (on sale for $79.99)
- Stove, Cook Pot, Windscreen, and Tripod Kit: $194.99 (on sale for $179.99)
Weight: 16.5 ounces for the stove alone
Measurements: 5.1-inch diameter, 7.9 inches tall
Materials: Stainless steel
About the Titan Wood Stove
I tested the Titan Gear Kit, which includes the stove, cook pot, windscreen, and pot-hanging tripod. The windscreen and tripod are nice accessories, but not essential for cooking. Lighting the stove is easy using thumb-sized dry wood. I put finger-thick wood at the bottom of the fuel box, fire starter on top of that, and twigs on top. The fire starts quickly using dry wood and burns down to the thicker wood at the bottom, where it creates a bed of coals. I feed the stove as the flames lessen and have an 8-cup pot of water boiling in 9 minutes. I continue adding small amounts of fuel if I am simmering food that needs time to cook.
Titan Solo Stove Features
How It Works: The Titan and other Solo stoves are known as gasifier stoves because they have secondary combustion. The stoves’ base is a double-wall stainless steel cylinder with air holes around the botom and smaller holes at the top. Air sucked in through the bottom holes fuels the fire while heated air rising between the double walls causes a secondary combustion so the fire burns without smoke. Once a hot fire is going I see little smoke, but if the fire is struggling to burn wet wood there is a lot of smoke.
Two-Part Design: Build a fire in the base, then place the cooking ring on the lip of the base. The cook pot sits on top of the ring’s legs, and a gap in the legs allows wood to be fed into the fire. When I’m ready to pack up the ring flips over to fit into the stove base and they both fit into the pot.
Best Pot Size: The 1800 (1800ml/60 ounces) pot is plenty big enough to cook meals for two to four people. The pot can be purchased alone without having to buy the gear kit.
Storing the Titan: The stove and inverted cooking ring fit inside the 1800 pot, and together they fit inside the stuff sack that comes with the stove.
Best Use: Gathering wood and lighting the stove fire is easy in dry weather, a challenge when the woods are wet. This is definitely a stove for thick woods, not meadows or high elevations with scrub trees.
Stock Up on Wood: I collect enough dry wood to cook a meal before lighting the stove. That way I’m not searching for more wood while my meal cooks. And it’s a good idea to collect enough wood at night and store it in a dry spot so it’s ready for breakfast. Two to three handfuls of wood is enough for cooking.
Rainy Days: I spent about 30 minutes getting a fire going after a day of rain. Once I had a bed of coals built up the fire was easy to maintain.
Practice, Practice, Practice: It’s a good idea to light the stove before taking it into the backcountry. I lit the stove on a dry day and after a day of rain to hone my fire-lighting skills.
Fire Starters: A commercial or homemade fire starter makes lighting the wood much easier.
Cold Weather: I had a liter of water boiling in 9 minutes when the temperature was 34F.
Other Fuel: An alcohol burner is available for the Titan and Lite stoves.
Cleaning the Pot: I put the pot inside the stuff sack so soot doesn’t get on gear in my pack, and clean the pot when I get home.
Flexibility: The Solo stoves can be purchased as a kit with accessories included, or the stove alone with a pot, tripod, or windscreen added. Solo also sells fire starters, roasting sticks, a pellet adapter, and replacement parts.
Other Solo Stoves: The Lite weighs 9 ounces, fits in the 900 pot in the Lite Gear Kit ($154.99 MSRP), and is probably the best choice for backpacking. The Lite Gear Kit comes with a windscreen, an alcohol burner for an alternative fuel source, and a fire striker. The Campfire is more of a car camping stove, and weighs 2.2 pounds. The Campfire Gear Kit comes with 1.5 and 3 liter pots, and a tripod ($204.99 MSRP). Pots can be bought separately if you’re buying only the stove.
Windscreen: Because air drawn in through holes in the bottom of the stove feeds the flames, I wait until I’ve built a hot bed of coals before using the windscreen. The windscreen holds in the stove’s heat so if my bed of coals is large enough food in the pot continues cooking without having to add wood.
Environmental Considerations: Using a woodburning stove means no metal fuel tank that may or may not get recycled when it’s empty. Woodburning stoves are banned in some areas because of fire concerns, and campsites already stripped of wood can be harmed even more by collecting wood for the Titan.
Titan Pros
Easy to Use: Lighting the Titan and keeping the fire going require minimal attention as long as you have enough dry wood gathered.
Free Fuel: I live in the heavily forested Northeast and finding wood near my campsite is not a problem.
No Fuel Anxiety: I don’t worry whether my stove canister has enough fuel to cook supper, nor do I have to carry two partially filled canisters to ensure I have enough fuel.
Titan Cons
Weather Dependent: Finding dry wood in rain-drenched woods and starting the fire is difficult.
Limited to Forest Campsites: The Titan isn’t good at campsites with no trees or scrub trees. And some heavily used forest campsites may be stripped nearly bare of dead wood, making it difficult to find fuel for the Titan.
Overall Value
The Titan’s $89.99 price is on the high side when compared with other stoves, but it accommodates a pot that can cook meals for up to four people. The smaller Lite stove is a better choice for a backpacking trip with one or two people, and costs $69.99. Unlike folding stoves, the double-wall design in Solo Stoves is fuel efficient and good at keeping the fire and heat inside the stove, not spilling over onto the ground. And if the weather is wet the alcohol burner is a good option to ensure you’ll be able to cook a meal.
Other Woodburning Stoves
MSRP: $59.99
Material: Titanium
MSRP: $59.99
Material: Available in titanium and steel
MSRP: $44.99
Material: Stainless steel
This product was donated for purpose of review.