2021-035 | SWISS ARMY WOOD STOVE

THIS WAS ONE OF MY BEST cooking equipment. It is made in Switzerland and, in fact, I owned two. I came to possess these because I have a Swiss friend as a benefactor. My friend ordered twenty of these surplus military equipment from Switzerland but I have to do field tests first before he would dispose these by selling it here in the Philippines. 

First of all, the camp stove is designed as an equipment for the individual soldier serving in the Swiss military. It is genuine and is in mint condition. This is known commercially online as the “Swiss Army Volcano Ranger Stove” or the “Swiss Army Volcano Stove” but I just call this simply as the Swiss Army Wood Stove as the term volcano seemed to be overly-exaggerated.

This stove comes as a set: burner, cup and bottle. It is made of ordinary aluminum and weighs a total of around 370 grams. Very light despite the three components. The bottle or the flask has a cork cap and can be filled with liquid of up to about 945 milliliters. The cup, has a capacity of 590 milliliters, and can be held by a pair of wire handles which can be folded. 

The burner is constructed of a ribbed can with a main rectangular hole for feeding fuel and several smaller round holes found near the rim and the bottom of the can which are designed to let oxygen flow in the fire chamber. It has a wire bail which is designed to hold the cup when it is used. When not in use, the bottle is placed inside the can while the cup acts as the lid and is secured by the bail.

When assembled, the Swiss Army Wood Stove stands around 27 centimeters (10.5 inches) tall and has a diameter of 8 centimeters (3.15 inches). The cup does not separate from the burner when stowed inside the bag, especially during a very fast pace marked by bounding over rocks and leaping over streams. It is not obtrusive inside the bag since it is round in construction. 

Since this is an individual equipment, I used it to boil water for coffee in its complimentary cup and, if need be, in the bottle. The cup’s rim is wider than the burner rim and it stays suspended above the fire chamber. As I had observed always, water boils quickly inside of five minutes. It is perfect for quick warm beverages like coffee and chocolate and a quick meal like noodles.

As for the bottle, you fold the burner bail back where its tip fits into a small hole and then you slid in the bottle. That part of the bail that slips into the hole catches the bottle and let it stay suspended above the fire. The problem is you can never remove an extremely warm bottle from the burner with your bare hand unlike the cup where there is a pair of folding wire handles.  

It looks clumsy when you balance a cooking pot over it. The 3-inch diameter of the burner is only good for flat surfaces like concrete or table tops but in the field it is tricky. If only it was shorter but it is about 8.5 inches tall. Because of this there is a tendency that you might ruin your cooking. So be careful not to accidentally bump it when cooking something over uneven ground.

I have tried different fuels when I used this. Most of the time, I used either twigs, bamboo shavings, wood chips or dry coconut leaves when I am at camp. I tried crushed charcoal twice and it worked perfectly. Some other times, I experiment with paper and cardboard which gets digested quickly by the hungry burner. But the most perfect is when I paired it with a Trangia alcohol burner placed at the bottom.  

What I liked about the Swiss Army Wood Stove is it extinguishes all the organic fuel I used to ashes. I just wait for it to cool down then I tilt the open end towards the ground and out went the clean ashes, leaving the insides of the burner very clean. If I am in a hurry, I hold the bail while still warm and out goes hot ashes. This is really a very efficient burner notwithstanding the bad feedback from people.

I have encountered two of these burners damaged to overheating. The aluminum body wilted before extremely high temperatures and melted. These were designed to function in frigid environments and the tropical heat is unkind on the Swiss Army Wood Stove. But mine did not despite the many times I tested these. I just control the flame and feed it from time to time with pencil-sized sticks and lesser sizes. 

Most people used bigger fuel, finger-sized, so they could leave it continuously burning and proceed with the other tasks. Once these wood became embers, the chamber is already very hot and could cook your food already. But unfamiliarity of how it functions and failing to understand thermodynamics caused it to melt when you give these embers life by blowing through the big hole.

One of the improvisation that I and my friend did was complement it with a pot holder. When you placed a pot over the burner rim, heat is trapped and goes out of the small holes located an inch below the rim where it is pushed back when breeze comes in. To remedy that, the pot holder allows warm air to escape through wider openings and remove the pressure inside the chamber and prevent meltdowns. 

I tested the Swiss Army Wood Stove during weekend dirt-times with my outdoor guild here in Cebu, Pilippines, which is kind of very regular. I carried this when I have training engagements teaching wilderness survival in different places in the Philippines like Baguio, Iloilo, Bukidnon and Rizal. I gave away both my Swiss Army Wood Stove, along with the detachable pot holders, as my appreciation for my hosts.

The Swiss Army Wood Stove is a very efficient and very lightweight equipment for the outdoors. While it may be designed for an individual, you may use this as a camp stove that would cater to a group of 3-4 persons provided you have a pot holder. As I had explained above, the pot holder prevents meltdown of the burner as this facilitates the efficient release of heat from the chamber. 

When I had the Swiss Army Wood Stove with me, I removed the bottle and replaced it with a bundle of sticks wrapped in plastic. The bottle was unnecessary in that I have already carried a Nalgene and a Camelbak and a couple of dry bags which I could use as emergency water containers. The bundle of sticks is necessary should the world suddenly turn wet and I am in need of coffee.

Unfortunately, this is not available in the Philippines. Should the Swiss Army Wood Stove be available online, be prepared to acquire this immediately. This is most perfect as a survival equipment in your vehicle, in your bug-out bag, even in your own home as a backup wood stove. But never forget to complement it with a pot holder of any design.