Gear Review: Boilerwerks Backcountry Boiler

By Jake Willits

Image property of theboilerwerks.com, used by permission.

The story:
     This is a very interesting product that was developed as a MYOG project. The creator, Devin Montgomery hatched the idea to build the “world’s first practical ultralight chimney kettle.” So, after multiple prototypes and a lot of testing(and tons of input from the UL community on BPL), he came up with several versions of a workable kettle. To read the entire history of the boiler, check his blog(theboilerwerks.com) or Hendrik’s blog.
     Now, you may be wondering what I mean by “kettle” and “boiler”. What I mean is that this is a device meant to boil water. Simply put, it is an all inclusive wood burning water kettle. It works by using a detachable aluminum firecup on the bottom, then positioning the canister on top of that. The center of the canister is a cylindrically shaped tube that functions as a chimney.  The water then goes in through a hole in the top effectively surrounding the chimney. The beauty is in the design. It actually seems to pull the superheated air through the middle of the kettle. The boiler is completed with a silicone stopper to hold water in. The outside has a neoprene sleeve for handling and it all goes into a lightweight silnylon stuff sack.

Image property of theboilerwerks.com, used by permission.

     The first batch of the boilers was 200-250(numbered) units. They were all manufactured in/around, Pittsburgh, PA. Devin was involved in the entire process. He uploaded videos of the production and diagrams to his growing following. I pre-ordered mine through Backpackinglight.com for about $109. It was a several month wait, but the constant progress reports made it livable.


The stove:
     As expected, my boiler arrived on my front porch while I was on my 8-day AT trip in late March. Even though I had just been in a car for 11 hours, I still opened it before even using the restroom. I was overjoyed to have it in hand. As I took it out I noticed exemplary workmanship. It was shipped within it’s stuff sack, so the first thing I noticed as I unpacked it was the etched Boilerwerks logo, and the number #152! I felt like I was a member to an exclusive club. There was a hole for the water and a stout little chimney sticking out as well. The base/fire cup was well formed, with no sharp edges. It even had a perfectly tight fit.
     The only thing I was missing was the silicone stopper. I emailed BPL and was told that I needed to contact the manufacturer. I did so and received a response the next day. He sent me not one, but two stoppers. I was very impressed with the customer service. And this from a cottage manufacturer!
     According to his blog, the weights were consistently within about a half an oz. By those standards, I received one of the heavier ones. Mine weighs 10.1 oz with all parts, including stuff sack. But you will need to understand, there is no fuel canister to carry with it. So, it is still under half the weight of a Jetboil w/fuel, as well as any kind of isobutane stove w/fuel.


The burn:
     I got my first use of the stove on an overnighter with my son and 2 nephews. The boys used my jetboil, and I used my Backcountry Boiler. I used a petroleum jelly coated cottonball for a firestarter and mostly pine sticks for fuel. I boiled 14 oz. of water(it holds somewhere between 16-18 oz.) in about 4.5 minutes. It was just sick! Flames shooting out of the top of the boiler! My nephews were in awe of it. So was I.

     The next morning, I boiled water for oatmeal and coffee, with similar success. I need to mention that my fuel was very dry, and my burn area had a stout prevailing wind. But it still shocked me how easy it was to use.
     The next trip out was on the Ozark Highlands Trail with my brother. We stopped to boil water for our lunch near Richland Creek. It had been raining for about 5 consecutive days. There was no dry wood to be found anywhere. I had a lot of difficulty getting it going. With wet wood, there is a lot more care required to get it boiling. I eventually had to split some small sticks lengthwise and shave off the wetter areas to have dry fuel. I played with it for several more burns as we drank coffee all evening.

The pros and cons:
     Pros: Light and all inclusive if you are just boiling water for pouch meals. Fast burning, with free fuel anywhere in the world that I am likely to go hiking. You get to help support the small American businessman. You get to reward creativity. And you get the coolest new toy on the block, with a collectible # on it as well.
     Cons: It only boils water. It will be slow and require additional skill development when your fuel is wet. For an overnighter, it still weighs more than an alcohol stove. It will need more cleaning as soot and sap build up in the chimney and firecup. It will make your pack smell a bit like a campfire. Also, it may require a legitimate knife for handling the wood. I know some of you prefer to just carry a razor blade, but you may need to peel back some outer layers from downed wood to get dry fuel sometime.


The verdict:
     I absolutely love this piece of equipment. It is a joy to use, and even more to show off! It will not replace my Jetboil or alcohol stoves, but will have it’s place among my favorite pieces of gear to use on selected hikes. I don’t use my down booties in summer, but they are still fab. This one will not get used for certain menus, or when I am going SUL, but it is still FAB!


How to get one:
     Currently, there are none available for retail sale. However, Boilerwerks has listed the Backcountry Boiler on Kickstarter.com. Here’s how it works; you go to that site, pledge a certain amount of money for the project, and when they get enough money, you get your product. This may be a new way to buy, but community funded projects are the wave of the future. As I understand it, they are selling fast! *UPDATE* The project has reached his minimum goal, but there is still some available.


Customize:
     I chatted with Devin one day about a way to place a pot stand on top of it. He was noncommital, but didn’t trounce the idea. I also started a thread on BPL. Some of the guys had some ideas on how to do it. Here is a picture of one idea.

Image property of Douglas Ide, used by permission

     This would allow for heating water for a hot drink while you were boiling your meal water. Or you could even simmer something up there. The flame might not be very adjustable, but it would work.