>>342717Chime in here on the biolite. I have one, I also have the grill thing they made for it.
Originally the biolite would not charge your gadgets at all, the reason they made the thing was to reduce the smoke from fire. Thats one thing I love about cooking on the biolite, there is hardly any smoke. "But anon!" you say, "wook smoke is the essence of the outdoors!" Ya it is, but when Im trying to cook my meal and have to stand near a fire I don't necessarily want to smell like a smoked weiner. I don't always want to wait for the fire to burn down to coals before cooking on it.
I think most people who don't like this thing don't have the patience to learn how to use it. I take it out to cook in my back porch sometimes just to get better at judging when to add more wood. I love fucking around with the fire, and this thing lets me fuck around with fire before during and after my meal. It gives me something to do. Everyone complains it doesn't have a simmer, but ever since they came out with the biolite grill I just slap my pot on that when I want a simmer. The grill deflects a lot of the heat. You can adjust how much gets to the grill by adjusting the metal cover on the grill attachment. I loved the stove before but the grill took it to that next level for me. My only qualm with the grill is they should have added something so you can prop the lid open easier, I have my own bit of wire that I use so it isn't a problem, but it would have been cool if they did this. The cleanup for the grill is really easy to, I just burn the grease off it by closing the lid on the grill and throwing extra wood in the stove.
I could honestly car less about charging a phone on this thing. It is a nice bonus, but in all honesty if it didn't have the phone charger I wouldn't be disappointed in the least.
