Outdoor Wood Burners - Transforming Van Life!

We will freely admit we have never been big lovers of sitting outside our van in the evenings. We do love a campfire to keep warm but hate stinking of smoke after 1 night and then everything in van stinks of smoke afterwards too. Being full time van lifers we need to try and keep things as clean as possible as we don't have constant access to laundry facilities. 

We were intrigued when we saw camper dreamin's instagram posts about their lovely little outdoor wood burners they use from Anevay stoves. It was interesting to see 2 very different stoves you could both keep warm from and cook from which looked like they wouldn't completely smoke you out. After chatting to them and hearing glowing reviews we decided to take the plunge and try them with the view to stocking them on our online store if we liked them. 

The 2 types of stove we bought were:

Horizon Outdoor Wood Burner - Rocket Stove 

We adore this little rocket stove - it's so compact and easy to move around. You can pick it up by the outer cage even when it's lit and it's not hot so is ultra portable. Great for when you want to move spots on the beach or are trying to catch the last bit of sun in the evenings.

If storage is a concern - It would easily fit into any size campervan and you can buy a neat little storage bag for it too. 

When lit it looks super impressive with the flame coming out of the top. You can feed it from the side or the top and it's really easy to light and stay lit. I'm pretty rubbish with fires (Jac is the fire lady!) and even I manage to keep this wood burner going! 

It’s smokeless once lit (providing you use smokeless fuel) and uses gasifying technology to give a complete burn, meaning lower carbon emissions and a very efficient stove that runs on just a small amount of fuel. 

I can honestly say it's transformed our van life by keeping us outside and being more social and warm. At £79 we think this little wood burner is an absolute steal. 

The 'Original' Frontier Outdoor Wood Burner 

We say the original frontier stove as it is the first of it's kind which was originally made for overseas aid. There are a tonne of copies out there, which I will go into more detail about later, but this is the British made solid wood burner that will last a lifetime. We spoke to several people at the overland show who have had theirs for 20 years + which speaks for itself. The most impressive thing about the Frontier stove is it's eight times more efficient than an open fire! 

The thing we love most about the Frontier stove is it has a chimney which takes the smoke up and away from you so you can keep warm without being smoked out. You can still watch the fire burning by either having the front door open or the top lid off. 

The top of the stove is big enough to hold a decent size pan (our 26" pan sits on there comfortably with room to spare) You can also get water boilers which attach around the flue so you can have hot water on demand. 

The frontier stove also can be used for multiple things. It's a fantastic outdoor wood burner but it can also be used in tents and tipis with an appropriate flashing kit. This stove gets super warm and gives off a long slow burn so is economical on fuel too. 

If you are worried about it's size - don't be. It packs down into an incredibly  small carry bag  which takes up barely any room in your van. 

Just a quick note on cheap copies - You may well have seen some cheaper copies of this stove which on the face of it look exactly the same....needless to say they are not! We have spoken to people who have bought the cheap copies and they have crumpled with a bit of pressure. The steel is thinner, the fixings and fittings are poor quality and they allow water ingress into the flue section which can potentially cause harmful smoke to breathe as it evaporates. 

Ultimately - as with most things....you get what you pay for! 

Outdoor Wood Burners for Cooking & Warmth

It's safe to say we loved both of them from the word go and we now happily sit out in the evenings keeping warm and enjoy the views whilst we cook. 

We tend to use the Horizon stove if we are travelling a bit further from the van as it's so lightweight and easy to move around and the Frontier if we are sitting outside the van for the night and want to keep warm all night. 

They both will take a decent size pan and a kettle so you can cook on both of them easily. 

Outdoor Wood Burners for Festivals

Both stoves are great for social situations and we have had a lovely time using them at a few festivals we have been to chatting to new friends. They become a lovely focal point (who doesn't love a campfire!) and enable you to cook stuff on demand for everyone. 

Wood Burners for Campsites 

Ever had problems with campsites not allowing fires? The Horizon and Frontier stove can both be classed as outdoor cookers so you can still use them. Neither of them scorch the grass (We tend to put the Horizon on 2 chunks of wood to raise it up off the ground just in case campsite owners question it) and they both can be smokeless providing you use smokeless fuel. 

As you can see - these stoves really have transformed our van life and made us enjoy sitting outside in the evenings which really helps us to relax. We couldn't imagine life without them now which is why we decided to start stocking them alongside our Omnia Ovens which we love too. 

If you have any questions about either of the stoves then we would love to hear from you - please send us a message here.