Bushcraft Network

Emberlit

 

Few outdoor activities are as soothing and meditative as sitting around a camp fire. The light and warmth a good fire provides are somehow very familiar and bring with them a sense of calm and security. In particular, I enjoy cooking over a fire. The sizzle of a thick steak held over the soft glow of hot embers is of great comfort to me. However, sometimes the circumstances just aren’t right for an open fire.

 

A couple of years ago, I began building and experimenting with the wide variety of DIY wood burning stoves found on the internet. While many of the stoves had some great features, none of them fully satisfied my needs. So, I set out to make a stove that was simple, robust, efficient, and above all, easy to use. Many cuts, burns, and disappointing attempts later, the EmberLit was born.

 

I always look for solutions that are elegant in their simplicity. The EmberLit is just that, simple and elegant. I go camping to get away from the obnoxious complexity of modern life. It comes as no surprise that I try to avoid bringing any of it with me into the woods. For instance, some gear requires batteries, fuel, and other services that may be unavailable while out and about. Eventually, that piece of equipment is out of action until I get home and replenish whatever it needs to function.

 

The EmberLit Stove has no logistics trail since it takes advantage of twigs and scrap wood which are abundant and free, and it uses very little to get the job done. I’ve put a couple stoves in my 72-hour kits, as well as the one I carry in my pack. That way I know I can cook a hot meal on the back porch or on the side of the road for my family using fence boards and surveyor stakes if I have to.

 

Mikhail Merkurieff

Inventor of the EmberLit Stove, Mikhail is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, and student of bushcraft and primitive living skills. Among friends he is often referred to as a monkey with a screwdriver, thanks to his endless and often destructive tinkering. The first prototype of the EmberLit stove was cut from his wife’s magnetic bulletin board when she wasn’t looking. You can follow some of his outdoor adventures on his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/nwmanitou