A little while back I met the fellows from 180 Tack, who are the inventors of the 180-VL camp stove. These two friends created 180 Tack because of their love of the outdoors and the need they saw for emergency preparedness. I was fortunate enough to be gifted one of their stoves. Being an avid backpacker I‘m accustom to the standard stoves and carrying my fuel into the backcountry. This stove is different: your fuel is in the woods!
Admittedly, it took me a little while to finally break out this stove as it was something different to learn to use. On a recent camping trip I thought I was out of luck when I discovered the fuel canister was empty on night one. 180-VL to the rescue! The stove had been stored in my camping box and was now eager to makes its debut.
The stove comes in a heavy-duty plastic bag that keeps it in the stowed position (* it can also double as a small water carrier in emergencies!). Weighing only 5.9g, it is made of 304-grade stainless steel so it is light and durable. Folded, the stove measures 7” L x 3 ¼” W x ½” H, making the stove storable and portable. The 180-VL comes out of the bag in four parts that assemble into a V-shape – 7 ¼” L x 5 7/8” W x 3 ¼” H.
Putting the stove together is a snap- literally. The two base pieces interlock to form the V, and the small & large slats that make up the cooking surface drop into place with a snug fit onto the top of the base.
Almost as easy as assembling the stove, is getting it lit. The fuel for the 180-VL is small twigs, grass, pine cones, and dry leaves. All these are easily found both front and backcountry. To get the fire started, I built a bed of pine needles and built a twig teepee. Next, I lit the lighter and let the pine needles catch. The process of getting the fire going to the point where it was ready for cooking took about three minutes between the lighting, feeding the heat with small puffs of air, and adding more organic fuel as needed.
Finally time to put it to the test, I put on a 32oz pot of water. It took five minutes to boil. Not too shabby for forest fuel. The flames continued to burn so it was time for pan number two. Once again, our dinner was thoroughly heated in less than five minutes. Every few minutes I made sure to add a twigs, pine cone, or few pine needles to keep the fire stoked.
On a small note, 180 Tack offers snow & ash pans as an additional item to extend the burn time, and enhance the usability and versatility of the stove.
With dinner and hot drinks prepared very timely over this USA-made stove, dessert was a suitable next test. Since the contained flames are fueled from organic matter it seemed very acceptable to roast marshmallows for s‘mores. Allowing the flames to die a little by not adding any more fuel and letting the embers glow made for the perfect roasting of two marshmallows before the heat was too far gone.
After the flames were out and heat seemed to have dissipated, I moved the stove to get a feel for how quickly the metal would cool. Less than five minutes later it was almost completely cold and ready to put back in the bag.
While packing up the stove and cookware I noticed the pots and the four pieces that make up the stove had a layer of soot from the fire. The layer is easy to wipe away with a rag, but I would be careful if backpacking as to what your pot set goes near in your pack if you don‘t have a pot bag. This is the only thing that would take getting used to.
What could have been a disastrous camping trip was saved and fortified by the 180-VL Stove. This incredible little stove proved it’s worth far more than the MSRP $34.95.
I personally appreciate and highly recommend the 180-VL because it is an easy way to reduce waste and weight while enjoying the great outdoors.
– Carley
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the 180-VL for free from 180 Tack, in consideration for review publication