Stove in a Can Review and Giveaway!

     I've got to say, I'm pretty bummed that camping season is all but over and so is The Big One who didn't get a chance to even use her brand new fishing rod.  It will be hard to wait until next fishing season to use it.  But that doesn't mean we have to stop all camp activities.  No Siree, in fact we have every intention of having us some backyard camping with a fall picnic as soon as the ground dries up, just as if we were ACTUALLY camping. When I first thought to do this I figured that we would just bring cold sandwiches and some drinks, but that would be a pretty cold day.

     Lucky for me, I came across this awesome invention called Stove in a Can.  If you are an outdoor enthusiast, you need to know about this.  It's a Can, about the size around as a normal gallon of pain, but half as tall.  Inside the can is everything you need to make a functioning stove to cook on.  This is absolutely awesome, check this out:
     First, you take the long zig-zag looking piece (fuel ring) and bend it into a coil.  That part was super easy.  Also, don't let the picture fool you, mine really was a zig zag.

     Then you add the fuel cell by placing it on top of your coil.  I made sure it was on fire first, but it doesn't need to be.

     After that, you add the thicker ring (the cooking ring) on top that will support your cooking surface or pan.  It fit nicely right into the can's natural groove.

   Lastly, if you choose to, you can place the can's lid upside down right onto the tall ring and use it as a burner.  I chose to just place my pan on top so it would be easier to grab the lid to distinguish the flame when the time came.  If you are cooking for an hour or so, it won't really matter because the fuel cell lasts about that long and will go out on it's own.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of the contents before I lost the instruction manual.  It took us all of 10 minutes to lose it cause we are talented like that.   But let me paint you a picture of what it looked like.  First, I opened it up.  I was nervous because although I was fairly certain it popped open just like a paint can, I didn't want to harm the can if I were wrong.  I was right, it did just pop like a paint can.  I used a butter knife.  When I lifted the cover off, I immediately saw a nice and neatly folded Instruction Manual.  It was a small square, it would fit perfectly in a back pocket.

     Under that were 4 big round cells wrapped in brown waxy paper topped with a round sticker.  They are about as big as a CD, maybe slightly larger and fairly thick.  After lifting them, I immediately saw the cooking ring inside the bottom of the can.  I took that out to discover the fuel ring behind it.  Then I noticed the small box of waterproof matches hidden away down there.

     Can I just say that I stink at lighting matches?  I mean, normal matches with a normal box I am fine with.  But match books, strike anywhere matches, extra long matches or "waterproof" ones are NOT my friend.  I was skeptical when I saw these so called waterproof matches, so I thought I would give them a test.  I rubbed the match along the very wet ground and struck it.  I didn't even have to strike it twice!  That baby lit right up with no fuss.  I felt proud.

     After getting it out and set up, it was time to try it light it up.  For this part, I did have some trouble.  I'm not sure if it was because of the weather or what... after all, it was very breezy and wet out.  But I used several matches and finally used the fire that I had accidentally started by throwing a match into our fire pit (whoops!).  After placing it over the fire for a few seconds, it did catch.  I think if I had tried the technique where you light the cell wrapper on fire to light the cell or had put the cell in the can before trying to light it, it would have gone much easier.  But I wanted to be able to re-wrap the cell because I was not using it for a long time and knew there would be plenty cell leftover.  So I tried the method where you take some cell bits off the edge and crumble them in the center.  It just didn't work so well for me that way.  But I did get it started and when it did start, it was a very nice flame.  It didn't threaten to go out when crossing the grass to get back to our table, though the wind did blow.

   When I put the pan on, I worried that the tall coil would not support it well and the pan would be tippy, but not so.  The pan stayed nice and still and I was super impressed with the whole thing.  I will definitely be recommending this to my Father-in-law and my brother who are both very outdoorsy.  They will appreciate a compact, environmentally friendly stove on the go.  And with SIX fuel cell refills costing you about $23, it's not like it's going to break the bank.

     I am super excited that I got to try this out, I have been curious about it for quite a while.  Would you like to try one?  Stove in a Can was nice enough to offer one of my readers a can of their own, perfect for those pesky power outages or for some last minute camping escapades.  Just make sure you use it OUTDOORS.  Okay, ready to try to win it?  It's super simple, just use this Rafflecopter and you are in!  The contest will last two weeks, so don't delay!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.