Table of Contents
About BioLite
BioLite is an innovative thermal energy tech company primarily based in the US, with a presence in Kenya and Uganda. This brand’s signature products are their portable camp stoves and grills, but they also sell fire pits, biofuel pellets, lighting, kettles, and even portable solar panels. BioLite’s products create and are powered by sustainable, renewable energy sources.
In this BioLite review I will introduce you to this unique company, which has set itself apart by providing consumers with a greener option for portable cooking, heat, light, and power that doesn’t require conventional electricity.
Frustrated by how mainstream portable cookers had to be powered by fossil fuels or wasteful batteries, Alexander (Alec) Drummond and Jonathan Cedar combined their engineering and design backgrounds to invent their own original stove – the BioLite CampStove.
This portable outdoor stove efficiently burns natural materials, reduces smoke and carbon emissions, and charges its own battery, which can be used to run lights and power small devices via a USB charger.
They then transformed this design into the BioLite HomeStove, a safer, greener alternative to traditional cooking fires, which can be both dangerous and inconvenient. The HomeStove is intended for areas around the world where energy is limited or inaccessible, and the brand supports the costs by reinvesting profits from their North American and European sales.
With 122k followers on Instagram and over 91k followers on Facebook, this company is continuing to grow in popularity and sales.
So, my BioLite review will cover all of this inventive brand’s best-selling products, buying information, and customer feedback, so you can make an informed decision about your BioLite purchase.
Let’s start by taking a closer look at their origins.
Overview of BioLite
BioLite’s roots date back to 2006, when co-workers Drummond and Cedar, both avid nature enthusiasts with an interest in sustainable tech, wanted to invent a camp stove that was both eco-friendly and socially responsible.
After many prototypes, they finally succeeded with the BioLite CampStove, which used combustion technology and eco-friendly materials to create a fuel-efficient, smokeless fire for outdoor cooking.
Since then, BioLite has gone on to help tackle two crises at once: the energy poverty crisis and climate change.
Their BioLite portable CampStove generates heat much more efficiently than a conventional cooker. It also produces far fewer smoke emissions, making it healthier for both the user and the planet. They also used the fire cooker to power a removable USB battery pack, which could then help generate light and charge small devices.
In 2008, the inventors attended a combustion tech conference and realized that their tech could play a role in tackling the world’s energy crisis. As they explain on their website, billions of people around the world still use unsafe cooking methods, largely because of a lack of accessible energy and alternative heating sources.
These fires have a direct impact on personal health and safety. They generate a tremendous amount of indoor pollution, can easily get out of control, and getting enough material to fuel them can be physically demanding and time consuming. They also harm the climate, due to their harmful CO2 emissions and the amount of wood required to keep them up.
That’s where BioLite’s new tech came in.
They used their camping tech to create the HomeStove, an indoor cooking fire device which is safer, cleaner, takes significantly less biofuel to run than a traditional fire, and can create its own energy to power other devices.
Then, they used profits from their camping tech to fund the HomeStove in order to make them accessible and affordable to the households that need them – a business model they still follow.
BioLite continued to develop sustainable, off-grid power sources for all markets, including lamps and battery packs powered by their cooking tech, as well as portable, personal solar panels intended to charge small devices like cell phones. They also reinvented their CampStove and developed the BioLite FirePit, so their cooking devices double as heaters.
They also started adapting the HomeStove to different regions and needs, making them respectful of and functional for varying cultural cooking practices. In 2016, BioLite opened offices in Kenya and Uganda to help make their products available to people in Africa, and are expanding their business into India.
For nearly 20 years, BioLite have helped customers successfully save on eco-friendly fuel, offset CO2 emissions, and keep their homes healthy and safe with sustainable cooking and lighting technology. Join me as I begin my BioLite review by looking at the highlights of buying from this brand!
Highlights
- Technologically progressive, electricity-free products for outdoor recreation
- Purchases help fund their mission to provide safe, clean-energy stoves, lighting, and small device power sources to people in need
- Company prioritizes sustainability and is considered carbon neutral, as their products prevent emissions
- Offers wide range of heating and lighting products from fire pits, to headlamps, to camping kettles
BioLite FirePit Review
Looking for an alternative to the usual smoky campfire? Check out BioLite’s best-selling FirePit products!
BioLite FirePit Plus Review
The BioLite FirePit Plus(+) allows you to enjoy the warmth and feeling of a real campfire without putting up with so much smoke!
This new product uses BioLite’s modern tech to make efficient flames that you can monitor and adjust manually or through Bluetooth and the BioLite Energy App.
So, how does it work?
- Put in your natural biofuel of choice (wood, charcoal) and light it up
- The BioLite FirePit+’s battery-powered fan will help generate flames
- Interior air jets deliver oxygen to improve combustion and create strong, even fire
- The battery will run for 30 hours (if set to low), 14 hours (medium), or 7 hours (high)
- The battery can be recharged via USB from any power source (BioLite recommends their solar panels or battery packs).
Unlike some of BioLite’s other products, it does not generate electricity and you can’t use it to charge devices or run lights.
This modern fire pit has a long, rectangular look with wire mesh sides so you can really feel the heat.
It weighs only 20 lbs and has foldable legs, making it easy to move around.
You can also adapt the FirePit+ to cook campfire meals by burning charcoal and attaching the included grill grate.
The BioLite FirePit+ comes with the fire pit itself, the grill grate, a fuel rack (for switching from wood to charcoal), a USB A output, a MicroUSB input, and a charging cable so you’re good to go, right out of the box. It retails for $300.
BioLite FirePit Grill Lid Review
If you love the idea of using your FirePit+ for outdoor cooking, you might want to invest in The BioLite FirePit Grill Lid.
This product was made as an optional add-on to the BioLite FirePit+, so you can cook a greater range of meals more evenly and efficiently.
The FirePit Grill Lid weighs about 5 lbs and has two foldable handles on top for easy maneuvering. It’s made of coated enamel and has adjustable air vents so you can control the temperature inside your grill.
This lid is designed to fit perfectly on top of the BioLite FirePit+ and is easily cleaned with soap and water. BioLite recommends carrying the lid separately, as it does not fit in their FirePit carrying case (sold separately).
Purchase the BioLite FirePit Grill Lid for $60.
BioLite CampStove Review
The BioLite CampStove was BioLite’s flagship product. Let’s take a look at its current best-selling version, the BioLite CampStove 2 Plus(+), and the CampStove’s best-selling additions – the Portable Grill and Complete Cook Kit.
BioLite CampStove 2 Plus Review
BioLite’s CampStove 2+ solves so many camping issues at once! This inventive stove burns small pieces of biofuel, like twigs, sticks or wood pellets.
While these are burning, the CampStove 2+ captures the excess heat and uses their proprietary combustion technology to make electricity, which you can use to charge your devices through the built-in USB charging port. If you don’t use this electricity, it is stored in an internal battery.
Even better, the stove’s fan brings air back into the burn chamber, which helps make this fire as clean and smoke-free as possible.
This product comes with the following parts:
- CampStove 2+: The 2-part unit itself, with a fuel chamber and detachable power pack
- FlexLight: USB-powered light that attaches to the battery pack to provide light
- Stuff Sack: A fabric cover you can put over the FlexLight to diffuse light and use it for the whole room
- Firestarter: To ignite the fuel source
- USB Cord
- Instructions
This modern CampStove looks like a little rocket – its silver body stands up straight on three foldable legs, with the yellow power pack charger attached to one side. At only 2 lbs, you can easily pack this stove for backpacking in the woods or an evening under the stars.
Buy the BioLite Campstove 2+ for $150.
BioLite CampStove Portable Grill Review
This BioLite CampStove Portable Grill is specifically designed to work with the BioLite CampStove 2+. You can attach this grill to the top of your CampStove and instantly have 55 inches of cooking space – about enough to grill 4 burgers at a time.
This circular grill has a stainless steel grate for placing your food, and a fuel intake lid which you can open to add more sticks or pellets to your CampStove without having to remove the grill. The Portable Grill is kept steady with two steel legs that rest on the ground on either side.
Weighing less than 2 lbs, the Portable Grill is an easy addition to your camping or picnicking set up.
Purchase this addition for $60.
BioLite CampStove Complete Cook Kit Review
If you’re head over heels for all of BioLite’s CampStove products and are looking for a good deal, check out the BioLite CampStove Complete Cook Kit!
This package has all of BioLite’s popular CampStove products. You will get:
- BioLite Campstove 2+
- Biolite Portable Grill
- BioLite KettlePot
- BioLite CoffeePress
- FlexLight
The KettlePot is designed to sit directly on top of your CampStove and can boil a litre of water in about 4.5 minutes. You can use the CoffeePress, which acts like your usual French press, inside the KettlePot to brew a whole pot of coffee.
The FlexLight will help you monitor your CampStove and cook in the dark, and provide an extra light source if needed. The light’s firm, bendy wire stem attaches to your CampStove’s power pack and can be bent at any angle over your stove. Just tap this LED light on or off as needed.
Buy the BioLite CampStove Complete Cook Kit for $240, a savings of nearly $30 if you were to buy every item individually.
BioLite Headlamp Review
BioLite has made a range of Headlamps for your hiking and camping adventures. Read along as I shop through their best-selling range!
BioLite HeadLamp 750 Review
This BioLite Headlamp 750 will keep your surroundings bright no matter where you are.
This product has an output of 750 lumens and can be used to increase your visibility in an emergency, light your surroundings, and help keep your fellow explorers aware of where you are. It’s BioLite’s only model with a light at the front and back of the band, for the best possible visibility.
This versatile headlamp has a variety of settings, including:
- Red light
- White light
- Strobe mode
- Burst mode
While many headlamps will dim over time (as your eyes adjust) to conserve power, you can run the Headlamp 750 on Constant Mode, which will ensure that your light stays the same brightness level until you choose to adjust it.
You can also leave this headlamp on Run Forever Mode, which allows it to stay on even while you charge it.
The BioLite Headlamp 750 weighs 150 grams, has a beam distance of up to 130 meters, and has 150 hours of battery life.
Buy the BioLite HeadLamp 750 in moss green or midnight grey for $100.
BioLite HeadLamp 330 Review
The BioLite Headlamp 330 is a small, convenient everyday headlamp.
Like the 750, it has a stretchy, moisture-wicking fabric lining so it will sit comfortably against your forehead. It also has a reflective strip across the back for your safety in the dark.
The light has a max output of 330 lumens and also includes red night vision.
This headlamp will illuminate your surroundings, up to 75 m, for 40 hours on the low mode or 3.5 hours on high. You can use the Flood Lens for a wide angle light, or switch to Spot Lens to narrow your light’s focus.
The HeadLamp 330 even has a small panel that you can pull out to direct your light downward. You can recharge this headlamp using a micro USB.
Purchase the Headlamp 330 for $60 in ocean teal, midnight grey, ember red, or sunrise yellow.
BioLite HeadLamp 200 Review
If you’re looking for a more basic headlamp, the BioLite HeadLamp 200 is an ideal choice. This headlamp can emit light of up to 200 lumens and weighs only 50 grams.
The HeadLamp 200 illuminates up to 50 m and has a variety of features, including:
- White light
- Red light
- White strobe
- Red strobe
- Tiltable front panel
- 40 hours of run time on low
- 3 hours of run time on high
- Reflective back panel
Like all BioLite headlamps, it has absorbent lining and you can recharge this product using a micro USB.
Buy the HeadLamp 200 on BioLite energy.com for $44.95 in colours midnight grey, ocean teal, moss green, or ember red.
Who Is BioLite For?
BioLite products are made for campers and hikers who want a different portable cooking experience, and people who want options for outdoor or travel accessories like portable lighting and battery packs that don’t require access to a power grid.
This brand’s CampStove devices and grill options will appeal to customers who want the convenience of portable cookware without using unsustainable energy sources like propane or batteries.
People who have off-grid cabins, or enjoy outdoor hobbies such as hiking or wildlife photography will appreciate BioLite’s thoughtful range of lighting products such as BioLite’s Headlamps, lanterns, and the FlexLight. They will also enjoy the option to use a BioLite Kettle or Cook Set to enjoy their meals in nature.
They’re also ideal for people who want their purchases to make a difference. Conscientious customers will also appreciate that BioLite’s mission is to bring power sources and safe, healthy cooking at affordable prices to people who need them.
The HomeStove endeavour, already successfully underway from their offices in Kenya and Uganda, is helping people cook in a healthier, more convenient way, while also making it easier to power light sources and small devices directly from their cooking devices. And over time, it will also reduce pollution and help conserve resources.
Is BioLite Sustainable?
Yes. At the time of this BioLite review, I found that this company is certainly doing its part to protect our environment in a number of ways, from providing a renewable source of power for things like lights and cell phones, to helping people in less privileged countries access viable alternatives to individually and ecologically harmful heating methods.
Here are a few of them:
- Biofuels: BioLite’s cooking and heating products are designed to use biofuel, such as wood or wood pellets, rather than gasoline or disposable batteries. Because wood is a natural product, it is much more clean burning than fossil fuels, and does not require the waste involved in manufacturing and recycling battery parts.
- Fuel Efficiency: In helping their customers in developing countries decrease the total amount of wood they have to burn to cook or heat their houses, BioLite is reducing the amount of deforestation in those communities. In turn, this helps keep their forests healthier and their air cleaner.
- Carbon Neutrality: As explained in their 2018 Impact Report, BioLite’s products have helped their customers offset enough carbon emissions through their products that as a whole, their company has become carbon neutral.
BioLite Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
To get a better sense of what using BioLite’s best-selling products is actually like, I consulted feedback from real customers to include in this BioLite review.
The brand’s official website has hundreds of BioLite reviews from their customers. Many of these buyers compliment their products’ functionality. One customer is particularly impressed by their Headlamps: “I like this headlamp very much. I plug it in when I go to bed and it’s ready the next day. No more batteries!”
Another buyer echoed this experience, writing in their CampStove 2+ review: “This is the best stove for camping and hiking. Lightweight and easy to use.”
Similarly, one person who purchased the KettlePot writes this in their BioLite review: “The pot is very light and very durable. I like that it can be a container for my BioLite campstove2, and it comes with a bowl inside the pot,so everything can be packed inside into the pot[. It saves] so much space for my backpack.”
Other buyers praise the wearability and comfort of their accessories. One HeadLamp 200 buyer writes in their BioLite review: “I love how this easily fits my head, is lightweight and very bright. I use it for early morning runs and it helps me see tremendously.”
BioLite products are also sold on Amazon, where most customers seem pleased with their CampStove’s portability and the ability to burn real wood without so much smoke. Amazon customers also love the brand’s FirePit+.
One Amazon FirePit+ buyer writes in their BioLite review: “This fire pit is easy to transport and burns great with the fan on so the smoke is minimal. The battery is long lasting to keep the fire going.”
Another customer likes that they can manage the amount of flame their FirePit+ creates, writing: “Very good BBQ with controllable flame and heat.”
On TrustPilot, BioLite has 3.2 stars out of 5. A few customers expressed frustration with inconsistent customer service or warranty issues. Others, however, reported good customer service with prompt exchanges and refunds.
This TrustPilot review of BioLite’s customer service is typical of many reviewer comments: “I have contacted the support team a few times on various issues and l have to say they are exceptional.”
Overall, this company has solid reviews on their wide range of products. Most customers feel their purchases live up to their expectations, and many praise the brand’s modern, portable and functional approach.
Is BioLite Worth It?
BioLite products are made for modern customers who appreciate the versatility of having many features in one product. Using their own technology, BioLite has managed to create heating devices that reduce smoke emissions, decrease fuel waste, and can generate electricity to charge your devices, too.
BioLite makes products that not only serve a useful purpose, but do it while appealing to customers. Their products look as futuristic as they feel, so you can elevate your camping or hiking experiences with convenient headlamps and cooking gear with style. Customers also say they’re extremely functional – portable, reliable, and easy to operate.
BioLite have also successfully combined an innovative, growing business with a financially and environmentally sustainable charitable endeavor.
It is truly commendable that this company has gone to great lengths to make products that solve significant problems, and make those solutions available to those who need them most. This demonstrates that this brand is willing to walk the walk when it comes to sustainability and make a real commitment to improving human and environmental health.
For these reasons I can conclude this BioLite review by confidently recommending this unique brand!
BioLite Promotions & Discounts
BioLite offers a surprise bonus offer if you sign up to their email list. They also offer free shipping on purchases over $55.
Where to Buy BioLite
All of BioLite’s products are available through their website. A selection of their products can also be found on Amazon and at outdoor stores (e.g. MEC) throughout North America and Europe.
FAQ
Who owns BioLite?
BioLite is owned and operated by founders Alec Drummond and Jonathan Cedar.
Does BioLite ship internationally?
BioLite currently ships to Canada, the US, the EU, and the UK.
What is BioLite’s Shipping Policy?
BioLite will ship to customers who live in the following regions:
- US
- UK
- EU
- Canada
If you make an order of over $55 your purchase will ship for free, regardless of where you live!
If one of your items is considered “overweight,” BioLite will charge you an additional $25 per overweight item to cover the shipping expense – that applies to the FirePit+ and any kits or bundles containing this item.
If you order less than $55 of products, you’ll pay a flat rate of $8 for ground shipping or $16-55 for air shipping, depending on destination and weight of your purchase.
What is BioLite’s Return Policy?
You can return your order by contacting BioLite through their website’s request form and requesting to make a return.
How to Contact BioLite
I hope you enjoyed this BioLite review! The best way to contact the brand is through the contact form on their official site.
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