Product Review: Tegology’s Tegstove

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Tegology is a company that creates interesting and useful tools that combine technology with everyday carry. This review is all about one of their portable camp stoves – the Tegstove – which offers a stable, single burner cooking platform, and a power generator for recharging electronic devices. The benefits include hot meals and extended energy usage for electronic devices while in the field.

The Applications:

There are a lot of solar options for recharging electronic devices available on the market. Some of those are cool, others were a better idea on paper and did not translate well into a physical product. While solar is good, it has its limitations, one of which is that it requires that you carry extra equipment which is not always a plus.

This is NOT a solar stove it is powered by butane and special technology that converts heat energy into usable energy for electronic devices and to me, that’s not just amazing, it is highly practical. It also means that you are gaining energy without having to carry extra equipment.

I have had this stove for a while and I have to tell you that I like it and I think it is an excellent tool for camping, backpacking, prepping, and general outdoor adventures where the meal prep is for three or fewer people.

You certainly could produce meals for larger groups, if those meals consisted of other food types. There are some drawbacks to this and I will discuss those later in the article, but for the most part, I am prepared to give this stove my endorsement early and then explain why in the following paragraphs.

The TegStove

I have a small box full of single burner stoves that I have tried over the years. Most are a wire frame over a burning element, and the fuel source either sits directly under or attaches to a nozzle on the side. Every one of those stoves fills me with apprehension every single time I use one.

The reason for that apprehension is that they seem unstable with anything more than a two-cup pot on them. The surface area is small – usually, the size of a soda can – and does not offer much support. As someone who worked for decades in healthcare, those stoves represent a risk and I prefer not to use them. Couple that with three legs and an unlevel picnic table and you have a recipe for disaster.

One of the features that I love about the Tegstove is that it offers both a stable cooking surface for larger – full-size pots and pans – and a wider and stable platform that supports that cooking platform. Both of which help to keep meal prep in the field safer and using the Tegstove reduces my anxiety in comparison to other single burner cooking stoves.

I feel comfortable putting an 8-quart Dutch oven on the Tegstove and cooking in it. The reason for that is that the stove features three expandable arms that span outwards from a three-inch diameter to create a 7-inch diameter surface on which you can rest larger pots and pans. The stove also sits on three legs that form a very stable platform.

The legs tuck away for easy storage and expand from that 3-inch diameter to form a solid support diameter of about 13.5 inches. That is really solid and that is why I feel safe putting a large Dutch oven on it.

Fuel and Usage

The fuel source for the stove is butane. It uses TS220 butane canisters that comply with the EN417 standards. The housing where the butane sits is a narrow tube which limits the type of canister that you can use with the stove. I had a problem finding the right canister for this stove, even though there were many canisters available that where TS220 rated.

This was more of a local stocking issue, but it is important to know this going in. The cylinder must be in the shape of a water bottle or spray paint can and small enough to fit into the housing. It must also be long enough for you to be able to screw the bottle into place. The burner is capable of producing 7,000 BTU’s and under normal operating conditions a canister of butane should last about 1.5 hours.

The box says it takes 3 minutes to boil ½ of a liter of water. On a recent trip to the coast, it took a little over four minutes to boil two cups of water, which is close to ½ half of a liter. We were in a colder environment with plenty of cold wind right off the water, which is why I think it took longer. On the front porch, which is sheltered, the stove brought 2-cups of water to a boil in 3:10.

So, exposure to the elements will impact cooking times and fuel consumption. The box says that boiling ½ of a liter of water will consume 15 percent of the gas in the canister. We found that under normal cooking conditions, using a wide bottom pot with a lid, that we had no problem cooking a quick meal without using a lot of butane. That is another plus of the stove’s design, and it handles large flat bottom pots well.

Automatic Ignition – The stove has an automatic ignition that is easy to use. You can keep your matches in the waterproof box because this igniter worked every time. Simply turn the gas dial until you hear the click and feel the snap. Then adjust the gas flow knob to the desired flame intensity. Tegology gets props for the ease of use of this design.

Energy Production

The stove uses a unique energy converter that uses the heat from the stove to produce usable energy that is perfect for recharging electronic devices. This means that your flashlights, cellphone, camera, radio and other devices that have a USB charging system can be used longer and more often without fear or running down the battery.

The thermoelectric generator is easy to use. Simply plug in your device via the USB port at the bottom of the unit, away from the heat and let the unit charge up the batteries. It stores energy in its own battery and then transfers it to your device.

Expect a 4.5-5 volts output from the stove – per the manufacturer. The stove’s battery holds 3,000 mAh but that is dependent upon the local environment. What this means is that in colder environments the battery will be good, but in hot weather, it will lose power quicker. The opposite is true when it comes to energy discharge. In a cold environment, batteries discharge energy quickly and more so than a battery that is in a warm environment.

The stove was able to recharge my flashlight each morning and my cell phone. I don’t tend to use a lot of electrical devices, so I was happy with what the stove was capable of doing. Unless you were cooking often, I would not expect the stove to recharge multiple items on a regular basis. It was perfect for two sets of devices, both of which do not get a lot of usage.

Construction

The stove is pretty solid. It has some weight to it, which might make it a problem for backpackers who have pack – weight restrictions. The legs are plastic but the fittings and tracks they use are metal. In the closed position, it is sturdy. With the legs open it seems sturdy. Is it going to survive dropping it a few times? Yes. Within the “normal” usage guidelines, the stove should last for a long while. I have expectations of this stove lasting for the next five years.

I still have the two-burner gas stove that my Dad had when I was a baby. That was 50 years ago. That is my go-to stove for most camping trips where there are more than three people. It hooks up to a 5-gallon propane tank. The Tegstove, I think will be the go-to stove for overnight trips or short duration camping trips for 1-3 people. I am pretty happy with how it is made, how it functions, and its capabilities.

Does the Tegstove Fit into A Prepping Lifestyle?

You know that is a really tough question. Usually, I have a clear answer. I think the answer here is that it depends on what your needs are and how long those needs will last. A can of butane for this should last 1.5 hours.

I think for short term usage situations where you are completely off-grid and not cooking for a heard of people that the stove would do well. This, of course, is dependent on whether or not you have enough fuel containers to meet your cooking needs for that time.

That is the big drawback with this stove – you are limited by the small can of butane. It would be nice if you could hook up a hose and regulator but that is not a current option and the stove is rated for butane. Those facts make it difficult to use the stove sustainably in a prepping environment.

If you have plenty of fuel and only need the stove for short bursts of cooking then, it works great. It is ideal for an outdoor cooking stove and perfect for most adventures. In a bugout situation you’d have to carry the stove and a store of fuel and once that fuel was gone, you’d have to either get more or do without the stove. That is why I say that this comes down to how much you need and how long you will need it.

Overall, I am very happy with the stove, but not in the sense that I will rely on it for prepping long-term.

Where to Buy the Tegstove

Right now, you can find it on CampSaver at this listing for 25% off.

About the Author: David is an active prepper and freelance writer. He lives in rural Northern California in the shadow of an active volcano. He hunts and fishes as a means of providing. He brings a science background to his writing and discusses botany, biology, geology, and weather as they apply to living, growing your own food, and surviving. He is a master gardener and understands food production, storage, and preserving. He lives five miles down a single-lane road and he deals with power outages, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, and crazy pot growers, raiders, medical emergencies, law enforcement and the potential of that volcano.

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