Siege Stove Story
Meet Our Mentor
Our mentor, outdoor gear pioneer, Navy veteran, and master craftsman Ken Young invented the Siege Stove and Siege Belt. Watch this video to learn more about Ken’s craftsmanship, high quality standards, and attention to detail.
The Search for a Better Camping Stove
Conceived in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, the SIEGE® STOVE was born of necessity. We found all existing camping stoves to have many shortcomings: generally unstable, heavy, expensive, often finicky, and with limited fuel capacity and heat output. The lighter stoves also tended to use very thin metal parts, which in our tests warped unacceptably.
After some experimentation, we came to the conclusion that empty cans are hard to beat. The old “hobo stove” concept has continued to be a favorite among bushcraft experts, outdoors enthusiasts, scouts, survivalists and backpackers for good reason:
– They are extremely lightweight for the amount of fuel capacity they provide — much lighter than the expensive stoves on the market.
– With holes punched in the walls and base the make a fantastic high-performance, stove with loads of space for twigs and wood scraps.
– Empty food and coffee cans are abundant and free!
– Empty paint cans are very low cost and the super popular stainless steel IKEA canisters are only $3!
– They are far more durable than one might expect (if you eventually burn one out, simply replace it!)
– They are efficient and put out a lot of heat.
– Wood scraps are free and abundant just about everywhere. Burning wood scraps re-mineralizes and puts carbon back into the soil. It also saves a lot of money over time from not having to purchase synthetic fuels (which use enormous amount of resources to mine, contain, transport, refine, bottle/pressurize, package, distribute, transport again and eventually sell at retail).
However, cans are not designed to be used as stoves. They don’t have legs to lift them up (having good air flow through the base is essential), and they had no good way of supporting a pot, pan or grill on top. Hobo stove enthusiasts and Scouts have various approaches to solving these problems, but none of them are ideal, and the resulting stoves are usually relatively unstable, with lots of sharp protruding metal edges, or a gaping hole in the side, which allows wind in and burning embers to fall out.
SIEGE Stove Cross-Members: Original Bushcraft Stove Creation Tool
Seeing the ideal solution, we set out to develop the first SIEGE Stove Cross-Members. Originally sold in two sizes, we gradually improved them, creating one universal size and adding more and more cans to what they will adapt to, until they reached perfection in the current patented universal design, which fits just about any common can available!
Developing the SIEGE Flat-Pack Stove
We didn’t stop there. Recognizing that some people have limited space and need a stove that packs flat, we developed the unique SIEGE Flat-Pack Stove, with features and capabilities not found in any other collapsible stove. We also developed some very handy accessories, including our unique folding grills and side toasters.
Our Commitment to 100% Made in USA
We proudly make ALL our products in America, and use US-produced materials. We also design our stoves to last multiple generations. We use US-made aerospace-grade titanium or 304 stainless steel and for our Flat-Pack Stoves, we use thicker materials than other compact camping stoves (in our tests the thinner grades commonly used warped much more than was acceptable to us).
We made an early commitment to producing everything possible in the USA, and keeping our stoves affordable. After several years and thousands of very happy SIEGE Stove users around the world, we still haven’t paid ourselves for any of our time in the workshop finishing products or running the business. All revenues go back into production, with very little left over for marketing, but our belief in the SIEGE Stove and the resounding endorsements we regularly receive from our customers keep us going. This is where we could use your help! Please take a look at SIEGE Stoves and Belts, review products you buy on our website, and tell your friends about us too! Our marketing budget is limited, so any mentions on social media are also most welcome!
Sincerely,
James Fisher
SIEGE® STOVES & BELTS