Lite Outdoors 18" vs SO SXL

[jorgensen.travis]

I’m still trying to decide on this also. I think I’m going with LO 18”. The weight and price difference just can’t be ignored. Light Outdoors site says 2-1/2 pounds with 8’ of pipe. Seek Outside says 4 pounds 12 ounces with a 9’ pipe. If I’m understanding this right, the SO weighs almost twice as much. I’m planning on carrying this on my back, so I think I’m going LO.


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[reaper]

I’m still trying to decide on this also. I think I’m going with LO 18”. The weight and price difference just can’t be ignored. Light Outdoors site says 2-1/2 pounds with 8’ of pipe. Seek Outside says 4 pounds 12 ounces with a 9’ pipe. If I’m understanding this right, the SO weighs almost twice as much. I’m planning on carrying this on my back, so I think I’m going LO.


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Look at the wifi stoves from seekoutside, lightweight.If you burn it good the first time without any wraps the LOD is a really good stove.

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[tdhanses]

Look at the wifi stoves from seekoutside, lightweight.If you burn it good the first time without any wraps the LOD is a really good stove.

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I do like that LO sells new body replacements if needed for good price.

 

[reaper]

Cub,18" LOD,SXL.

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[tdhanses]

That cub is so small I just don’t see how it can have any burn time, also must be a pia getting the proper sized sticks without cutting a ton.

 

[bowtech101st]

I’m still trying to decide on this also. I think I’m going with LO 18”. The weight and price difference just can’t be ignored. Light Outdoors site says 2-1/2 pounds with 8’ of pipe. Seek Outside says 4 pounds 12 ounces with a 9’ pipe. If I’m understanding this right, the SO weighs almost twice as much. I’m planning on carrying this on my back, so I think I’m going LO.


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Maybe I'm missing something, but are you giving specs for the Seek Outside SXL here, or for a different sized SO stove? The SO website lists the SXL at 40 oz. for everything plus 2 oz per foot for stove pipe. This would put a SXL with an 8 foot pipe at only 56 oz. (or 3.5 lbs.). So it's slightly less than a pound heavier than the Lite Outdoors 18" set up.

My first stove was the Lite Outdoors 18", and a year ago I bought the SO SXL stove setup. For my preferences, the SO SXL has been a significant upgrade over the Lite Outdoors to me. But there are definitely pros and cons for each system. Some of the pros/cons are fairly objective (price, weight, ease of assembly), while some are more subjective (stove shape advantages, burn time, packability, etc.). I personally feel that the door on the SXL is superior to the LO one. Since it's a lot wider, it made it much easier to load and arrange larger pieces of wood. There's also slightly more of a "lip" under the door on the SXL compared to the LO one. This means that I can load more wood into the SXL without having as many ashes/coals trying to fall out the door. I personally am able to get longer burn times with the SXL than the LO cylinder (however, the reason I bought the cylinder in the first place is because most people say they get longer burn times by virtue of a cylinder's shape). I also find it easier to manage the coals in a shorter/wider box, than I do in a longer/narrower cylinder. The SXL does have 224 more cubic inches in the burn chamber, so it would make sense to me that you'd get longer burn times because you can load more wood. But I realize that some of that extra space is less usable than in a cylinder design.

Aside from being kind of a pain to assemble, the biggest con for me with the Lite Outdoors stove was that I found it warped relatively easily around the stove pipe insertion point on the body. My initial burn in was good, and there was no warping. However, as time went on the hole in my stove body began to experience slight warping that increased with uses. I was being very careful with it, but after a while there became more visible space between the stove body and the pipe. This meant more smoke leaked through when lighting the stove or damping it down (making for a smoky tent for a few minutes).

SO SXL

• Pros: Way easier to assemble, easier to cook on flat top, wider door and stove body made it easier to load with much larger wood. Significantly larger burn chamber. More durable, and less susceptible to warping.
• Cons: Expensive! Almost a pound heavier. Takes more thought to transport carefully. Shallower stove body means sticks/logs must be shorter.

Lite Outdoors 18"

• Pros: About $200 cheaper, and nearly a pound lighter. I also thought it was easier to pack the cylinder stove body in a spotting scope pocket on the side of my pack, instead of finding a spot for the rectangular case for the SXL. Deeper stove body means you can use longer sticks.
• Cons: A real pain in the butt to assemble (especially in the dark), and was more fragile and much more susceptible to warping (especially during assembly). I did not like the narrow door or the narrow stove body.

Bottom line: If price and weight are your two main concerns, then I would definitely go with the Lite Outdoors. But if you can live with the price and a little extra weight, I personally feel the SXL offers a much more luxurious (and definitely more convenient) stove experience.

 

[jorgensen.travis]

GoHunt website says 58 oz for stove with bag. Is the bag that heavy?


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[nrh6.7]

GoHunt website says 58 oz for stove with bag. Is the bag that heavy?


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That is with a 9' pipe. The stove, rings, spark arrester and bag weigh 40oz. The pipe is 2oz per foot.

 

[jorgensen.travis]

That makes sense. I figured I had to be missing something. I have my concerns with the lack of a lip on the front of the LO also. I’m still going with the LO. I’m hoping I can mix and match with my TiGoat 12” I use for my Supertarp.


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[Bruce Culberson]

Bowtech101 - great comparison for prospective buyers. Thanks for the reviews.

 

[nrh6.7]

The UPS truck just dropped off my new sxl stove and I am impressed. Came in at 55.9oz on my scale with a 7.5' pipe. Never bought anything from here before but the experience was great. Have a big box coming later this week from SO that'll have me set up on shelters.

 

[nrh6.7]

Bowtech101 - great comparison for prospective buyers. Thanks for the reviews.

Agreed. Some things in his review I didn't even consider.

 

[tdhanses]

The UPS truck just dropped off my new sxl stove and I am impressed. Came in at 55.9oz on my scale with a 7.5' pipe. Never bought anything from here before but the experience was great. Have a big box coming later this week from SO that'll have me set up on shelters.

I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with SO and their stuff.