UKH

I have a "Wild Woodgas Mk II" wood gassifier stove that I have been playing with in my back garden.  It certainly works as advertised but I noticed it does drop embers so I would not be happy to actually use it as a backpacking stove.

A number of people on t'internet advocate taking vegetation back to bare earth, but I'm not comfortable with that either.

I was thinking it might be ok to use if I had some sort of fireproof base to sit it on.  Maybe a piece of this stuff cut to fit inside my pan set.  Looks a bit heavy though.

https://shop.vitcas.com/vermiculite-fire-board-fire-proof-insulation.html

Do any UKCers use these things, and if so, how do you get around the potential "burning down the hills" problem? 

Or is it strictly for the back garden?

I used something similar from ebay. It cost about £5. It will get hot if used for a long time. Otherwise its good and does protect the ground...

Bit of aluminium foil. Incidentally they work better for real cooking with a couple of Esbit tablets instead of endlessly poking microscopic bits of wood in (you can carry 12 inside the packed stove).

I tried popping it on a pan lid but still got a scorch mark on my grass so I don't think foil would cut it.  Making a table out of a bit of thin aluminium sheet and some pebbles might be worth a try though.

Just read the bit about esbit tablets.  I can see that working.  Another thing that burns well in my experiments is wood pellets - rabbit litter from the pet shop will give good heat for about 45 mins, but that's what scorched my grass.

Take a knife, cut out a piece of turf to accommodate the stove, and replace the section of turf once you’re done.

As you say wood pellets work really well (not suprisingly), I have them for my central heating so just grab a handfull. I should try the hardwood ones sometime, ought to burn cleaner.

I have a solo stove, which I sit on a small piece of ply a few inches bigger than the stove base. It doesn't really get hot underneath but there is a little bit of spill.  I use a variety of wood burning things - I've a woodburner for the tentipi that sits on a bigger piece of ply, but you can buy heatproof mats. I also have a petromax atago. It acts like a big gassifier or a barbecue, depending on what I'm burning, but I'm really impressed with this as it is effectively cold underneath so doesn't damage the vegetation. Those aren't remotely backpacking tools, though. Biggest issue (think UKC found this when they reviewed the Solo) is actually finding fuel in a climbing situation. 

Plywood is something I didn't think of.  I have a few offcuts in the garage so I will give it a try.  Thanks.

I think this sort of thing is quite conditional - I have a few backpacking and climbing trips in the planning stages where running on twigs would certainly be viable but I agree it's not for everywhere.

In reply to all:

Thanks for the feedback.  I have a few things to try over the weekend.

What about this sort of thing? Lightweight, flexible, not too expensive:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/rothenberger-plumbers-soldering-mat/54910?tc=BA1...

That looks very promising.  Thanks.

I've used one a few times, and have always found a rock to place it on / put stone underneath. If coastal, you can use a layer of sand.

Always keep a water container (my Platypus bladder) nearby in case of any incidents - none yet.

a rock has always worked for mine