Fire Dragon Solid Fuel Stove Review: A 110 g Backpacking Stove for Under £2

Introduction

Solid fuel stoves occupy a quiet corner of backpacking kit. They are not the fastest, they are not the most refined, and they rarely appear in gear lists next to integrated canister systems. What they are is extraordinarily cheap, extremely light, and completely dependable in the simplest possible way.

The Fire Dragon solid fuel stove is a folding tablet stove in the classic Esbit style. It costs less than £2, weighs 110 g, and runs on small solid fuel capsules that sell for around 30p each. It was tested here as a bit of a novelty, on a cold and breezy day, with modest expectations. It finished the test having boiled water in around eight minutes, which is a considerably better result than the price and weight would suggest.

This review covers what the stove is, how it performed in near-freezing conditions, and who should think about carrying one.

Who This Stove Is For

This is a stove for backpackers who count grams and pennies in equal measure. At 110 g for the stove and 28 g per fuel capsule, it slips into a pack without any noticeable penalty, and the total outlay is small enough that trying it carries almost no risk.

It also suits anyone who wants a backup heat source that does not depend on a canister, a valve, or a pump. There is nothing to pressurise, nothing to seal, and nothing to go wrong in storage. Unfold it, drop in a tablet, light it.

If your priority is the fastest possible boil, a canister stove remains the better tool for the job. If you want something that disappears into the bottom of a pack, costs less than a coffee, and still produces a usable flame in cold weather, this stove is worth a serious look.

What Comes in the Box and How It Works

The stove folds flat into a small rectangular package, roughly the size of a slim wallet. It includes a windshield panel that folds around the burner area, and a central tray that holds a single solid fuel tablet. Setup takes seconds: unfold the sides, open the tray, drop a tablet in, and light it.

The fuel comes as Fire Dragon solid fuel capsules, described as green and clean solid fuel. Each capsule weighs 28 g and costs around 30p. A bundle of six capsules together with the stove came to under £3.50, which puts the running cost of a hot drink somewhere in the region of a few pence.

Because the fuel is a solid tablet rather than a pressurised gas, there is no priming, no pumping, and no flame adjustment to think about. The tablet burns with a steady, gentle flame until it is spent.

Main Strengths: Light, Cheap, and Simple

The numbers are the headline. A 110 g stove, 28 g per tablet, and a complete starter setup for under £3.50 is a combination that is hard to argue with. For the weight of a single gas canister, you can carry the stove plus several days of fuel.

Simplicity is the second strength. There are no moving parts to fail, no O-rings to perish, and no canister to run dry halfway through a trip. The folded stove takes up almost no space, and the fuel capsules can be spread through a pack or a pocket without any concern about pressure or leaks.

The third strength is harder to quantify. The flame from a solid fuel tablet is soft and steady rather than a concentrated jet of gas, and the whole process is a slower, more deliberate ritual. That suits trips where the point is to sit still for ten minutes, watch the flame, and let the water come up to temperature at its own pace.

Boil Performance in Cold Conditions

The test was deliberately unkind. The air temperature was around 1°C, and with wind chill the effective temperature was closer to -6°C. Half a pint of water went into a cook set fitted with a heat-retaining ring at the base, a design that helps hold warmth around the pot rather than letting it escape.

Steam was visible within about five minutes, with bubbles beginning to form on the base of the pot. By the eight-minute mark the water was boiling properly. For a stove costing less than £2, in conditions that made standing still uncomfortable, that is a genuinely impressive outcome.

The pot used for the test deserves some of the credit. A heat-retaining ring at the base makes a real difference on a low-output stove, and pairing this burner with a pot of that type is likely to shorten boil times noticeably compared with a plain aluminium pot.

Solid Fuel Versus Canister Gas Stoves

The honest comparison is speed. Canister stoves in the Jetboil and Soto class can bring half a litre of water to a boil in around two minutes. This stove took roughly eight minutes to boil half a pint in cold, windy conditions, and it would take longer for a larger volume or in worse weather.

The trade-off is not only about time. A gas stove is faster, easier to control, and better suited to quick stops and tight schedules. A solid fuel stove is cheaper, lighter, silent in operation, and turns a hot drink into a small event rather than a task. Both approaches have a clear place, and the choice comes down to what kind of trip you are planning.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Boil times are slower, and that should be built into your expectations. Allow eight minutes or more for a modest amount of water, and plan for longer in strong wind or deep cold, where the flame has to work harder to overcome the conditions.

Performance depends heavily on the weather. The windshield panel helps, but a solid fuel tablet is not a pressurised burner, and an exposed, windy pitch will always be harder than a sheltered one.

The fuel is consumable and single-use. Each capsule weighs 28 g and burns through in one sitting, so packing enough tablets for the length of the trip matters more than it does with a refillable canister.

Finally, this is a very inexpensive piece of kit, and it should not be judged against premium integrated systems on speed. It should be judged on whether it produces hot water reliably for very little money and very little weight. On that measure it performs well.

Buying Advice

The case for buying one is straightforward. At under £2 for the stove, around 30p per fuel capsule, and a six-capsule bundle with the stove for under £3.50, the cost of finding out whether you like solid fuel is negligible. It works as a primary stove for short, unhurried trips, and as a backup for anyone who normally carries gas.

Pair it with a pot that has a heat-retaining ring at the base, and pack a few spare tablets for cold or windy conditions. Used that way, the stove delivers exactly what it promises: a small, light, cheap flame that gets the water hot.

Conclusion

The Fire Dragon solid fuel stove is not trying to compete with a high-output canister system, and it does not need to. It weighs 110 g, costs less than £2, folds flat into nothing, and boiled half a pint of water in about eight minutes on a day when the wind chill sat near -6°C.

For backpackers who value light and cheap kit, and who do not mind waiting a few extra minutes for a hot drink, this is a thoroughly sensible piece of gear. It is the kind of purchase that is easy to overlook and hard to regret.