This subject has come up a few times in the past, but I thought there might be more experience to draw on now. Not long ago I took a Sierra zip stove to Alaska. It's a great stove and it worked fine, but then the fan stopped working and I had to use my backup, an MSR stove, from then on. I'm looking for something that will work with 2-4 people. I've been looking at the Littlbug Jr., the Solo Titan, and some much cheaper Chinese models. Any suggestions for which works best?

It really depends on your budget and what you are going to be using it for. Are you just going to be boiling water, or cooking in a skillet? Do you want to keep the weight down? Granted that even the cheap ones are only about a pound. Do you want a wood gas stove or something as simple as plates assembled into a firebox?

I just bought a cheap Chinese wood gas stove, because I am only going to be boiling water with this, don't care about a few ounces, and wanted the wood gas stove because it should burn hotter and cleaner. I'm mainly going to be using it for coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Everything else can be done on the fire grate.

If you want lighter then you have to spend more and will be looking at some of the brand names. If you are looking to cook in the pan then you might want something a little bigger to spread out the heat. If you are frying fish then you might get by with smaller due to the oil spreading out the heat.

Personally, I'm more of a minimalist for things like this. I don't want to be hauling around a ton of crap like big stoves, fuel, and things like that. I'll bring my luxuries like my chair and my brandy, but I can cook over the fire grate so any stove you bring is just to save time. Both in cooking and in gathering firewood.

I said it before and I'll say it again: Four Dog Stoves. Bushcooker LTIII or the Harlton Cooker. Handcrafted in MN and made out of Titanium. Not always available, you'll just have to keep on checking the website.

I bought a Bushbox LF Titanium from Bushcraft Essentials. It’s the coolest stove I’ve ever owned. They are a German company and the design and quality is what you would expect from a German product. The price was ridiculous, but I really like stoves and it will last long after I’m gone. I also own a Solo Stove Lite which is a much more affordable option that will get the job done as well.

I'm the original poster. I'm mainly interested in a stove for boiling water and simple meals--nothing fancy. What puzzles me is that there are two types of wood-burning stoves, the single-walled version (e.g., Littlbug, Bushbox, etc.) and the more expensive double walled "wood gas" stoves (e.g., the Solo). I wonder how much difference there is between them in practice. I also wonder if there's much of a difference between the Solo and the less expensive Chinese models that seem to be share a similar design.

I have both types and I’d say there isn’t much difference in most applications. My understanding is that the double wall will give you secondary combustion on the upper portion of the stove. Secondary combustion will cause your stove to burn cleaner and be more efficient. Personally Im not too concerned about the small amount of pollution coming from a camp stove when I have a camp fire burning two feet away. If I have to burn two more sticks, efficiency isn’t a concern either. Secondary combustion makes sense when heating your home, but it makes very little difference in a camp stove.

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i have this, works great for water boil, and some frying.

I made my solo wood gasification stove. It is made from a new, clean quart paint can, a Progressive Soup can, a small section of hardware cloth (for the pot stand). Stove, lighter,and fire started all fit in my one-quart pot.

Another home made stick stove.

I made it after seeing some youtube videos on "hobo stoves." Made from a 3 lb coffee can. Weighs about 3 ounces. CHEAP and always works. Used mainly for heating cleaning water. Heats up a pot of water so hot it usually needs to be diluted with cold water.

I made one, too, after the Bushwacker design by J. Falk. It's a "wood gas" model designed to promote secondary burning. I tried it out a couple days ago and had trouble keeping it burning. Lots of smoke, not much flame. Maybe the twigs and branches were damp, but I thought that after I got the fire going it would work ok. That's partly why I asked for advice: I wasn't altogether satisfied with the stove I made.
I stopped at REI today and took a look at the Solo Lite. It's a bit small for my purposes, but it's very cleverly made. It's also a little expensive, and the next size up is a little heavy.

I have used a Sterno stove on several trips. trimmed off supports for Sterno can. Works great and is under $6. About the size of 2 CD's.

Just did an experiment with three wood burning stoves. One is my old Sierra zip stove, with the battery operated fan. Another is J. Falk's "Bushwacker" design, a small gassifying stove about the size of the Solo Lite. The other is another J. Falk design, a simple single-walled "hobo stove." Like the Bushwacker it's made of of quart paint can and a 27 oz. tin can, but in this case the tin can fits on top and forms a kind of chimney for the first. I used twigs and branches lying on the ground, probably damp from the rains we've had. In any case, the zip stove, with its fan, did the best. There's no delay or trouble getting a hot fire going. The J. Falk hobo design did second best. The chimney effect really gets the fire going. Compared to the coffee can stove above, this one is twice as heavy: 6 oz.! The Bushwacker came in third. The fire lasted longer but I had trouble getting it, and keeping it, going.
I'm not sure what this says about the available commercial models, which tend to be lightweight single-wall designs or gassifiers. The gassifying effect is cool, but the Bushwacker stove gave me trouble. Maybe the commercial models like the Solo Lite work better. Or maybe I was doing something wrong.
My next project is to make a larger gassifier, approximating the dimensions of the Solo Titan. Maybe it will work better than the little one.

My usual comment on this topic, get a small pair of pruning shears

GoneNorth: "I have both types and I’d say there isn’t much difference in most applications. My understanding is that the double wall will give you secondary combustion on the upper portion of the stove. Secondary combustion will cause your stove to burn cleaner and be more efficient. Personally Im not too concerned about the small amount of pollution coming from a camp stove when I have a camp fire burning two feet away. If I have to burn two more sticks, efficiency isn’t a concern either. Secondary combustion makes sense when heating your home, but it makes very little difference in a camp stove. "

I’ve made a few stoves, and the secondary combustion keeps your pot cleaner.

And now a splash of cold water:

"36 CFR 261.52 - Fire.
§ 261.52 Fire.
When provided by an order, the following are prohibited:
(a) Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire.
36 CFR 261.52 - Fire.

"ORDER No. R909-05-02
ORDER OF THE FOREST SUPERVISOR
OCCUPANCY AND USE RESTRICTIONS FOR THE
BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS (BWCAW)
SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST
...
"[T]he following acts are prohibited in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and any other lands administered by the Superior National Forest in St. Louis, Lake, and Cook Counties, that are affected by the Act of October 21, 1978, Public Law 95-495, 92 Stat. 1649:
"1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire including charcoal fires during ice-free season, except inside the constructed steel grates located at Forest Service improved campsites or at other locations designated on the Visitor Permit, or when using pressurized liquid or gas stoves."

ORDER No. R909-05-02

With the recent history of fires in the BWCAW, I kinda sorta think any USFS Law Enforcement Officer will be disinclined to look the other way.