Anyone use a reflector oven? Been reading on up them, but have never used one so was wondering if they are worth taking and trying out or not.

You're looking for experiences from other folks, but in reality, this one really begins and ends with you. Are you adept at baking with a reflector oven? Does taking the time to build a fire and bake with a reflector oven fit your travel style? Do you own a reflector oven that is easily packed and set-up?

It's really dependent upon your answers to those questions. If you're an experienced reflector oven baker and you don't mind taking the time, not only to build a fire, but to spend watching your food bake, go for it. Maybe you're a base camper. It's all about what you want to do on your trip.

However, if you're not that experienced and you just think it would be "cool" to bring along and use one night to bake a cake as a treat... or maybe you like to move your camp every day, I'd say leave it at home.

You asked... :)

Dont own one and have never used one. Taking my 14 year old daughter on her first trip and thought this might something fun to try with her. I've seen several models that look like they fold up pretty compact so didnt think it would take up too much room in a pack.

We bring a reflector oven, we are basecampers so it fits our style. Making muffins or biscuits etc every day is something we look forward to. They fold up pretty thin and we are still able to single portage bringing it along

After seeing some Maine guides use old-fashioned reflector ovens every morning/evening to cook delicious baked goods, I knew I wanted one.

So far I have only used it on one 5 day/4 night trip but I'm glad I did. Made great muffins and bread! We also used it at home over the winter in front of the fireplace (which is a good way to practice cooking with it and testing your camping recipes for baked goods).

You can buy modern, collapsible reflector ovens in various sizes or make your own using instructions you can find on line. Mine is self-built, big and heavy and not collapsible; built using plans in a book published by Gil Gilpatrick (Building Outdoor Gear). I would never want to take mine on a trip with significant portages. But the types of rivers and lakes I paddle on usually have campsites within a stone's throw of the water and no portages. So it isn't an issue for me.

No affiliation other than he's a buddy of mine and a member here at BWCA.com... but Old Scout Outdoor Products makes a dandy, collapsible reflector oven. You can find it here.

We purchased a reflector oven from Old Scout a number of years ago. Brownies and muffins are a special sweet treat that we enjoy on our trips. It is a small investment so I would try it.

I used to take one on group trips. It was great fun. It makes great treats.

So if you're looking for a fun activity and fun treats for a group, go for it.

Do a search of this site and you'll find users, recipes, MYO plans, and how to's. Topic comes up frequently.
Commercially available of easily home made, they work well. Need flames to reflect coals not as good, my personal rule is a flame as high as the oven top when in position. Simple small fire works well. Pizza and drop cheese biscuits among my favorites.

butthead

Fun to build, fun to use, but another thing to bring along and uses a lot of good cooking cedar to do the baking. Sort of a been-there-done-that for me, but a lot of the guys look forward to having brownies after supper...


Rear access door view

Jackfish: "No affiliation other than he's a buddy of mine and a member here at BWCA.com... but Old Scout Outdoor Products makes a dandy, collapsible reflector oven. You can find it here. "

The Old Scout Oven is a great piece of kit. I sold mine recently as it didn’t fit my tripping style (more “UL backpacking with a canoe”). Even if you try it and don’t like it you can probably resell it with a minimal loss of $ next season.

We love Old Scout's reflector oven so much we now own two of them. We keep one packed in our teardrop trailer so it's always available to use. And the other is with our camping gear ready to pack for a canoe trip... or to easily access to use on the patio for pizza.

We take it on canoe trips less often than we used to but still love to make pizzas, biscuits, bread, muffins in it if we plan a trip with time for it. We're more likely to bring it along on a canoe trip if it's just the two of us. Easier to bake for a smaller group. It can be time consuming but if you're going to be hanging out in camp and looking for something fun to do that ends up as a treat I highly recommend it.

Chocolate cake on Banadad Lake. Old scout reflector oven.

We have a Svante Freden reflector oven and are in love with it. It allows us to add that extra item to a meal like biscuits and blueberry muffins and then a cake, brownie or cookie for dessert. The kids especially love being able to have a dessert on the menu, it usually ends up being what they talk about most when it comes to meals.

Mine was a Svante Freden that I bought at Rutabaga many, many years ago. Very compact, lightweight, and easy to set up.

Reflector ovens are great for making meals like you do at home. I’ve done rolls, biscuits, bread, cookies, brownies, and hot dishes.


Here is an favorite of our groups. It’s box scalloped potatoes and spam in pouches.

You will definitely need to bring an axe or hatchet and saw to process wood. You need cooking size wood to be added during the cooking. Install a thermometer on the oven and keep the food at the correct temperature. Also rotate the food during cooking.

Thanks guys, might give one a try. The old scout looks pretty nice and doesnt look like it'll take up much room.

like Butthead said keep flames high as the oven works best.

Love mine muffins in the morning and brownies after dinner and the pizza yum

Get one try it out in backyard before your trip if you can then you know what to expect cooking on it. And rotate your food often

We always took them on trips. They are nice, but in my old age I have grown fond of my Bakepacker which is far lighter and less bulky. You can't make cherry pies with it but you can make some other neat stuff.

My dad made a DIY one to try out to see if we like it. It worked really well and we'll likely end up buying a proper one. This one works just fine but is heavy and bulky. Really opens up a whole other plethora of foods you can cook!

Another Svante Friedan Oven user. This one is nice and small and lt weight. We even take it backpacking occasionally.

SteveElms73: "My dad made a DIY one to try out to see if we like it. It worked really well and we'll likely end up buying a proper one. This one works just fine but is heavy and bulky. Really opens up a whole other plethora of foods you can cook!


"

Only way to really know something is to do it. Inexpensive and easily home constructed way of determining if and what you like.
Good looking pizza also!

butthead

TuscaroraBorealis: "


Chocolate cake on Banadad Lake. Old scout reflector oven."

That is darn special for wilderness camping. Yum! Probably taste 2X better than eating cake at home.

Love them for pizzas and cheese bread. But if you're fourth in line for a personal pizza......it's gonna be a while.

Buffalo chicken pizza.

Jackfish: "No affiliation other than he's a buddy of mine and a member here at BWCA.com... but Old Scout Outdoor Products makes a dandy, collapsible reflector oven. You can find it here. "

I agree with JF. Old Scout makes a great reflector oven. In fact, my fireplace was used in the development process as Old Scout lives about 30 rods from me.

Mike