The BioLite CampStove won the Derryck Draper Award
Outdoor writers and photographers have awarded their annual innovation award to a stove which uses twigs and pine cones as fuel to cook backpackers’ meals, while at the same time recharging electronic devices.
The BioLite CampStove was named by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild as this year’s Derryck Draper Award winner at the organisation’s annual gathering.
Previous winners of the award have included NeoShell Fabric by Polartec, the Laser Photon tent by Terra Nova and the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress by Cascade Designs.
The award recognises innovation in outdoor products or services during the previous year and is named in honour of OWPG founder member and past chairman Derryck Draper who died in 2004. It is judged by a panel of gear experts drawn from within the OWPG’s own membership.
The BioLite CampStove was designed by BioLite founders Jonathan Cedar and Alex Drummond. The BioLite HomeStove, a larger version incorporating similar technology, is used in the developing world to provide families with heat and electricity. It uses 50 per cent less fuel than an open fire and produces 91 per cent less carbon monoxide and 94 per cent less smoke.
As grough revealed in its coverage of the Outdoor Trade Show, the stove will charge small electrical devices such as mobile phones and GPS units, using energy from a thermoelectric generator that also improves combustion.
The BioLite CampStove is fuelled by nothing more than easily sourced twigs or pinecones, so there’s no need for the weight-conscious backpacker to carry or burn fossil fuels such as petrol or canister gas.
Mr Cedar, BioLite’s chief executive, said: “We are thrilled to receive the Derryck Draper Award and honoured that the OWPG considers us an innovative contributor to the outdoors community.
“It has been a long journey bringing the BioLite CampStove to launch and we are grateful for the recognition from those who are engaged with the outdoors on a daily basis.”
The award, in the form of a painting of Lether Tor on Dartmoor by OWPG member and landscape artist David Bellamy, was accepted by Tristen Naylor on behalf of BioLite. He said: “The company is very pleased to receive this prestigious award and proud that its work has been recognised by such an important body in the UK outdoor community.”
Dr Adam Watson. Photo: Derek Pyper/Adam Watson Collection
At Saturday’s award ceremony in Jersey, the OWPG also announced that Dr Adam Watson is to be the recipient of the 2012 Golden Eagle Award, presented every year to a person who has rendered distinguished or meritorious service to the outdoors.
Dr Watson, biologist, ecologist and mountaineer, has dedicated his life to the scientific study and protection of the Cairngorms, on which he is considered the pre-eminent authority. The 23 books he has authored include The Cairngorms, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Trust and regarded as the definitive mountaineering guide for the region.
Previous Golden Eagle recipients have included Bill Bryson, Sir Christian Bonington, Doug Scott, Sir David Attenborough, Tom Weir, Irvine Butterfield and Sir Chris Brasher.
Dr Watson’s award will be presented at a ceremony in the Cairngorms later in 2012.
