UPDATED APRIL 2018 A solar oven can make outdoor cooking, especially baking, a breeze. Here’s my review of the GoSun Sport.
Welcome to Camp Cooking Week! We’ve been cooking outdoors all week long check out our other posts for outdoor cooking tips and tricks. I saved this post for the final installment of Camp Cook Week because it was the most fun.
GoSun Sport Solar Oven
One of the coolest new products I saw at this summer’s Outdoor Retailer conference was this ingenious solar cooker – the GoSun Sport. Its evacuated borosilicate glass tube allows for the sun to heat the inside of the tube up to a temperature of 600 degrees (less when food’s inside) while keeping the outside cool to the touch.
Seriously, I touched the glass by accident and was so surprised at its cool temp I let out a “Wow!” without even meaning to. And it’s surprisingly lightweight – only 3.5 lbs.
A few summers ago I attempted making my own solar cooker in a fit of eco-consciousness. The tinfoil lined cardboard reflector quickly fell apart and the constant repositioning made my DIY solar cooker less than ideal.
The GoSun Sport works so much better. It was fun to experiment with different foods and flavors. The foods tasted great, just like if I had cooked them in my kitchen and the GoSun Sport was easy to use. I loved it.
Solar Oven Basics
Like with anything you haven’t tried before, solar cooking requires some learning and practice. But not much. Point the reflectors of the GoSun Sport toward the sun, put food in the tube and wait.
Because cooking time depends on multiple factors like time of day and cloudiness, I set a 20 minute timer to remind myself to check the food. Since there’s no fuel or flame involved I kinda forgot about it and was surprised when none of the foods I tried burned (meat, veggies, potatoes, banana bread – not all at the same time).
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| Food thermometer reads 150 degrees F |
Of course a solar oven can only really work when the sun is out. That provides some limitations, like having to plan ahead to have dinner ready, or not being able to cook in the rain. I tried it on a partially cloudy and windy day and was still impressed with the results.
Also the evacuated glass tube was an amazing insulator. My meatballs finished cooking at two in the afternoon, I left them in the glass tube on my kitchen table until dinner at six and they were still so hot when we got them out little g had to blow on them before putting them in her mouth.
GoSun Stove Limitations
I also wish it were easier to clean. I spilled some meat juice inside the glass tube that was hard to completely clean out. The GoSun Sport came with a scrubber that attaches to the end of the cooking tray, but it was hard to see to the end of the tube without a flashlight.
Pros:
- Lightweight – only 3.5 lbs.
- Easy to use
- Portable
- Fuel free
- Can bake – which is difficult for many outdoor cooking options.
- Fun to use
- Well designed
Cons:
- Limited cooking space – up to 3 lbs.
- Can’t cook at night or without sun
- Price
- Can be hard to clean (don’t spill)
Overall the GoSun Sport is an impressive outdoor cooking option. It’s lightweight, easy to use and completely fuel free. Plus it’s really fun.
Thanks for enjoying this week of camp cooking with me! Let me know what tasty camp cooking you try!
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Dutch Oven Cooking for Beginners – Camp Cook Week Day 1
Primus Firehole 100 Camp Stove Review – Camp Cook Week Day 2
Backyard Bonfire – Camp Cook Week Day 3
Backpackables with Munk Pack, Chapul and GoChia – Camp Cook Week Day 4
Just Add Water Alpine Aire and Live Prepared Instant Meal Review – Camp Cook Week Day 5
Outdoor Recipe Roundup – Camp Cook Week Day 6
