APPY CAMPING: COOKING STOVE CHARGES SMARTPHONES

Here's a APPY solution that should brighten up a wet weekend away camping - a wood powered stove that also recharges your smartphone. The CampStove can burn sticks, pine cones and biomass to generate enough heat and power to charge a phone, light, satnav or gadget that is USB chargeable. The quirky invention converts the heat from the fire to power a fan and produce the electric charge that US manufacturers BioLite claim eliminates the need for expensive fuel when users are without electricity. They say its CHAR-GE GRILLED capabilities still provide enough power for a fully fired stove to cook a meal's essentials when a device is on charge. Users in the US hailed its effectiveness during Hurricane Sandy when over six million people lost electricity with some able to carry on cooking and keeping electronics charged using the device. The stove's powerpack slips inside the small 21cm by 12cm cooking chamber and is lit with a match or lighter, weighing in at 935g. It currently retails at £80 ($129) in the US and is set to be available in stores in the UK next summer.

Other great stories
CLIMBING BEAR CUB

BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .

MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION

An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .

ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM

TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .

AMAZING AERIAL PATTERNS

Swirling water and sand create amazing aerial images of river deltas across Iceland .

OH DEER: MOMENT DEER CRASHES THROUGH WINDSCREEN OF BUS

With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .

SLEEPY GROUNDHOG

WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .

RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .

ABANDONED PLAZA HOTEL

The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .

BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS

UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN

HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .

WINKING SQUIRREL

BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .