gosun Portable Solar Oven: Kind of Cool, but Still Hot
Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 14, 2021
Here I am writing about another gosun product. How did this happen? Last summer I was asked if I wanted to try out the gosun Solar Oven for free. I said, yes of course. In addition to being a recycling nerd and zealot, I am also a huge sustainability fan with a trace of survivalist thrown in. There was no way for me to resist this offer, especially since the opening pitch mentioned hot dogs. As it played out, the item was on back order for a while so I ended up getting it in the late fall. Due to the delay I was asked if I wanted to try our the gosun Flatware. I ended up getting both at the same time. I am late on reviewing both products but review the oven I will with no good excuse for the delay other than a lock of no free time until recently.
Let’s start with the cool factor. This oven is portable and lightweight (2 pounds). This is easy and intuitive to use. The oven is the size of a small purse. It also comes with easy to understand instructions and sample cook times based on the amount of sun and the type of food being cooked. There is also a lot of stuff that comes with the stove – a nylon bag to carry everything including a tube cleaner and silicon food trays to hold food in the tube.
The diameter of the tube is a bit more that the typical paper towel cardboard cylinder. You are not going to cook a meal for a family of six with this oven and you are not going to get anything as quickly as a microwave. In this case the journey is more important that the destination. The stove does work! It worked during an Ohio winter (I have photos to prove it!).
The only downsides I have identified for the solar oven in my first uses are tubular in nature. I think cooking 6 hot dogs (as noted in the book) is a bit optimistic and may not be logistically possible. Also, I wish at least one of the silicone tubes was the length of a hot dog. Otherwise, all is good.
How do I see people using this? This would be great for a picnic where you had enough leisure time to add a warm entree or side for two. This would be great for ice fishermen looking for an extra source of hot water. The oven is also a great way to teach kids about the power of solar – this would be a fun experiment for an elementary school science class.
Because I like the Swiss army knife aspect of gadgets, I would love to see the addition of a cell phone or USB charger added to the product. Otherwise, as long as you have reasonable expectations and some time on your hands, this oven will be something you can enjoy for a long time.
P.S. You are probably wondering how you boil water with the oven – set the item vertically with the cap on the top and you have created a no spill container for the water to heat up. It has a boiling capacity of 13.5 fl. ounces.
If you live in the Columbus area and want to borrow this for a a while – shoot me an e-mail. My hope, is that I can lure the Instagram legend, @Seligmansdog to try this oven out in a series of mad science experiments. If so, we will report the outcomes via Instagram.
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
Peter said
I would like to borrow the gosun portable solar oven.
cmh gourmand said
Hi Peter,
I had hoped to loan out this contraption to the infamous @Seligmansdog – but it was not dangerous enough for him. I ended up selling it on ebay last week. Sorry. It is a good product.