Do you have pictures or a description of the stove you made that you would be willing to share?

For me, the Kifaru stove is less than optimal for my type of camping because it’s is too small to bank with large enough logs to keep a slow fire going for a few hours. It also has no damper. I also find it frustratingly difficult to assemble in the cold with my arthritic hands, especially after I warped it badly staying warm in a deep subzero blizzard in the BWCA. Granted, I used it harder than it was intended to be used, and it kept us warm inside the tipi so we wouldn’t have to choose between staying in sleeping bags or going outside by a fire. However, that experience is what prompted me to design and build a more substantial one. I can now bank my stove, crank it up to a good burn, then damper it down for a 3-4 hour slow fire. I even get a few live coals after a full night without stoking, which never happened with Kifaru.

Bottom line – buy the Kifaru or Titanium Goat if light weight is what you need. If not, buy or build a bigger stove.