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Best Campstoves

The camp stove is, after the tent, the second most important purchase.  A good campstove will last for decades (I bought my Coleman in 1988 and it still works great!.

Camp stove technology is simple. Propane or butane gas canisters travel through a metal pipe through a control valve to the burner that mixes the fuel with airt and burns.  No moving parts. So, if the case is built well and it is not left out in the rain, it can last a lifetime.

Differences between the many brands are few and generally insignificant.  You want a quality built, lightweight, reliable stove at a good price!

Here's what you need to know about camp stoves

  • You don't need - nor want - a tiny backpacking camp stove.  They are finicky and don't have the power to quickly and easily cook a meal for a group.  They're made for that nutjob at work who tells you he's going backpacking in the Rockies over Thanksgiving.  And then you see the news report of them finding him half frozen and lost.
  • You don't need to spend a fortune on a camp stove.  A good one costs between $45 and $100
  • You want 10,000 BTU per burner or more. That's the amount of heat that will cook a pot of food or boil water in a reasonable time.
  • You want 2 burners. If you're cooking in a campsite, you haven't got a microwave oven to reheat things.  One pot will have the entree, the other veggies or a side dish.
  • Stability counts - the flat wide designs won't tip over and burn you and spill your food.

Recommendations

  1. The Classic Coleman Propane Gas 2-Burner Camping Stove is hard to beat it has 10's of thousands of reviews and a 5-star rating. 
    It's been around for decades. I stil use the one I bought in 1988.  Go to any Boy Scout camping trip and everyone's using them
    And you sure can't beat the power, price, easy of use and reliability.
  2. Coleman Triton 2-Burner Propane Camp Stove - This is basically the same as the Classic Coleman,
    just with 10% more power; 11k BTU per burner instead of 10k BTU. So it's a newer design and slightly more powerful.
  3. Coleman Propane Grill and Stove 2 in 1 - This one has 1 stove burner and 1 grill burner.. which could also be used as a burner. 
    They say it is easy to clean.. Most use a fry pan on the stove to make things like burgers and hot dogs, but you could grill them directly on the grill with this one.  I still think the fry pan, especially a nonstick fry pan, would be much easier to clean up.
  4. FineFlame Camping Stove 3 Burner and Toast Tray - OK, I have to admit, this one looks cool!  3 burners PLUS a toaster! T 20400 BTU Propane Portable Stove with Regulator. Again, most use a fry pan or pot on the stove to make things like burgers and hot dogs, spaghetti sauce and noodles. With a nonstick fry pan it's easy to clean up.
  5. Stand alone propane stove - I've had this one for decades, too.  And while it is not my main stove, it is so small, I bring just so I can have a third burner if I need it. It is simple, it just screws on to the top of a propane canister and you slip the plastic base on the bottom of the canister for stability. It also makes an inexpensive lightweight stove for the occasional backpacking hiking trip.
  6. Jetboil Flash Camping and Backpacking 1-burner Stove Cooking System - I know I said don't get the tiny stoves, and I meant it for families and groups.  But if you are going backpacking or for some reason need a super small, lightweight stove, this one is it. It is reliable and puts out 10k BTU.  The Boy Scout dads who like gizmos love this one. Still... it's almost useless for cooking for a family because it is only 1 burner (you need 2!) it is almost double the cost of the Coleman 2 burner Classic, and it uses little cans of fuel that are double the cost of propane. 

 

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