Purchasing the best camp stove is an important decision. It’s common for people to see a large selection and become intimidated, so they choose the wrong camp stove for all the wrong reasons. Hopefully, I can help you to avoid that problem with this article. It’s important to understand what your needs for a camp stove are before you choose one. Here are my five uses to consider when choosing a camp stove along with my personal recommendation.
This article will cover these three aspects of Camping Stoves.
1. Fuel choice: wood or propane
2. For cooking only or heating as well
3. Best features for cooking
4: Best price
Camp Chef Pro 90X
This portable camping stove is fairly simple and designed to get set up, get heated up, and get cooking in a short time. The three burners bring a great amount of heat to this grill and have instant ignition which will save you time trying to start them with a match or some other way that requires a spark. Once heated the grill can get pretty hot which is awesome after a long day out on the trails and you are ready to eat.
The grill comes with a windshield so even if the wind changes you are safe and the food on the grill as well as the flame won’t be tampered with. The grill also comes with side tables that fold out. They are not the sturdiest, so I don’t recommend putting anything too heavy on them, but they are useful for holding utensils and other cooking tools. To heat the grill, you will need a five-pound propane tank and that's the only kind that will fit and work with the grill so keep that in mind when planning what to pack.
The grill itself weighs in at sixty pounds but folds up nicely and comes with a steel handle to carry it with. The legs of the grill lock in place and are adjustable in case you have to set it on uneven ground. If you are looking for something simple and need to make a good amount of food while camping, this is a good grill to use.
Rocket Stove
The Camping Rocket Stove is great for the feel of cooking over an open fire without having an actual open fire in front of you. The stove is made super sturdy and the materials will hold up for years to come. For anyone looking to use this stove, you will need to have experience starting an actual fire as this is a wood-fueled stove.
The whole experience will be something any experienced camper will be used to but for beginners or anyone who has only used gas or electric grills, there will be a bit of a learning curve. Once the fire is lit, it is easy to maintain, and the stove will do a great job staying hot without any smoke bothering you.
Really, the only time you have to deal with smoke is when you are first starting the stove up and when you are cooling it down The grill comes with a stand to keep it off the ground and a stove for you to place pans and pots on over the fire. It also comes with a carrying case to put all the parts in and the stove itself has a handle for when you just need to move it short distances and don’t want to pack it all up.
Since it is built sturdy and to withstand high heats, it is on the heavier side so while made to be portable, carrying it for long distances might not be as much fun if you are doing so by yourself. If looking for that great campfire feel without dealing with the whole campfire setup, this is a great stove for you.
Coleman Camp Stove
Here is another propane-fueled grill for those who are not fond of trying to start a fire themselves or just prefer things the easier way. This is a two-burner tabletop camping stove. It is made to be portable so it does not come with a stand and will need to be placed on a table or other elevated flat surface if you are looking to use it. The burners are good at adjustments so the heat could be better controlled. On high, the grill will last for about an hour using a sixteen-ounce propane tank.
This stove also comes with windshields on three sides to help keep the flames on. Be sure to check fuel lines are all connected as some people have noticed they may be undone while en route. In terms of being a camping stove though this is a solid choice. The burners are easy to control, and they're made to move.
MSR PocketRocket 2
Our third entry here is something geared for the soloist camper. The Pocket Rocket is a great and simple single-serve camping stove that does what is advertised and that is a lot. It has a few parts to it, but the assembly is very simple, and it all fits together for easy cleanup and packing which is great for long hikes or weekends out in the wild. It is by far the lightest and easiest to carry camping stove on the list. It weighs in at just about ten ounces and can hold up to sixteen in the cooking canister.
Heating a cup of water in it takes about three and a half minutes. This is made for simple meals and making single cups of coffee or drinks but each piece of it has more than one use. The pot top acts as a lid and strainer and is also transparent. The cooking canister is also a cup to drink from and there is an insinuating ring that works for hot and cold.
The only thing not included in this kit is the fuel source, but that is to be expected. There is also a small sack included throw it all into when you are storing it. There are controls for the flame to keep it from getting too hot and the fuel should last an hour even with it on high. With all this in mind, I would say this is a single hiker’s best friend when looking to cook for themselves while taking a trip.
Firebox Stove
For those looking to get something more than just a camping stove, this is a great purchase for you. This stove is wood-fueled so you do have to apply some effort to get it going but not much. Once it is started it will burn hot and for a long time. The cooking area at the top comes with different replaceable cooking areas to allow for grilling or other cooking methods you might want to use.
The door to the fire has a heatproof glass pane so you can keep an eye on the fire without it being out in the open. The bottom of the grill is ventilated to allow air in and ashes to fall out so you can keep the fire going while cleaning out the ash trap. There are also attachable chimneypieces to divert the smoke away from you and your family while you are cooking.
The added bonus to this stove is it also makes a great tent heater. The chimney stack comes with enough pieces to make sure no smoke makes it into the tent and is secure enough that nothing leaks out, not even from the stove itself. It can heat up almost any size tent and keep it heated for hours on end. The stove comes with four widespread detachable legs for stability, even on uneven ground so it stays standing and does not require a watchful eye the entire time.
All the pieces of the stove can fit inside, and it is easy to carry so moving it along with the camp is not a total hassle. It weighs a little less than forty pounds, so this is great if you plan to set up camp and stay in place for a few days. Definitely, something nice to bring on those cold fall and winter trips to help do more than one job.
Well, that's all I got for you today!
Thanks for reading my articles. My goal is to help you to save money on great products and have a great time. And maybe throw in a few nuggets of helpful tips that I've learned along the way.
Until the next article…do yourself a favor and take a kid camping, it will change your life.
All the best,
Alex
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