Camping Stove Review

Introduction to Camping Stoves

Camp stoves vary in size from big three-burner propane stoves, useful for car camping, down to pocket-sized backpacking stoves that weigh three ounces or less. The most credible and detailed reviews we found evaluate tiny backpacking stoves. In fact, we found no in-depth testing of large camp stoves - just a handful of subjective reviews. Since large stoves remain popular for family and group outings, we focused on user reviews from camping forums and from general sites like Amazon.com and Epinions.

There are many reviews of smaller backpacking stoves, but we found BackpackingLight.com to have the best objective tests; editors offer a pair of reports that evaluate stoves using lightweight isobutane fuel-canisters and the even-lighter alcohol stoves, which use the safest and least toxic fuel. The newest reviews of backpacking stoves explore so-called "integrated" systems - stoves that come with pots and other attachments made specifically to fit the stove. The integrated trend that started in 2003 with the introduction of the Jetboil PCS, or Personal Cooking System (est. $80), has expanded. We found several good sources of integrated stove reviews that include outdoor testing and boiling time performance.

In addition to travel, camping stoves can be important for home disaster preparation. Experts on emergency preparation suggest getting a camp stove and fuel supply that you can take with you if you need to evacuate, or for use in a storm shelter at home. If you use an electric range for everyday cooking, it's good to have an emergency stove on hand for power outages.

Camping stove reviews make clear that pressurized propane or butane stoves are the easiest and most convenient to use -- as simple as using a gas grill. Camp stoves that use white gas or other petroleum-based liquid fuels are trickier to learn to use safely, and the flame adjustment under the second burner can be difficult to adjust. User reviews agree, consistently rating liquid-fuel two-burner camping stoves lower than propane camp stoves. This is due in part to user assessments of declining quality for the old standby, the Coleman white gas camping stoves. Users on the whole have a love-hate relationship with Coleman white gas stoves. Many say they use the most reliable fuel - which is easy to light and widely available - but some feel the convenience is trumped by the poor craftsmanship of today's Coleman stoves. Several Amazon.com reviewers of the Coleman Dual Fuel Compact stove (*Est. $90) , now made in China, say the stove uses thinner gauge steel which easily rusts, is lighter in weight and has ill-fitting parts. One said the fuel injection pipe frequently came loose.

Incidentally, two-burner liquid-fuel camping stoves made in the USA have also had safety problems. In 2002, several models made by Century Tool were recalled for a problem with the burner assemblies. If you need a liquid-fuel stove for its excellent performance in cold weather, or because white gas is inexpensive, reviews give several single-burner camping stoves much better report cards for quality and performance. These are covered below in our Full Story. It's worth noting here that Coleman makes many propane-powered stoves, too, and these get better ratings from users, especially the Coleman 2 Burner Propane Stove (*Est. $50) .