Slower boil times may not matter to you if you tend to boil water in a separate device like a Jetboil or if you prefer to simmer your dinners and don’t care about a raging flame. We heavily weighted the metric for boiling time because a faster boil in windy and windless conditions generally means quicker meals, faster coffee, broader versatility, and more efficient fuel use. However, the importance of this metric depends on your cooking style and preferences. The Classic lacks an auto-ignition system, and getting a perfect simmer is slightly trickier than on some of the other models we tested. The small burners are prone to creating hot spots in the center of larger pans, which is a common trend in small-diameter heating elements.
Stove will toast the bread nice and even, as long as you pay attention. Light a match or lighter and hold it over the master burner. If the Master Burner does not ignite within 10 seconds, extinguish the match/lighter and close the valve. Investigate this failure by returning to step 8, then re-cleaning your manifold as necessary. Locate the large butterfly handle on the side of the stove and turn it fully clockwise to close the auxiliary burner.
Most of the best camping stoves are in the 20,000 to 30,000 BTU range. That gives you plenty of power for quick boil times and high-heat cooking while staying compact and fuel efficient. To measure boil times, we head to our windless “lab,” aka our garage, at 5,000 feet and do two boil tests. For the first test, we boil 1 liter of 58°F water in the presence of 2-4 mph of “wind” generated by a box fan. For the second test, we boil 1 liter of water in the absence of wind. For the windy test, the Classic boiled water in 6 minutes 15 seconds, and in the wind-less test, it boiled water in 4 minutes 45 seconds.
As its name suggests, the SPRK+ runs on butane, which isn’t as readily available as the ubiquitous green propane canisters. In addition, butane struggles in cold temperatures , so it’s less versatile than the propane designs on our list and also falls short of more winter-ready liquid-fuel models. That said, the SPRK+ is very well rounded for a butane model and handily beats out Coleman’s popular Butane Instastart in heat output, weight, and wind protection. If you don’t mind the tradeoffs in opting for this fuel type, the Eureka is an affordable and thoughtfully designed single-burner stove.
After the review, we return it, give it away, or work on longer-term review follow-ups when applicable to reader interest. All-in-all, the Coleman Cascade 2-Burner Camping Stove represents coleman stove a fresh new look from Coleman, as well as a few key improvements. We’re fans of the new knobs and much improved simmer control, as well as the bomber latch and easy-clean design.