Uncovered, the Coleman Classic boiled water in 5 minutes on the right burner and 6 minutes 30 seconds on the left burner. The Coleman Classic also boiled water 3 minutes faster than the more expensive (and reportedly more powerful) Coleman FyreCadet. What separates it from the Classic (and adds to the price tag) is more control throughout the range of cooking temperatures.
Note that the pump cup will need to be coated in Pump Lube before use, found as part # 200K2251. The Triton stove can simmer, but it wants to be a full-blast flame. You’ll have to control the dial sensitively to get it to simmer. Full blast is the default on this stove — it wants to fry your chicken in record time. The temperature dials are sensitive at the lower end, which means simmering takes a little finesse, but it’s definitely possible.
The Classic is cheap at full retail price, and online retailers often have it for even cheaper. While it wasn’t the best in any of our tested categories, it holds its own and performs consistently. If your camp cheffing needs are simple, or you are searching for a car camping stove that won’t break the bank, this is a good model to explore. While we appreciate the low profile of this stove, none of the compact two-burner models are obscene in their weight or packed size. Portability probably won’t be a make-or-break issue for most car campers.
The Triton stove can comfortably hold a 12-inch pan and 10-inch next to each other, and its frame will support a fair amount of weight. I had a hefty pot of boiling pasta on one burner and a pan full of searing chicken legs on the other without any issues. That doesn’t mean you should try to sit on it (nobody wants that kind of toasty buns!), and it still needs a flat surface to function this well. The Coleman Triton stove was my kitchen away from home for a 2,000 mile road trip through Oregon, Nevada, and California where my wife and I visited several National Parks and Monuments. Every breakfast and dinner we had during those two weeks was cooked on the Triton’s two burners. Ravioli were boiled to perfection, eggs were made over easy, and sloppy joes were simmered for exactly 30 minutes as per the rules of my mama’s secret recipe.
The Mountaineer does have an additional-leg kit, but we didn’t find the pieces helpful (the legs were too short for our needs, and they felt loose when attached). It’s better if you can set this stove on a table or some kind of camp stand. Coleman covers this stove with a three-year limited warranty. The pressed metal of the cooktop—held
in place by two thin slip rings clasped around the burner heads—has a tendency to move out of alignment, catching against the rolled inner lip of the lid when closed. At one point I had to use the handle of a spoon to pry the case open again. You could fix the problem using a Dremel tool and a grinder, if you have one.