A man plagued with such poor vision he sometimes had to ask classmates to read aloud to him, Coleman saw a brilliant light in 1900 in a drugstore window that stopped him in his tracks. He inquired about the light inside and discovered he was able to read even the small print on a medicine bottle by the illumination. The lamps had mantles, not wicks, and were fueled by gasoline under pressure instead of coal oil. In the ensuing years, Coleman expanded its product line well beyond lanterns. The company’s current catalog is thick with products that make spending time outdoors a pleasure. Coleman has truly fashioned much of our outdoor camping experience, and expects to do so for generations to come.
However, the Coleman Classic only heated water to 184 degrees in our wind test — a far cry from boiling. The amount of control that you have with the temperature knobs is incredible. Plus, you can open or shut the air vents to control the heat and quality of the flame, dialing it back to a concentrated and hot blue flame or up to a more dispersed yellow flame. The Everest even boiled water faster than the burly 30,000 BTU burners of the Camp Chef Explorer. Read on for our full camping stove reviews, as well as advice on how to choose the right stove for your next camping feast.
Repeat for the other burner if you have a three burner stove. Many stoves come with an integrated ignition system, some easier to use than others, but all are extremely convenient…when working properly. Unfortunately, auto ignition
systems are often the first thing to fail, so always be sure to have an alternate fire starter (i.e. long handle Bic fire lighter) on hand. As mentioned above, wind can play a major role in the overall performance of your stove.
The Coleman Cascade Burner Camping Stove represents a slight step up from our top pick, the Coleman Classic, in cooking control and power. If you like the features of the Coleman Classic but also want the option to serve your scrambled eggs extra-soft or to bring your veggies down to a much slower simmer, this stove will serve you well. The cooking controls were delicate enough that we could crank up the Coleman Classic to boil water and fry bacon or turn it down to poach an egg and create golden-edged pancakes.
The high-octane burners are so powerful they were unphased by our wind tests. Beyond this, the stove has removable legs, so it can be used freestanding or on a table. Surprisingly, even with two high-octane burners, the Outdoorsman has good low-end control for simmering and proved to be fairly fuel-efficient (especially when it wasn’t on full blast).
To help, there are wind shields on many models that cover three sides of the stove. This type of protection is a must-have, but it still won’t protect you from really strong gusts. In general,
we’ve found that the smaller the footprint the better the wind resistance, but large freestanding stoves can be set up just about anywhere, so hopefully you can find a decent wind break.
The 3-in-1 version, however, includes a cast-iron square griddle and a square grill. In addition, the key difference is the grates — the 3-in-1 uses cast-iron grates instead of chromed steel. The remaining specs and build quality are nearly the same, but the burners put out 24,000 total BTUs.
There is a very tight window between the heat strength of an industrial furnace and no-flames-at-all where the perfect simmer resides. I got used to its sensitivity after awhile, but it was annoying when I had to grab my lighter and reignite the flame. Free-Standing – Free-standing stoves are a great option if tabletop space is limited.
Between performance and cost, only you can decide which aspects to prioritize. The drawbacks with this stove are fairly negligible unless space, weight, fuel efficiency, or price are a concern. The revamped Everest 2x is among the bulkier and heavier tabletop propane stoves we tested. It is also fairly expensive; however, it is comparable in price to the other top performers in our review, so we think it is worth it — especially for premium durability and wind resistance. If your car camping rig can accommodate a slightly bulkier stove, and you’re looking for a powerful stove that will simmer like a boss, this might be the one for you.
But figuring out which camping stove model is right for you can be overwhelming. Various fuel types, new features, and—of course—a wide spread in price points. Needs to flip over but can toast only one side b/c the flame makes the bread real dry. There is no light weight propane smell either, just smells like toast! You have to be right there to shut off the gas or it will burn.