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.
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.
It certainly isn’t winning awards for the fastest boil times. While we enjoy many features of this model, it is not the best we tested. However, it does provide everything you might want out of a camping stove without breaking the bank. Two burners are sufficient for most campers, but aspiring camp chefs or those who typically head out with larger groups might want to step up to a three-burner stove. And like Coleman’s own Cascade 3-in-1 below, the 328 model comes equipped with helpful touches like matchless ignition, intuitive temperature controls, and an integrated wind screen. Take the convenience of home cooking to the wilderness with the Coleman Portable Propane Gas Classic Stove with 2 Burners.
There is a “dual fuel” design that will also run off of unleaded gasoline. Two pints will burn for about two hours with both burners on high. Remember that white gas or “Coleman” fuel produces carbon monoxide and should never be used inside. Most of the tabletop stoves are easy to clean and care for because they are built to meet similar maintenance goals. Cleaning is often as easy as lifting off the cooking grate to wipe underneath.
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 Eureka Ignite Plus and the Kovea Slim Twin are also great stoves that strike a decent balance between affordability and performance. We are especially impressed by how the Ignite Plus appears to be built
to last. If you are in the market for a freestanding stove with premium power and a design that could withstand an apocalypse, the Camp Chef Outdoorsman does it all for a fairly reasonable price.
For instance, you can sear a steak or blister peppers at a higher heat than on our other picks for a darker char in faster time, which means you can cook more food in the same amount of time. But managing them does require a certain amount of finesse—with a stove this powerful, it’s easier to burn your food than to keep the heat low. This stove is great for the most committed car campers and outdoor gourmets, but for most campers, its cost and durability are overkill. In our windless test, all of the stoves in our review boiled water in less than 7 minutes, but there was a significant difference between boiling times with and without the fan. The Outdoorsman and Everest 2x had impressively negligible variability between the two tests, taking an additional 4 seconds and 8 seconds, respectively. The Mountaineer 2X and the Kovea Slim both had minimal variability between the tests taking only additional seconds to boil a liter in the wind than without it.
If you regularly use larger pots or pans, it’s worth digging into this spec closely before making a purchase (most manufacturers and retails will publish the dimensions). Alternatively, if your stove will be your first purchase, make sure the cookware you buy will fit on your unit’s cook surface. While a blazing 20,000 BTU burner is great for a spaghetti feed, for items that require a little more finesse you’ll want to make sure the stove has effective simmer control. This requires fuel regulation that doesn’t fluctuate and a flame that remains strong even at low heat. Good simmer performance isn’t something typically found on a spec sheet, but a high-end model will typically perform better in these conditions. Moreover, having a good windscreen will help keep the flame lit if you’re running the heat on low.
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).