That said, if you’ll be doing a lot of four-season camping, liquid fuel is the most reliable choice and can come in the form of white gas, unleaded gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, or diesel. White gas is one of the best choices for backpacking and basecamping coleman stove in extreme conditions, but there aren’t a whole lot of options in a full-size camping stove style. If you’re a hardcore adventurer, consider a stove like the Coleman Guide Series Dual Fuel , which can run on either white gas or unleaded gasoline.
When we would use this stove on low, the wind would extinguish the flame multiple times in a single cooking session. By contrast, the Mountaineer, Kovea Slim, and Everest 2x cooked food efficiently even in the wind. The Kovea Slim Twin is a fantastic option if space is at a premium and you need a well-performing stove that doesn’t break the bank.
Part of why it did well in the windy boil test is due to the innovative design of the windscreen. The windscreen on this stove can provide near total protection from a side wind, which effectively protected the burner from our fan-generated breeze. In the field, this allowed it to remain relatively consistent through all manner of weather variations. Despite just 10,000 BTUs per burner, the compact design packs a little punch. If speed is a priority for your boiling needs, however, one option is to pair the Classic with a rapid-boiling backpacking model like the JetBoil MiniMo.
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. 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. With 10,000 Btu of heat emanating from each burner on high, this stove should allow you to cook almost anything you can imagine—from burgers to a creamy chicken braise to a vegetable stir-fry.
A removable drip pan makes it easier to clean the surface and internal parts of the stove as necessary. With removable legs that only take a minute to screw into position, the Outdoorsman can easily transform between a freestanding and a tabletop stove. With a DIY windscreen, the SPRK+ would have been much better equipped to handle a windy day on the lake. The compact Kovea Slim Twin offers excellent wind resistance and is affordable to boot.
This isn’t always the case — some folks have been able to keep their old Coleman Classic functioning well for decades. You can leave your dehydrated, salty, and unsatisfying meals at home—today’s camping stoves bring a whole new level of gourmet to your car camping and basecamping adventures. With a modern, quality design you can expect consistent fuel output, strong flames, and superior simmer controls.
You’ll appreciate the latch when you use the stove’s built-in recessed carry handle, too. The Mountaineer performed well in both our windy and wind-free tests, with minimal difference in boil times between the two. With tight windscreens and slightly recessed burners, the Everest 2x delivered unbeatable performance in the wind. The wind screens snap into place on the Mountaineer with the same latches you use to close the stove.
(Don’t forget to treat your cast iron!) If you know you’ll use this stove and the cast iron grill and griddles, then it’s still a great buy. Finally, like any burners, there are going to be some hot and some not-so hot spots around the surface of the cast irons, once they heat up. Now, this didn’t affect grilling buns or corn, but if you are trying to cram a lot of food onto the griddle, just know the temperature will vary a little. The TemboTusk Adjustable Leg Skottle Grill Kit has the lightweight, cobbled-together charm of good adventure gear.
Some neighbor kids and I had a shack back in the woods, and the camp stove got a lot of use. I even had a folding oven – also a Coleman brand – that fit across the burners and worked quite well for coleman propane stove cooking frozen pizzas. A Colman propane camp stove is probably the most essential camping accessory. A hot meal at the end of a day in the great outdoors is something to really look forward to.
Along with our in-house experts, our team analyzes thousands of product reviews from the most trusted websites. Burners over 30,000 BTUs are overkill for most campers and can get hot enough to damage typical camping cookware. In less ideal conditions, or when you’re still learning to use it, it can be a frustrating 15- to 20-minute ordeal before you’re ready to start cooking. This stove is also guaranteed to turn the bottom of any pot black with soot. The Stansport’s simmer and fine-tuned temperature control felt on par with our Top Pick. We could easily dial it down to a low setting without it accidentally shutting off.