Camp Stoves

There are many  different kinds of camp stoves, ranging from tiny little fold-up, solid fuel stoves for back packing to large propane fired models capable of supporting meal preparation for dozens of people. 

When most people think of a camp stove, the image of a traditional Coleman stove comes to mind.  The most popular model is a 2-burner version that is compact and yet provides a lot of capability and versatility for campers. The larger, 3-burner model gives even more capacity, but is a little heavier and takes up a little more room in your camp kit.  Coleman style stoves usually run on Coleman Fuel, also known as "white gas".  That is gasoline without any of the additives normally contained in motor vehicle fuel.  A nice option is a "dual fuel"stove that can run on white gas or ordinary regular gasoline.  Regular gasoline is less expensive, more abundant, and in an emergency you could even draw some out of your motor vehicles to run the stove.

You can buy single burner liquid fuel stoves too.  They would be good if you are short of space to carry or store them and don't need to cook in more than one pan at a time.

Single burner butane-powered camp stoves are also available.  They are somewhat smaller and lighter than the Coleman style stoves, usually a little smaller than a brief case.  The butane canister is about the size of a can of spray paint and there is usually room to carry one right inside the stove so it is pretty compact and self-contained.

Camp Chef produces a line of larger, stand-alone propane stoves for supporting meals for larger groups.  They are typically configured to run off a 5 gallon propane tank like you use for your BBQ.   These are larger stoves that come with their own legs and can easily handle very large cooking pots  They also have a variety of options available such as grill/griddles and BBQ boxes.

Both Coleman and Camp Camp Chef portable stainless steel ranges that look like a smaller version of your home stove, complete with oven.  There are two top burners above the oven and the whole thing runs on propane, which can come from a small screw-on canister or a standard 5 gallon propane tank.  Stoves like this can give tent campers about the same cooking facilities as an RV range and oven but they are somewhat bulky and are not cheap, around $250-300 new, making them quite a bit more expensive than a standard Coleman camp stove.  You might find one on ebay.com for under $200.

While all of these are great options for RVers and car campers, they are all too large and too heavy for hikers and back packers.  Smaller propane stoves, sometimes nicknamed "grasshoppers" are single burner stoves that mount to a small fuel cylinder that also becomes a major part of the support for the stove.  Back packers often opt for even smaller butane powered stoves that run on a fuel canister about the size of a can of spray paint.  If that is still too big or heavy to cart around there are tiny little fold-up stoves powered by solid fuel pellets.  These are often small enough to fit in your pocket and the solid fuel pellets are safe and easy to carry.

Some folks use sterno stoves like those used by caterers to heat the large serving pans,  They also make sterno stoves especially for camping.  These are all small, inexpensive, and easy to carry, but for me the cost of sterno fuel makes them less appealing than other options. A 7oz can of sterno will last about 2 hours and cost about $7!  Sterno stoves can be used indoors, but as with any flame driven device, make sure you have adequate ventilation to avoid suffocation.

Boat stoves.  Some, but not all, camp stoves are suitable for use on boats.   For use on a boat you want a stove with safe fuel and with pot retainers to keep pots from sliding off the stove when the boat rocks.  Alcohol stoves are often preferred for boats for safety reasons.  Propane is heavier than air and any leaks will accumulate in the bilge, giving the potential for an explosion.

There are many types of camping stoves available so you should be able to find one (or more) to meet your camping needs.  I always try to have at least one butane single burner and one Coleman 2 burner stove in my inventory to address various situations.  I also have a large, 30,000 BTU Camp Chef 2-burner stove with grill/griddle and BBQ box I can haul around in my motorcycle trailer to support large groups.

Camp stoves cook!