The Top 10 Camping Stoves for Cooking, Canning, and Tailgating!

A camping stove isn’t only for camping; it’s also perfect for tailgate parties, grilling, canning, and even keeping in your emergency kit! There is a stove for all of these demands and more, whether you need one for solo trekking or one to serve the whole family and guests.

We examine 10 of the finest camping stoves in this post to help you select the perfect one for you. We highlight some of the factors to consider when purchasing a stove, such as size, efficiency and heat output, and even matchless ignition. We also provide some practical tips, such as calculating how much propane you will need for your trip and how you can save money by investing in refillable propane tanks or even a new regulator that allows you to utilize bigger tanks.

Things to Consider Before Buying A Camping Stove

Size and Weight Considerations

What kind of cooking will take place? If you are searching for a stove for outside grilling or tailgate parties, size and weight will seldom be a concern. Consider how many people the stove will need to cook for, as well as how long it will take to cook.

Freestanding stoves are often bigger, having two or three burners. They provide more flexibility since they may be positioned anywhere, and many will have a larger cooking surface to accommodate larger pots as well as various attachments such as grill plates or griddles. Freestanding stoves are also more suitable for stockpots if you wish to utilize a camping stove for more room for canning or for deep frying. Some freestanding stoves can be operated without the legs, however even if they can’t, the legs normally detach for travel and storage.

Tabletop models must be put up on a table, tailgate, or the ground. A small two burner stove is generally suitable for four people camping for a few days, and they range in size from one to three burners. The term “smartphone” refers to the ability to use a smartphone to make phone calls.

If you’re searching for a backpacking stove, the lighter and smaller the better, since you’ll also need to carry your fuel cannister. It’s preferable if it can all fit into one box, particularly if it can also hold a small pan.

Power and Efficiency

BTUs, or British Thermal Units, are used to quantify the heat output of camping stoves. The BTU number is the amount of energy required to heat or cool one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

The more BTUs a camping stove has, the more heat it can produce; however, the stove design, burner size, placement, air temperature, and wind resistance all have an impact on a stove’s output, so you should always consider the BTU output as the optimum output if the weather is favorable, the stove is burning efficiently, and so on.

The efficiency of a stove refers to how well it directs heat to the pot put on it. The more efficient it is, the shorter time it takes to boil, and so less fuel is used. The catch is that stoves are often evaluated for efficiency at 70 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level, with no breeze!

Wider burners and those that sit close to the pot are more efficient, as are those that direct the heat into the pan. If you wish to use the stove for simmering rather than boiling, it must have adjustable temperature burners.

Not all camping stoves are suitable for simmering; opt for one that provides steady heating without switching off on its lowest burner setting. You should also use pots with lids wherever feasible, since this not only increases fuel economy but also reduces cooking time.

A windbreak is a basic, yet frequently overlooked, need for outdoor cooking. Bigger wind blocks give additional wind resistance, but you should still opt for a location for your camp stove that has some natural shelter from the weather, since wind is notorious for shifting direction when least anticipated!

If you simply want a modest single burner stove for trekking, consider investing in a lightweight folding wind block, which will help you save time and fuel. With an open stove, even a five-mile-per-hour wind may increase fuel usage by up to three times.

Lower temperatures diminish stove efficiency because the gas cannot evaporate adequately owing to pressure drop. An upright canister stove will normally function down to around 20F, which is why, if possible, keep the tank out of the worst of the cold. Before usage, soak it in warm water if feasible. Similarly, if a tank becomes too heated, the pressure buildup within the tank may cause it to explode!

While greater altitude allows water to boil quicker, food that has to be cooked from raw takes longer to cook. While cooking at 10,000 feet above sea level, the cooking time doubles, requiring more fuel.

Fuels for Camping Stoves

The majority of camp stoves are propane-powered. Some may operate on butane, while others may run on liquid or even solid fuel. Propane burns cleanly, does not need pressure pumping (unlike liquid fuels), and lights instantaneously. Propane also has a lower boiling point than butane and performs better in colder areas, however it may become erratic when a tank is almost empty.

A new regulator or adapter has been authorized. If you have two stoves, a propane splitter will enable you to power both stoves from a single tank. Camping stoves are typically intended to suit a single kind or size of tank, so if you wish to connect a bigger or different type of tank to your stove, you must purchase a manufacturer-recommended tank adapter.

The tiny single-use 1 pound (16.4 ounce) propane tanks may be costly to repair, and it is believed that the majority of the 60 million 1 pound propane tanks manufactured each year end up in landfills. If you use your stove frequently, you may want to consider switching to refillable 1 pound tanks because the propane costs less using these, or if you primarily use the stove at home, on the tailgate, or at a fixed campsite, you may want to consider upgrading to a 20 pound (5 gallon) refillable tank. If you must use single-use tanks, dispose of them properly rather than allowing them to end up in a landfill.

Wood burner stoves are useful for fast dinners on the trail in locations that do not have fire restrictions and are rich in dry leaves and branches as a fuel source, but their usage is currently quite restricted.

Before you take your new stove on a vacation, you may apply some simple arithmetic to estimate how much fuel you’ll need. But, keep in mind that this quantity will vary depending on stove efficiency, temperature, wind resistance, and so on.

A gallon of propane produces around 92,000 BTUs. Divide 92,000 by the BTUs per hour (BTUH) of your stove to get the number of hours it will take to utilize a gallon of propane with all of the burners at maximum temperature.

Although there are differences due to density and comparing weights to volumes, 1 pound of propane will equate to approximately 0.24 gallons, so if you are using a 1 pound tank, divide your hours calculated in the previous step by 4 to further refine your estimated burning duration from a 1 pound tank.

If you’re using a bigger tank, increase your hours by the tank capacity; for example, 4.7 (gallons) if you’re using a 20-pound tank.

If you are not accustomed to personally assessing how much propane is left in a tank, or if you do not have a gauge, there are a handful of simple techniques to estimate how much propane is remaining. The TW weight (tare weight of the empty tank) plus the weight of the propane (for example, 20 lbs.) will give you the total weight of the full tank. You can determine how much propane you have left in the tank by weighing the tank.

Pouring some warm water down the edge of the tank and moving your palm down the side of the tank, feeling for a chilly area, is a simple technique to estimate while camping. Since the propane absorbs the heat from the heated water and leaves the metal chilly, this cool area will be the fill level. Over this fill level, the tank will be warm to the touch.

Lighting Camping Stoves

The traditional method of lighting a camping stove is with a box of matches, which is not always the simplest thing to do in bad weather! While some stoves still need manual lighting, many now feature matchless ignition. This is often a Piezo ignition, which ignites the gasoline with a pressured electric charge (piezoelectricity) created by a button press or lever flip.

Matchless ignition stoves are often more costly than manual ignition stoves, and there is a danger of the ignition becoming unreliable over time. Even if you purchase a stove with a matchless ignition, you should have matches or a lighter on hand just in case.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Camping Stove

It is usually worthwhile to install a new stove and test it at home before bringing it on a vacation. This is much superior than laboring to put it up in inclement weather while camping, only to discover a damaged or missing component! Even if your stove is a vintage model, do a burn test before packing it for your vacation.

After you return from your vacation, always separate the gasoline supply and check the fuel level. If the tank is almost empty, reconnect it to the stove, turn it on, and leave it outside to burn off the remaining gasoline and vapor. Even after the flames on the stove have gone out, keep the tank open for a few minutes more to allow the remaining vapors to escape.

After the tank is cool, turn off the burner and disconnect it. Whenever feasible, have a fuel backup on hand while using the stove while on the road.

Before storing your stove, clean it well and ensure the fuel line is clean and undamaged. Replace any worn-out components with factory-approved replacements.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen in this post, there are many factors to consider when purchasing a new camping stove, not the least of which is that BTU output is affected by weather, the stove’s efficiency, and so much more. We’ve also discussed how purchasing refillable propane tanks rather than single-use tanks is not only better for the environment, but also better for your wallet!

We hope you found the information in this article on the best camping stoves useful, and that whether you want a new camping stove for hiking, occasional tailgating, as part of your emergency kit, or simply as extra support during canning season, you now feel confident in selecting the right stove for your needs.