The 5 Best Camping Stoves, Unfortunately…
The 5 Best Camping Stoves, Unfortunately…
We have tested and put together the top 3 best camping stoves in the outdoor industry. Plus we have included an additional 4 honorable mention camp stoves to wrap-up this lineup. If you are looking for a quality car camping or backpacking stove there are almost too many options to choose from. We have narrowed down the desirable camp cooking needs to help you select the best stove for you. These components include burner simmer control, stove portability, piezo ignitor and regulator reliability, wind protection, boil time, ease of cleaning, BTUs and overall build quality.
To make finding your outdoor cooking components easier we have included all links to the stoves below.
🟢Interested in all the gear we use and abuse when camping? https://www.amazon.com/shop/playingwithsticks
✅1. Camp Chef Everest https://amzn.to/3GGbEde (link to 2X version, original can’t be linked)
✅2. Coleman Stove https://amzn.to/3Mj7oBW
✅3. Eureka Ignite https://amzn.to/38WOO4Z
✅4. Eureka Ignite Plus https://amzn.to/38GuNPM
✅5. Jetboil Genesis https://amzn.to/397IhEl (may be unavailable again)
✅6. GSI Outdoors Selkirk 540 https://amzn.to/3926mwp
✅7. GSI Outdoors Selkirk 460 https://amzn.to/3aj4gbC
✅8. Cook Partner Stove https://partnersteel.com/official-cook-partner
✅9. Camp Chef Mountaineer https://www.rei.com/product/194495/camp-chef-mountaineer-2x-stove
🟢Want to see our playlist of MUST HAVE GEAR for a great campout? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxouj5yCWeTAJjeICTvJpAa-1A0obuv77
🟢Want to know how to make your Coleman stove simmer like a pro? Check out this video from a fellow youtuber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH5FQgzwGAI
🟡Want a Better Camping Experience? We suggest you check out our playlists to help you get started. Click here: https://www.youtube.com/c/PlayingwithSticks/playlists
By purchasing items through these Playing with Sticks links there is no additional cost to you. Our family gets a small kickback from amazon for any purchases you make using these affiliate links.
I recently bought a gas one stove that is dual fuel both propane and butane. Butane is nice and easy but propane is more available.
It’s interesting that the Camp Chef Everest switched to plastic clasps. The one I purchased a decade or so ago, before the Mountaineer was available, used a single metal clasp in the front which has held up fine so far. It looks like the Everest 2x now uses a metal clasp on each side. To avoid the issue of having a propane tank weigh down the side I purchased an adapter that lets me use 5 to 20 pound cylinders that rest on the ground. The 5lb tank doesn’t take much more space than the disposable 1lb tanks and has the benefit of being refillable.
In 1975 or so I bought a back-pack stove that uses white gas (Coman fuel) and it would,(and still does run on unleaded gas like in your car and the burner would get down so low it would be only about 3/16 – 1/4 inch in height. Now I have not used it for some time (35 years or more but it still fires up like it was new. and it would boil water in about 1 3/4 of a minute. Coman stoves was the go to camp gear back then because you could buy parts and repair it as needed. and they would last a life time.
2024. I’ve been using the Everest every day for 4.5 years (I live in my van) and it’s still going strong. And no, the plastic latches don’t break.
We use a new-ish 2 burner Coleman propane stove. We use it often, and clean it regularly (full disassembly), and frankly, it seems like a flip of a coin whether it will work or not. Don’t matter whether or not the wind is blowing, how cold it is, etc. Sometimes it will burn as hot as we dare on a nice blue flame, and then the next morning we can barely get it to sputter. Then we try again at lunch and it’s roaring like nothing happened.
Yes, we have the tank turned on, yes, we’ve checked the hose and all fittings for leaks. Its disheartening that the Coleman is somehow the best of the bunch because we can’t seem to rely on it to cook our food when we need it to.
I like it but it is $450.00 CAD compared to Coleman 3 in 1 Cascade at $220.00
I got the Eureka Ignite for the low simmer control but unfortunately mine doesn’t dial down very low at all before going out. Even with heavy bottom cookware food bubbles up very quickly. I’ll make it work for a while but eventually will get something else.
In the insert picture of the high flame stove with "regulator Issues" The tank isn’t in the proper position. It’s upside down and therefore it’s probably feeding liquid into the stove rather than gas.
what hose connector do yu need to hook up camp stoves to 20lb tank . I want to get a camp stove for when the power goes out at my house . I have a covered front porch and want to put it out there . I my grill out back has a sde burner but in bad weather it is not easy to use it . The grill is covered by a pegloa I built and is right utside the patio door but still in bad weather it is not easy to cook on .
Nothing from Primus? They have been in the stove market for a long time.
I used a small Blackstone and a single burner Eureka Spark+. IMO, if you can, I buy from REI who has a remarkable return policy. Where you buy can be as important as what you get. Nothing is perfect.
Thanks for this video.
I guess you just need a bigger table. I use a 48" folding table.
I have the Everest 2X and used to have the Rainier 2X. Both have metal latches. Agree with you on plastic latches.
I grew up in a hurricane prone country. About 6 years ago, I sent my family members a few Everest but 3-burners. Still working until today. They are ready if power goes out for long time.
I have a Coleman 3 burner stove. Not as common as the 2 burner. This is an old stove. I would say easily 40 + years old. I’m in my mid 50’s and have used it since my mid teens. I can’t even find a photo of this stove. I’ll have to take one. It works great and always has. This stove comes with a flexible hose and larger side windshields than your typical modern camp stove.
Bit late to the party here but I’m also in the Everest 2X camp. It has metal clasps to lock the lid, very effective wind blocking panels and amazing power either way fine simmer control. I’ve been using mine almost every day for the last 2.5 years full timing in my teardrop. I connect it to my 11 lb propane bottle that is mounted to the outside of my camper much like your bean. It has worked flawlessly even at high altitudes (11,000+’)
Cant get my gasoline stove to give me a blue flame
I no longer have my dad’s naphtha Coleman stove. It was bomb proof. I do still have his Coleman lantern. It’s the old, curvy style. He bought it around 1955. The pump gasket has a little leakage when pumping, but it still works. I tried calling Coleman to get a replacement part and they asked me for the model number stamped into the trim. I quoted it to the guy and he told me I was missing at least a digit, if not two. I sent him a picture with the number stamped clear as day. He said "Damn, that’s an old one. It still works?!" He said three digit model numbers pre-date any of their records.
you haven’t camped until you make dinner on a dried buffalo dung camp fire
Great review. Two modifications that can be easily made with most of these stoves would be to have larger control knobs for finer heat adjustments. Also the position of the burners always seem to be to close to the edge. I would suggest shifting both burners approx. 0.5" to 1" closer to the center for more uninform temperature for the two burner griddles that are now so popular without having to purchase a separate Blackstone Grill. The burner placement could be established through some testing by the manufacturer and would still work fine for separate pots or pans.
Although I don’t own one (yet) – no one ever points out that the Jetboil at 10,000 btu heats faster than stoves with 2x the btu which = less than 1/2 the fuel consumption.
The camp chef is the main player. But the Coleman is the OG. Both have their pros. But yea camp stoves haven’t change much in 50 plus years. I roll the camp chef. Idgaf about how big it is. It fits a griddle and that’s an easy clean up in itself. I also cook for a crew so I demand a big output and stove space. I have plenty of table space. Often with a 5gal propane tank from Stricklandpropane.
The Everest is great…but, both burners are wide, so the flames are wider than smaller pots. So handles or some of the expanding silicone pots/pans/kettles get too hot. The propane threading is tough to tighten, but I found a little cooking oil will help it slide in easier and grab the threads better.
I have one of the old Everest stoves it want accept a Coleman tank
We bought this stove for our boat. I do 90 percent of my cooking with this stove on the back deck and love it! After 5 years ,it still looks great. Highly recommend it.
I sent Everest back… Very roughly put together. Don’t recommend
You’re just making up stuff on the latch. Never had an issue.
We had the white gas [unleaded] Coleman’s for lantern and stove. I wonder what happened to them… I bought a kerosene Coleman lantern, so I wonder if I can get a kerosene Coleman stove.
The flimsy heat shields that barely attach to the lid drive me absolutely nuts. I’m tired of walking on eggshells trying not to slightly bump the stove and risk the lid slamming open/shut. The Blackstone has a little hydraulic hinge but only on one side (making it feel very flimsy) and no side shields.
Dude do these shirtless
We are still using a Camp Chef Everest from 15ish years ago. Old enough that they have changed part numbers and a took a while to find the proper ignitor when one of ours finally failed this year. I wish there was a way to take it as low as possible without shutting off (I think the new Blackstone griddle finally solves that). But. It has been a great stove. Bought a Coleman single burner a few years back for a solo car trip, its heat control was so poor that it ruined the cookware I brought on that trip, and it ended up in the trash. Handles good in the wind and the cold. Thought about replacing it when the ignitor failed, but its just been such a great stove that I fixed it. Will note that our latch is metal, not plastic. The newer ones don’t seem quite as well built as the old ones (shocker!)
meh. you are at the bottom of reviews for me despite your editing.
Back in the day we cooked cheesburgers, brats, & chicken over the campfire. Sometimes I brought a Weber grill. It would fit in the trunk of my Impala then my Crown Vic. I never owned a campstove.
when did these stoves get so expensive? ?????
My buddy got a jet boil genesis for Christmas from his wife. The big package. I believe it was 400$ or so. It absolutely failed us deep in the Everglades. I couldn’t believe anyone would pay that much for that thing. Anyways a trusty campfire had to do. But man I have a bad taste for that genesis.
Are these stoves available in the UK?! By the way, putting a lid on the saucepan will ensure that the water boils more quickly!!
What pan is that? Looks like it has a folding handle…
I couldn’t find it anywhere in your gear list
Thanks!
I wish camp and RV stoves came with one 15k btu burner. Hard to boil a large pot on alot of these burners.
LOVE my Eureka Ignite plus! Awesome simmer control and love the way it looks and cleans up easily. It gets a ton of use. Got my eyes on a skottle at some point. Thanks for the work!
Would be interested in your review of the NatureHike camp stove.
Thanks!
Coleman hyperflame is the best
I’m looking for this kind of stove but all of them are too loud. Any idea?
05:36 Uhhh I think that’s an issue with how the tank is oriented….
The older models of this Camp Chef Everest you reviewed has a single metal clasp instead of the 2 plastic ones. I am a big fan of the Coleman Stove but my favorite one is the Coleman Triton. Just as with the Camp Chef, look for one with the beefier metal clasp. And, though they aren’t common anymore, you can get a propane adapter for an older Coleman white gas camp stove. The way it works is with a main burner and a sort of satellite one. You can also find a 426 with 3 burners that will have a main one and 2 satellites.
mine was a gsi yes ignition issues but i used a lighter eventually stopped working after 1 year. had a 5 ft long hose that could be connected to the green bottles I DESPISE THE METAL ARM because it tilts the the thing and it is hard to maneuver so i have always preferred the flexibility of the hose. then i got one from amazon i hate it it not capable of being connected to the hose and heavy. will buy the green eureka next. $75 at REI
Summer on my Everest xl is good. It does go out from time to time but I’d say that’s user error, could happen on any grill stove if turned to low.
Thanks nice job god bless
All of these are Coleman knockoffs
What, did you guys wash your clothes in the lake? Maybe that’s another video. All snickering aside, and please excuse my crude 1970’s humor. They are all nice stoves but they all use propane. My old Coleman, runs on gasoline. It’s super clunky but man, I never find myself without fuel.
For a person who likes to cook i would say simmer is a key quality. i have had a few venerable Coleman’s, none of them could simmer well. The Camp Chef can simmer.i needed a stove during the pandemic and there were no camp chef’s available. Out of necessity i got a 3 burrner Standport. A well made bulky tank of a stove. 2 high output burrners and one low output. All burners simmer with decent control valves. Nice stove for cooking if weight is not a factor.
How long does a 20,000 btu like these run on a single travel propane tank?