But if you want a lightweight discada pick for solo or couple adventures, this model may be a good choice. We tested one model with a built-in griddle, the Camp Chef Rainier, and it left us underwhelmed. Its dedicated burner took longer than 20 minutes to boil 6 cups of water on full, and its griddle pan was lethargic.
If you have a coleman stove where you can safely store a propane tank, you could also consider refillable alternatives. If you’re car camping and don’t mind the extra weight, 5-pound propane tanks and adapter hoses are available; they can hook up directly to these stoves. Not only are the 5-pound tanks refillable, but over time it’s also cheaper to refill a reservoir with gas than to constantly buy new disposable bottles. If you love to create kitchen-quality or “gourmet” food from scratch in rustic conditions, this is the stove for you. The Mountaineer is larger (at 25¼ by 13¾ by 5¼ inches, it dwarfs our top pick).
The average camping stove has about 10,000 BTUs per burner. That’s sufficient for most camper’s needs and provides a good balance of power to fuel efficiency. However, you may want to bump up the BTUs if you’re cooking for a large group or will be camping in cold, windy conditions.
We weighed the fuel canister before and after our wind test, then weighed it again following the windless test. We always conduct the windy test first because stoves burn more fuel for longer in the presence of wind, and as the fuel canister empties, it becomes less efficient. For the windy test, we wanted to give each stove as much of an advantage as possible.
However, the tank was too heavy to use with our smaller, more sensitive scale, so it is possible that our larger scale missed some amount of fuel consumed. This aside, our most fuel-efficient stove was the Camp Chef Mountaineer, which consumed an average of 0.64 ounces of fuel or 0.16% of the fuel in our tank. The Pro 60X burned an average of 1.12 ounces or 0.28% of fuel, and the Outdoorsman used an average of 2.24 ounces or 1 % of fuel over the two tests. The Coleman Cascade Burner Camping Stove represents a slight step up from our top pick, the Coleman Classic, in cooking control and power.
With a modern, design you can expect consistent fuel output, strong flames, and superior simmer controls. Camping stove sizes vary from small tabletop models to freestanding behemoths for large groups. For first-timers or those desiring some background information, it’s worth checking out our comparison table and buying advice while narrowing your search.
The lack of an auto ignition is another drawback, especially because the Explorer was basically impossible to relight without a long match or grill lighter. A typical camping lighter won’t work that well with this stove. Despite its more powerful burners, it fell just a few seconds behind the Camp Chef Everest in all of our boil tests, most likely because camping cookware sits slightly higher above the burners.
There are so many factors that go into choosing the right camping stove. The Pinnacle is slightly more challenging to unhook and fold out the grate, but once disconnected, it is easy to clean. We love the simplicity of the Mountaineer because this stove doesn’t have a false bottom under which food scraps can get lost.