The first requirement for cooking is fire. It is great entertainment to make food in the campsite, but when you are well organized with the best camping stove. For an easy fire, you just need a portable stove.
Do not confuse a backpacking stove with a camping stove. The camping stove is highly needed when you are out with your family or friends. This type of stove works great for the plural number of members as well as for preparing different meals.
Choosing the best camping stove is not that complex when you know some basics on that. We are assuming that you know nothing about it and going to describe all the facts which matter.
Before going to purchase a portable stove, it depends on a few questions as below:
1. How many members you are?
– You need to assume the cooking volume which relates to the cooking time your stove will need to boil.
2. How many categories are included in your meal plan?
– Does it relate to the number of burners your stove will need to cook?
3. Where are you going to cook?
– It relates to the amount of fuel and the best fuel option because if it is winter then it will need more fuel to cook for warming up.
4. How long you are going to stay there?
– It relates to the category, which is appropriate.
5. What is your budget?
– It relates to the quality of the thing and try to spend some extra money on the best quality but never go for the cheapest. We hope you already answered all of the above questions to yourself and now it is time to know the mechanism to choose the right one.
Choosing the right camping stove depends on the below considerations:
- Size and Weight
2. Number of Burners
3. Type of Fuel
4. Features
5. Quality
Which Size and weight are appropriate for the best camping stove!
Since this is not going to be a backpacking stove, do not bother too much for the size and weight, but make sure you have sufficient space in your car or the car you are going.
However, since it is a matter of camping stove, we are assuming a plural number of members; so, it will not be too complex to bring the stove to the campsite. Though we do not put too much attention on this but do not underestimate this option.
Make sure your stove is easy to carry because few stoves are so large and they belong heavyweight.
How a number of burners can make impacts on a camping stove:
It relates to the question no. 1 & 2. If you want to make different foods at the same time in one stove, you will need plural numbers of burners.
– Which size is appropriate for what a number of members regarding burner?
Almost all campers like two burners because of its facilities though there is no official proof for that matrix in our hand. Let’s start with the double burners.
Compact double burners:
We suggest you choose compact double burners when you are four or less.
Why:
– Length: The length of a stove is absolutely fine to fit in the car though you will find the different length for different stoves. When you will choose the length make sure your pots and pans will fit it including wind protectors as well as check the size of burners, it also makes an impact on the cooking surface.
– BTU (British Thermal Unit) power: The BTU power of cooking is great for a small group.
– Weight: The weight is fine to carry not weigh a ton.
– Automatic ignition: If you are not worried about price then you can go for the stove which provides you with automatic ignition. The difference from the normal stoves can be $15 or $20.
– Locking process: Who does not like a simple and durable locking process like a briefcase!
– Cooking facility: It will allow you to cook two things at the same time as meat in one burner and fish in another.
Remember, the weight and length are negotiable so make sure the length according to your pots and pans.
Tabletop Single Burner:
If you are planning for simple camping in a car or outside or if you are not so interested in cooking and planning for easy meals then it can be a good choice for you. However, it is good for one person camping or two.
The name defines it by the name itself. Yes, it seats on a table with a large burner head having a grill that helps you to put your pots on fire for cooking.
We suggest you take this when you are camping single or double or in a car.
Why:
– Lightweight: If you are worried about weight, you may go for this type. The weight of these types is lighter than double burner stoves.
– Short length: If you are worried about space than it is a good option for you too. Because of its single burner, it does not take too much space.
– Easy cleaning: You can easily clean it by opening the grate as well as it’s not durable and there are no moving parts, which means it is not complex to set up.
– Low cost: It is more inexpensive than a double burner compact stove.
– Cooking capacity: It does not belong any wind resistance so you can easily put any sizes of pots on that.
Besides above advantages, there are few limitations too like you will not find any wind resistance but if you are camping in the car, you don’t need that or you will need to make wind protection for cooking outside with that. Not only this, it is not possible to cook several items at the same time because it is a single burner.
Freestanding multi burners:
If you are more than three and going for long camping about a week and planning for different meals, get freestanding burners. It is designed for heavy camping.
The number of burners depends on the cooking capacity and the meal plan. So you know better how many members you are and what is your meal plan. Make your choice by considering those above described facts.
You will buy this type, Why?
– Powerful burners: These stoves have powerful burners which are excellent for complex meals.
– Multi burners: Multi burners will help you to cook several things at same time.
Besides those, you will need to plan for some limitations that the stove has like it is heavy and it is huge which means you will need a good amount of space in your car to take it with you.
However, sometimes you will not find any wind resistance in some of them. Make your choice according to your trip. You should know that there is also a single burner stove in the market too but if you don’t really need that go for double burners. You already know the limitations.
Different types of fuel for camping stove:
Select your fuel option very wisely. We are going to describe all fuel option below and going to help to make your decision.
– Propane:
Propane is very popular among the campers for its easy use. You can find propane in a bottle screwed into the stove. It can be found ready at the nearest store which means not so hard to find.
The most well-known option for propane is 16-ounce green propane canister but it takes a room on your table. It will cost you around $3. This bottle can run maximum 7 days depends on your cooking.
Another option for propane is a propane tank. It is a large investment but it will save your money in the long run. If you are a camp addict and you love to camp with people then it can be a good option for you. This tank obviously weighs heavy and take much more space than 16-ounce canister so make sure you have enough space in your car to carry it.
However, the compact two burners stove cannot access the gas directly from it but if you will find an adapter for this kind of stove which will permit your stove to work with this kind of tank. Freestanding stoves can perform with this directly.
The cost of tank differs but the good thing is this tank can be refilled. An empty tank can cost you $30 to $45 and $3.5 per gallon to refill as well as normally it takes 5 gallons to be refilled in each tank.
- Butane:
This type is really hard to find. It starts with the 8-ounce canister and directly usable to the tabletop burner or you can buy an extra adapter hose to convert it to a propane tank. It is tube-shaped so it does not take much space. These are pressurized gas so it can not be shipped but you can find it in big malls.
The cost of an 8-ounce canister is $3.0 and in some places, you can find them by $1.50. However, buying a large amount can reduce the cost.
Features of the perfect camping stove:
– Fuel efficiency: Selecting good features to depend on the place of your camping and the duration as well. If you buy a stove which burns like a jet engine and you are long away from the crowd that there is a possibility get run out of the fuel but if you are camping in a car, your car can solve this matter by driving to the shop.
However, if you camp in winter, remember it will take more fuel to warm up, so in those case, we suggest you take some extra fuel with you. It is really little critical to make a perfect solution for it just because it depends on a lot of variables like temperature, fuel type, burning type, stove type, meal type, wind, cooking capacity, etc.
– BTU: BTU means British Thermal Unit. It can be defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. In a very simple sentence the higher the BTU is the higher the heat is.
– Watt Hours: It is just another synonym of BTU. You will find some stoves listed with “W” though BTU is the most popular form of the unit of power and heat.
– Design: Stove design is related to the power of BTU. The powerful BTU cannot perform great when the design is poor but a good design can work well with an average BTU. However, the standard baseline of all stove is around 10000BTU/hr per burner.
– Boiling time: Boiling time depends on many variables besides BTU like wind, temperature, the pot that you are using. But normally in a car, you can boil a litre of water with 10000 BTU within 2 and a half minutes.
– Wind resistance: It is safe to buy a stove which has the wind protection system because in a windy situation you must need it and you never predict the exact weather in advance. Whatever the BTU power your stove has, does not matter for the wind to kill it.
– Simmering: How low your stove can run! Yes, it is an important part of cooking good dishes. Make sure the stove simmer great as you can make food as like as home.
– Griddles and grills: a Griddle is a flat option for you to cook egg or etc. and the grill is little ridged for making meat hoe ever there is a difference between cooking in pots or pans and using griddle or grill.
We suggest you buy those from the same company as you will buy a stove from just because it will fit well.
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- Adapter hose: It really comes handy when you camp regularly with a compact stove. Before buying it consider the length 5 to 6 feet at least to reach the tank under the table as well as knobs are not in the same quality and you can choose larger plastic grips.
Results of buying a cheap camping stove
Affordability should not be the only consideration when buying a camping stove even if you intend to use it only once. There are several disadvantages of cheap camping stove noted namely poor quality, shorter lifespan, high risk, waste of money, inconvenience, and limited options.
When camping, one of the most important equipment to bring is the stove. It is a necessity in order to sustain our basic need, which is food. When choosing a stove, never settle for a cheap one due to the following reasons:
- Poor quality
- More often than not, a cheaper stove means poor quality compared to a bit expensive one. This is because expensive camping stoves are built in a very complex design with high quality of materials. Unlike the expensive ones, cheaper stove produces a less consistent flame that can lead to prolonged cooking time.
- Shorter life span
- Since they are made from poor quality materials; cheaper stove does not last longer than the expensive ones. Its parts may easily break, which require constant changing and repair. In effect, this will lead to a waste of time and money.
- High risk
- Due to inferior quality, it is more likely that the unit will not function efficiently. This may lead to several possibilities like explosions and burns.
- Waste of money
- At first sight, a cheaper camping stove may mean big savings on one’s budget. However, in the long run, due to frequent repair and maintenance, unknowingly you may end up wasting a huge amount of money. When buying things, we should always remember that these are investments, therefore, should be decided carefully and wisely.
- Inconvenience
- Because of your desire to do cost-cutting on your budget, you might end up disappointed by the time you will get to the camping site. This may result in inconvenience due to the following reasons: the type of fuel used may not be readily available, may turn out to be defective, or may cause uneven cooking.
- Limited options
- Another thing that may not present in a cheap stove is the versatility. Unlike the expensive ones, some models offer at least two ignition options: pump or electronic making it more convenient for the campers.
People have started swapping from expensive holidays to the low-cost adventures camping trips. But can they cut down on the money alone increases the fun? Just never think of a cheap camping stove and you already know why.
We hope now you can find the best camping stove for you with the above information as well as invite us if your recipe is too good.
