These Camp Stoves Will Help You Whip Up a Feast at Your Next Woodsy Outing

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Cooking in the wild comes easier when you bring a reliable camp stove along. We’re firm believers that camping calls for mouth-watering meals around the fire, not bland-tasting dehydrated food and charred foil packets.

But there’s a lot to consider when picking out a camp stove, like knowing if it’s convenient to set up, easy to use, and the right size for your group. We’re here to help all kinds of campers—from van lifers and RVers to car campers and backyard adventurers.

We’ve tested some long-time favorites and exciting new camp stoves that make it easy to prepare a great meal in the great outdoors. This mix of portable, versatile, and powerful camp stoves is ranked by use case, functionality, and price point—so all you have to worry about is picking out your favorite recipes. No matter which stove you go with, you’re in for a great camp meal (as long as you bring a decent chef).

Best Camping Stoves

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What to Consider When Shopping for a Camp Stove

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How We Selected The Best Camp Stoves

Our testing criteria focused on two key metrics: How well they sautéd mushrooms and how quickly they boiled water. One requires intense power; the other requires consistent, low-temperature control.

For the boiling test, we boiled a liter of water in the stainless steel MSR Alpine Stowaway Pot on the stove’s highest flame setting and set a timer. We stopped the timer once steam started pouring out of the spout and the water hit a rolling boil inside the teapot. (Editor’s note: We were unable to re-test one of our picks, the Stansport Outfitter, in our latest update. As a result, we’ve omitted the boiling time spec.)

For the sautéing test, we cooked half a cup of sliced white mushrooms with a tablespoon of butter. We sautéed the mushrooms for 7 minutes each on the Jetboil 10-Inch fry pan, setting the stoves to the lowest level they could burn without causing the flames to flicker. We consistently stirred the mushrooms with a wooden spoon and let the pan cool in between each stove test.

For any camp stoves included that our writer didn’t personally test (or hasn’t gotten their hands on yet but look promising), we relied on past reviews and evaluations from Popular Mechanics editors and contributors, as well as insights from reviews by expert critics at publications like Outdoor GearLab and Switchback Travel.

This stove is ideal for both the first-time cook and the serious car-camping chef. Its massive surface can easily accommodate two 12-inch pans, and the Ignite excels at cooking at low temperatures. We found the adjustments for simmer control to be accurate; the flicker-free low flame gave us perfect soft sautéed mushrooms with no crisp.

The stove’s legs adjust to create a flat cooking surface by screwing in and out individually. While the system is precise, it takes time to get perfect. The Ignite can take longer to boil water, but the cooking control and relatively low price make it worth the wait.

Though it’s smaller than our top pick, the standard Eureka Ignite is also a great choice and costs less than most of our favorite stoves. It’s easy to carry and simple to set up, so it’s perfect for car camping or using in the backyard.

You can fit 10-inch pans side-by-side on each burner, and the flame adjustment allows you to choose dial in a low simmer or a high flame. While it takes longer to boil water than some of the more powerful options we tried, its output works well for cooking low and slow dishes like chili, or frying vegetables and eggs.

As with most cheaper options, the Ignite isn’t perfect. It tends to flicker when adjusted to the lowest flame setting, especially when there’s wind. What’s more, the wind guards also tend to slip out of the inserts when bumped or moved around. All that aside, it’s become my go-to stove for car camping or casual cookouts at home.

Car campers and backyard chefs alike love the portable two-burner Jetboil Genesis. Its unique clamshell design makes it easy to carry and simple to use: Unzip it from the carrying case, flip it open, and light it up.

With two massive burners that can each fit a 12-inch pan, you can cook as much as you would on a stove burner at home. This option also has adjustable dials that let you fine-tune temperatures to get the perfect flame. Rubber feet keep the burner secure and stable on any surface you’re cooking on—picnic table, rocks, and stumps included.

While pricey, it’s worth the investment for its portability and easy-to-use functionality. Since the burners produce an open flame, you have trouble keeping it lit in windy conditions, though. If that’s a concern, Genesis sells an attachable windscreen.

If you’re also looking for some camping cookware, you can buy the more robust Genesis Basecamp System, which comes with the Jetboil Genesis stove, a 5-liter Jetboil FluxPot, and a 10-inch Jetboil ceramic-coated nonstick fry pan.

Grilling burgers? Flipping pancakes? Simmering sauce? This camp-stove-meets-griddle does it all. The Camp Chef Mountain Series Rainier features a two-burner stove with an aluminum flat-top griddle on the left and a burner on the right. The burner fits an 8-inch pan and the flat-top griddle can be swapped out with an included aluminum grill grate. Water boils fast on the Rainier’s 18,000 Btu burner.

At 15 pounds, it’s definitely a bulky and heavy grill, so it isn’t ideal if you’re looking to save space in your car. That said, it comes with a durable duffel bag, making it easy (or easier) to carry around the campsite. All said and done: This is one powerful stove sold at a fair price—and it performs like a champ.

We love the Snow Peak Flat Burner’s sleek, minimalist design. A simple gas-powered burner in a stainless steel frame, it’s sturdy enough to hold a large pot of water or a large pan for sautéing. It’s perfect for intimate gatherings where you’re cooking a one-pot meal, or for a party with a warm drink on the menu.

This is a true low-and-slow cooker. A built-in ignitor is conveniently located next to the single flame adjuster dial and the control was accurate and flicker-free. The Flat Burner’s output is relatively low – just under 12,000 Btu – so it took longer to boil water than most other stoves we tested. Its precisely calibrated low flame sautéed our mushrooms to soft perfection, though, without any crispy edges.

The Flat Burner comes in five different pieces that fit together like a puzzle. While slightly confusing at first, it’s intuitive once you’ve put it together the first time. Be careful when setting up the stove, though, as the pieces sit on top of one another and aren’t locked in place until completely assembled.

To keep it as lightweight as possible, the Flat Burner only works with 4-, 8-, and 16-ounce fuel canisters, like Snow Peak GigaPower or MSR IsoPro (but not Coleman, which have a larger valve connector). If you’re searching for a simple, stylish burner system for cooking with a couple of friends or boiling a pot of coffee at the campground, this stove’s a great pick.

If you camp with a large group or need to have multiple pots and pans going at once, the Stansport Outfitter is your stove. It has three large burners; two of them spark up impressive 25,000 Btu flames, while the middle simmer burner reaches a perfectly standard 10,000 Btu. That gives you the space to work and heat quickly on the outside burners, while using the middle one to cook low and slow or set aside food you want to keep warm.

The folks at Road Affair noted that the dials let you easily control the flame and heat levels for precise cooking, and the drip tray mitigates the hassle of cleaning up once the meal is over. But as with any stove this large and heavy, you’ll want to limit it to use for car camping at established sites where you have picnic tables and plenty of space.

Q+A With Our Camping Expert Erica Zazo

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