Camp Stove suggestion?

[Catrin]

Backwoods.com is having a sale right now on pretty much everything, and all I really need to add to my camping supplies this year is a camp stove. I am looking at this one right now.

I know nothing about this sort of thing, is this a decent stove for occasional use, say one weekend a month? A comment states that it comes with a 1-lb propane cylinder.

Is this a good deal? I've noted that even at Meijers they have little 1-burner "stoves" for $50, and from what I can tell all I could do with that is to heat water. I like the idea of actually being able to cook something...

I've been warned against finding something from Goodwill for safety reasons, though I don't know how real a concern that is.

[Trek-chick]

DH and I absolutely LOVE this one. It is super small, you just screw on to a cannister and you are good to go. It is a great backpacking stove and a decent price too. If you ever venture into bicycle touring or backpacking, I think this would be a great one to have, since it is so compact.



http://www.rei.com/product/660163/ms...kpacking-stove

[Catrin]

hmmm, so these small stoves are perhaps more useful than I thought. I want to be able to do real cooking, like cook chicken, and heat up water and soup.

I am also looking at a propane grill, I really like the idea of a grill as I can grill both chicken and veggies on them. The stove I originally posted is attractive as it has a grill, but it may not be large enough for what I've in mind. Decisions decisions... Perhaps eventually have both the propane grill and a small stove?

I doubt I will ever go backpacking far enough to require camping, though would like to do at least a light tour at some point. I am focusing more, however, on the kind of camping I am most likely to do and that is car camping. I camp so I can mountain bike, so for me that means camping in a state park, though that could change at some point in time

[Irulan]

hmmm, so these small stoves are perhaps more useful than I thought. I want to be able to do real cooking, like cook chicken, and heat up water and soup.

I am also looking at a propane grill, I really like the idea of a grill as I can grill both chicken and veggies on them. The stove I originally posted is attractive as it has a grill, but it may not be large enough for what I've in mind. Decisions decisions... Perhaps eventually have both the propane grill and a small stove?

I doubt I will ever go backpacking far enough to require camping, though would like to do at least a light tour at some point. I am focusing more, however, on the kind of camping I am most likely to do and that is car camping. I camp so I can mountain bike, so for me that means camping in a state park, though that could change at some point in time

for car camping and as close to "real" cooking as you are going to get, there's nothing like a Coleman (or similar) two burner propane stove.

[NbyNW]

The Pocket Rocket is a great backpacking stove, and when it's just DH and I we will cook our dinner over the fire and just use the PR to heat water for coffee/tea. Usually we don't do much in the way of a hot breakfast if it's just the two of us, and just make coffee in the morning. But yes, you could actually cook a full meal on one of those, you would probably just prefer to do a one-pot type of meal, otherwise things get cold while you're fixing a side dish, etc.

You get plenty of BTUs, the real challenge is finding a nice flat stable surface to put it on.

But we love car camping with our friends who have one of those old indestructible 2-burner Colemans! Then we can really get a serious feast going, like pancakes on one side and breakfast meat on the other ...

The stove you linked looks really cool ... I wonder how it compares size-wise to the Coleman.

[soprano]

Every campground I've ever been to has had either charcoal grills or firepits with grates for grilling. All you need to pack is charcoal, lighter fluid and a match. Incidentally, you can put a regular kitchen griddle or cast iron skillet over any campfire; the fuel source is irrelevant.

Pepsi can stoves work really well and are easy to make (do a Google search for plans). Fuel is cheap, available everywhere and the amount of fuel in your bottle is never a mystery like it is with propane. If you decide to try backpacking, you'll be all set. It's also important to note that if you ever fly to your camping destination, you'll need a brand new, in the box stove. A Pepsi can stove is great for this because you just make a new one for the trip and toss it in the recycle bin when you're ready to go home. Just make sure to use a wind screen, otherwise you'll run through a ton of fuel.

We have a 1-burner Coleman left over from our car camping days and I haven't touched it in years. Even on the lowest setting it burns way too hot (so food gets scorched on the bottom and stays raw on the top) and there's no way to adjust the height of the pan over the stove.

[indysteel]

We have a two burner Coleman "Perfectflow" stove that cost roughly $60 from Gander Mountain. It serves its purpose just fine. I don't get overly ambitious when camping, but it's fine for reheating things and boiling water. For the money, it would be my choice. I'm not much into grilling when camping because I really don't want to deal with raw meat at a campsite, but that's me. We did brats one time and just used charcoal and one of the grills that you can find in BCSP at some of the campsites.

[laura*]

DH and I absolutely LOVE this one. It is super small, you just screw on to a cannister and you are good to go. ...

http://www.rei.com/product/660163/ms...kpacking-stove

I have an older version of this stove:

http://www.rei.com/product/722001/msr-xgk-ex-stove

It was permanently loaned to me more than 20 years ago. It is primarily meant to burn white gas, which is gasoline without all the additives in automotive fuel. This means it puts out a lot more heat than the propane canister stoves - even more than a gas stove at home. Even then, a strong wind can take all the heat away.

The flip side is that the fuel bottle stoves need more setup and are harder to use. The bottles are refillable (with liquid fuel from a can from a camping store), although one bottle could last for a week of camping.

I have some thin stainless camping pots to use on the stove. After cooking, the pots double as bowls. I've cooked pasta, rice, and stuff from cans. You do have to plan on making everything in the one pot - or cook each item sequentially. Don't expect to work like you would in a kitchen.

I've also used my stove to heat up some bath water: I heated one gallon to boil (maybe in five minutes?), mixed it with another gallon, and had a nice two gallon shower.

[ridebikeme]

I have a Jetboil stove, and have used it quite often. I've used it backpacking, touring and have had very good luck with it. The nice thing is that if you are cooking pasta, soups, etc.. then you truly don't need to carry a bowl. Now if you're trying to cook pancakes, meat, perhaps this might not be an ideal stove. However, if you're camping at a camp site then you could cook larger meals over the wood fire... can't beat that. I've had great luck with this stove, and would definitely recommend it.


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