BEST BUY: Primus Lite+

Price: €140
Weight: 402g
Best for: Wild camping and backpacking
Key attributes: eco-friendly updates, packable, smart design
With its 0.5L volume, the new and improved Primus Lite Plus is perfect for one person use, but it’ll also do the job for a pair traveling together. It’s best suited to boiling water, either for a hot drink or for rehydrating a backpacking meal, with a reasonably fast boiling time of 3 minutes, but the burner does have simmer control too, so cooking things like pasta and rice is still possible. It even has little pins attached to the handle that, once twisted into the screw holes on the top of the burner, will make the stove frying pan friendly.
We’ve long been big fans of the Lite+ here at Outdoors Magic and this new updated version for 2021 is a definite improvement, carrying on many of the same awesome specs as the original model but with eco-friendlier materials used for the pot sleeve a new bioplastic material used for the pot lid and canister stand.
Other updates include: a handy, integrated pocket for storing a long spork or spoon; six vibrant new colours; and a new gas valve with a large control knob. The latter makes it much easier to control the stove’s heat, even with cold hands or while wearing gloves.
Full Specifications
0.5L volume / 1-2 people compatible / 402g / best suited to boiling water or rehydrating backpacking meals / 3-minute boiling time / burner simmer control / stove frying pan friendly / lid that doubles as mug or liquid strainer / Laminar Flow Burner / 1500W flame / low centre of gravity / piezo ignition / built-in heat exchanger.
Selected for the 2021/22 Outdoor 100 – Read our full Primus Lite+ review.

MSR Pocket Rocket 2
Price: £35
Weight: 72g
Best for: Wild camping, backpacking, mountaineering
Key attributes: Compact, lightweight, great value
This tiny, low-cost stove is a great option for quick jaunts into the hills. The first PocketRocket was the definitive ultra-lightweight, canister-top camping stove and this second version is even lighter and more compact. Although small, the pan supports are sturdy, especially for a one-person pot, and the flame control is excellent.
Full Specifications
WindClip windshield / folding pot supports / precision flame control / 73g
Read our full MSR Pocket Rocket 2 review

Jetboil Stash
Price: £140
Weight: 200g
Best for: Ultralight hiking, fastpacking and bikepacking
Key attributes: Super fast boil time, light and compact
Jetboil have labelled their Stash (new for 2021) the ‘lightest stove system ever made’ and we haven’t found a reason to contest that yet. The set weighs just 200g, that’s the same as your average-sized hamster titanium burner. It includes a titanium burner, 0.8 litre aluminium pot with a built in heat exchanger and flip-out siliconised handle, a plastic lid with a pour spout and then a little sack to store the burner in. A 30g folding gas canister stand also comes with the set, though this isn’t accounted for in that 200g given weight. Best of all, this thing is designed as a ‘nesting’ system, meaning that it all packs up into one very compact bundle. Oh and there’s that 2.5 minute boil time as well. Super speedy.
Full Specifications
2.5 minute boil time / unregulated – best for boiling instead of cooking / 0.8-litre anodised aluminium pot with Flux Ring / requires own spark / 100g canister boils 12 litres.
Read our full Jetboil Stash review.

MSR Reactor Stove
Price: £185+
Weight: 434g
Best for: Wild camping, backpacking, mountaineering
Key attributes: Powerful burner and excellent efficiency, compact system
One of the normal downfalls of the gas cartridge stove is its inability to heat in frigid weather. This MSR gas stove, however, works brilliantly in chilly weather (it’s designed for alpine climbers after all). The burner is very efficient, the heat exchanger works well, so too does the built-in pressure regulator, and the whole stove fits together so well that you’ll be drinking coffee in no time. Different size pots can be attached too.
Full Specifications
Radiant burner / heat exchanger / available in 1 litre, 1.7 litre and 2.5 litre pots / System include Reactor Pot and Stove / BPA-free strainer lid / PackTowel pot protector / folding/locking handle / 434g
Read our full MSR Reactor Stove review

Jetboil MightyMo Cooking Stove
Price: £64.99
Weight: 95g
Best for: Wild camping, backpacking
Key attributes: Lightweight, packable, built-in spark ignition
Jetboil was one of the first manufacturers to offer a fully integrated system – everything about the stove was designed to boil water as quickly as possible from the windshield to the heat exchanger. This stove, however, is the first they’ve released as a stand-alone burner, and it’s good; very good. The excellent control and Piezo spark ignition are particularly useful.
Full Specifications
10,000 BTU burner / simmer control / push button igniter / 95g
Read our full Jetboil Mightymo Review
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