Camping stoves come in a number of different shapes and sizes with many different types to choose from. Some will be fully integrated and capable of cooking food and boiling water for a whole family while others can be smaller than a pocket knife. Then there’s the variations in the fuel they run off too.
Each has their advantages and disadvantages, so we’re here to unravel the secrets and to show you which is the best camping stove following our tests.
BestCamping Stove: How to Choose
For general use, for use at camp or for van life, a camping stove should ideally be stable, easy to carry and convenient to store away. When it comes to choosing backpacking, however, what you specifically need to be looking for is something that is light to carry, that can boil water quickly and that’s fuel efficient. Another important thing to consider is the type of fuel the stove runs off and whether that will be easy to find in remote places.
Best Camping Chairs
Best Backpacks for Backpacking
For trips no longer than a week we’ve found that gas camping stoves generally tend to be the best all-round type of fuel and that’s why the majority of options on this page are canister fed. Still, there are trips and scenarios where alternative fuels might be the better option. To understand the various advantages and disadvantages of various fuel and stove types, we’ve compiled this useful guide on how to choose a camping stove and there’s more info at the bottom of this article.
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How We Tested Them
All of these products have been in our gear team’s hands and properly tested within the environments they were designed for, including the Scottish Highlands, Snowdonia, the Lake District and beyond. Some of these have even been tested on multi-week backpacking expeditions and on lightweight fastpacking challenges. The majority, it should be said, have been tested in three-season conditions and not fully tested in winter conditions.
The Best Camping Stoves of 2023
The stoves reviewed here were all included in either our Outdoor 100 or Green Gear Guide. There is a wide variety in terms of price, features and styles. Here are our favourites.
- Primus Lite+ – Best Camping Stove Tested
- MSR Pocket Rocket 2
- Jetboil Stash
- Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook System
- MSR Reactor Stove
- Primus MicronTrail
- Savotta Happy and Grumpy Stoves
- Primus Firestick
- Coleman Fyrestorm PCS
- Jetboil MiniMo
- Jetboil MightyMo
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