A camping stove will provide you with all the heat you need to safely prepare hot food on the go. Easy to ignite, highly portable, and simple to cook on, a camping stove lets you enjoy cooking in the great outdoors.
Whether you choose the eco-efficient simplicity of a wood burner or go for the adjustable features of a gas stove, your camping cooker will quickly become an integral part of your camping gear.
Things To Consider With Camping Stoves
The right camping stove will make your outdoor life so much easier. The type of stove you choose for your next adventure will depend on many things, including your own personal preference. Before you buy, consider the following:
Types
There are many different types of camping stoves to choose from. What sets them apart from each other is the fuel they use to heat your food. The most popular and practical options are wood-burning stoves or gas-fueled options, but here’s a quick run-down on all the options available to you:
- Wood-burning Stoves — Easy to use, eco-friendly, and an excellent choice for more remote camping trips, a wood-burning stove is literally fueled by branches, twigs, and even leaves, making it an excellent choice for backcountry adventures. While the cooking time may be slower on a wood burner, they offer a truly natural outdoor experience and that authentic wood-fired flavor.
- Gas-fueled Stoves — Quick and easy to use, these stoves are powered by a single canister of propane or, in some cases, butane, and offer reliable and adjustable heating. With impressive cooking times, gas stoves can be small and simple or can feature several burners, automatic ignition, and almost as many features as your stove back at home. On the downside, you will need to carry a gas canister around with you.
- Liquid-fueled Stoves — A good choice if you need to cook for a few people at a time, these stoves are often fueled using kerosene and are cheaper to buy than gas stoves. Effective and efficient, they are better suited to RV camping or more permanent bases, as they are heavy to carry, and it’s not that nice to carry fuel around with you.
- Alcohol-burning Stoves — These compact little cookers have always been popular with more extreme adventurers who will be cooking for 1. Light to carry and cheap to buy, they run on methanol-based products. Basic but effective, they will give enough heat to boil a pan of water for hot drinks and food.
- Solid-fuel Stoves — Super lightweight and very simple, these little cooking stoves are easy to use and very cost-effective. Fueled by premade fuel tabs, they offer fuss-free cooking, but they are also very slow and only really suitable for travelers with plenty of time on their hands.
Size and Weight
From single burners for solo travelers to dual or triple options for family trips, the size of stove you need will be determined by how many you need to cook for.
Some stoves are super compact and weigh only a pound or so, while others will be heavier if they offer more functions and burners.
The usual rules apply when it comes to weight. If you are trekking over long distances, you won’t want to be weighed down by a bulky stove and cumbersome canisters, whereas camping trips in the car will make the weight of your stove less of an issue for you.
Hot Tip: Choose the smallest design you think you can get away with, as the bigger your burner is, the heavier it will be to carry.
Burners
Some gas stoves are just a single burner, while others will offer more. Some may also feature adjustable heat settings, allowing you to cook efficiently across 2 or more burners. However many burners you choose to use, be sure that you make sure your pans will fit properly on them before you buy.
Hot Tip: Check out our list of the best camping essentials to bring on your next trip, as well as our guides to the best camping kitchens, the best portable camping grills, and the best camping cooking sets.
The 5 Best Wood Camping Stoves
1. All-weather Wood Stove
KampMATE WoodFlame Ultra Lightweight Portable Wood Burning Camping Stove
Made from 304 stainless steel, this awesome little camping stove has been built to withstand even the harshest of conditions.
Weighing just over a pound, it is easy to carry around with you, and with the ability to be powered by wood, twigs, branches, or even leaves, you won’t need to worry about keeping bulky canisters in your backpack.
The wide, open-mouth design makes it easy to add more wood to keep the fire going, and the fold-down construction can be assembled in an instant to keep you well-fed.
What We Like
- The simple design is super lightweight
What We Don’t Like
- The foldable metal panels can have sharp edges
2. Collapsible and Super Easy To Carry
StarBlue Camping Rocket Stove
Superstrong and highly durable, this mini camping stove is made from rust-resistant stainless steel that has been built to last.
Collapsible for easy transportation, it comes with its very own carry bag, and the functional design makes this an excellent choice for camping trips.
With a large fuel chamber that can be filled with wood, branches, twigs, and leaves, it provides a wide and stable base for your cooking pot, and the sturdy design ensures that it is suitable for use in a wide variety of conditions.
What We Like
- Looks and feels like it has been built to last
What We Don’t Like
3. Clean Wood Camping Stove
HIKPEED Camping Stove
This little stove collapses down to a very compact size and comes with its own carry bag for easy transportation.
Offering incredible resistance to heat, it has been built to last through many outdoor adventures, and the clever double-wall design does away with black smoke and foul odors while cooking.
Fueled by nature, you can fire it up using twigs, sticks, leaves, pine cones, and other natural burners, and the heavy-duty stainless steel construction provides a safe and stable cooking platform in virtually all conditions.
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
- It would be better if it came with a handle
4. Super Lightweight and Easy To Assemble
Ohuhu Wood Burning Camp Stove
This wide-mouth camping stove weighs less than 2 pounds and offers a sizable cooking area. The adjustable ash catcher lets you find the exact heat level you are looking for, and the user-friendly design is efficient, portable, and easy to carry around with you.
Made from high-quality materials, it can be assembled and packed away in seconds, without the need for tools, and the eco-friendly design means it can run on wood, twigs, leaves, and any other natural materials you have close at hand.
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
- The metal panels can get a little hot
5. The Best Wood Stove for Use in Your Tent
WINNERWELL Nomad Medium Tent Stove
Made from 304 stainless steel, this portable cooking stove is an excellent choice for use inside small spaces such as tents, yurts, and teepees.
Built to withstand many years of use, the heavy-duty construction has been designed to remain resistant to rust and corrosion. The nesting, 4-leg construction folds flat under the stove for easy transportation, and the side shelves can also be used as a carry handle.
The 800-cubic-inch firebox offers plenty of heat and warmth, and the chimney pipe funnels smoke away from you for cleaner heating.
What We Like
- Gives your tent a homely feel
What We Don’t Like
The 5 Best Gas Camping Stoves
1. Powerful Gas Camping Stove for Family Adventures
Coleman Gas Camping Stove
Offering up to 20,000 total BTUs, this awesome little gas camping stove fits a 12-inch and 10-inch pan at the same time, making it perfect for family camping trips.
With 2 adjustable burners, you can enjoy precise temperature control, and the wind-blocking panels shield the burners from extreme weather.
Offering a run time of up to 1 hour on 1 single 16.4-ounce propane cylinder, this camping stove is lightweight and portable and can be folded completely flat for easy storage and transportation.
What We Like
- It can even be used at home in the event of a power outage or storm
What We Don’t Like
- The adjustable valves are a little fiddly
2. The Most Compact Gas Camping Stove
Coleman Gas Stove
This super-compact travel stove is small enough to be carried in your backpack while still offering reliable and even heating.
With the built-in pressure control, you can enjoy consistent performance, even in extreme conditions, ensuring more efficient cooking even with less fuel. The windshield helps to keep the flame alight in all weathers, and the adjustable burner for an 8-inch pan makes it a great choice for solo adventures.
Offering up to 2.5 hours of heating on high on a single 16.4-ounce propane cylinder, the burner base separates from the propane bottle for compact storage, and the lightweight design makes this perfect for even the most extreme outdoor adventures.
What We Like
- Compact, lightweight, and highly efficient
What We Don’t Like
- The lowest setting can blow out quite easily
3. Fast-heating Gas Stove
Coleman PowerPack Propane Stove
Compact and minimal, this is a great choice for extreme adventures and quick cookouts on the go. The 1-burner cooking tool is just the right size to fit a large 12-inch pan, and the fully-adjustable heat goes from simmer to full boil with up to 7,500 BTUs of power.
Featuring PerfectFlow technology, you can enjoy fast and steady heating, and the super-efficient design burns less fuel, giving you cooking capabilities for longer. The chrome-plated cooking grate can be removed for quick clean-ups, and the super-small design makes this easy to carry around with you in the wild.
What We Like
- A basic but brilliant way to cook food
What We Don’t Like
- It is surprisingly heavy, given its size
4. Dual Fuel Design With Converter
Camplux Dual Fuel Camping Stove
This portable gas stove offers consistent and reliable heating and comes with a ton of features. With a built-in pressure sensor, this model can cut off the gas if the pressure increases too much, and the piezoelectric ignition makes this as easy to use as your stove back at home.
The dual-fuel burner operates on a single 8-ounce butane canister or a 16.4-ounce propane canister, and the high-quality construction will ensure that this stove will last for many adventures to come.
What We Like
- Brilliant for camping with the family
What We Don’t Like
5. Excellent Power in a Compact Design
Coleman Fold N Go InstaStart 2-Burner Propane Stove
With its supercool looks and easy-to-use design, this awesome little camping stove folds up nicely and is compact for easy transportation and storage.
Featuring 2 burners that are just the right size for 10-inch pans, it produces an impressive 20,000 total BTUs of cooking power. With pressure-control technology, it will deliver consistent heat, even in extreme conditions, and both burners can run for over an hour on just a single 16.4-ounce propane cylinder.
Matchless InstaStart ignition lights the stove with just the push of a button, and with a built-in handle, you can literally carry your camping stove around with you.
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
- The grates are quite high
Final Thoughts
Whatever type and size of stove you choose to buy, it should be practical and reliable enough to heat your food properly on the move.
From gas-fueled burners with fancy features and adjustable temperatures to wood burners that are eco-friendly and highly efficient, there is a camping stove to suit every type of outdoor adventure.
