Campfire Stoves

As someone who has spent a lot of time camping, I can tell you from experience that finding the right cooking stove can be an absolute headache. So in order to take that out of the equation, see below for the pros and cons of the most common cooking stoves, as well as which one I would recommend.

Let’s start with the most basic of the stove.

The butane Burner. Now butane-style burners use cheap disposable butane canisters to fuel their stove. They are available as a single or dual-burner stove and are usually inexpensive. So, let’s look at the pros and cons of the Butane burner.

Pros:

• Inexpensive for the fuel and burner.
• Lighter compared to some LPG stoves or burners
• Comes in its own carry case for ease of transport.
• Most of the stoves come with a hotplate.

Cons:

The materials they are made from are not built to last for a long time. If you use it most camping trips and you go camping regularly, once or twice a month on average, expect to replace the stove every 12 months.

• The butane gas canister and stoves do not function very well on frosty mornings. If you want to cook breakfast and it’s a frosty morning, the canister will freeze up and you won’t get any heat from your stove.
• The carry case can get very oily and dirty after prolonged use.
• Because they are designed to use with the provided hotplate, some pans and pots may not sit very well on the stove.

Next up are the LPG/Propane stoves. Unlike their butane counterparts, these are made from more durable materials. However, this adds a considerable weight factor.

Pros:

• Made from durable materials, so will last a decent amount of time, even under heavy use.
• As these stoves take both propane and butane, fuel can be easy to provide if you already have a setup that has an LPG tank in it.
• Burns hotter than the butane stoves, so isn’t prone to freezing on frosty mornings and can cook things faster.

Cons:

• Most don’t come with an included hotplate or bag. These normally need to be purchased separately.
• With a carry bag and hotplate, these can be quick heavy and bulky to carry around.
• The Propane canisters are not as small as the butane one and can take up additional space.
• To use an LPG fuel source, you need an adapter for the connector.
• Because it burns hotter, food can be harder to cook and it may be harder to control the flames compared to the butane cooker.

And the last one on my list is the portable Hiking style stoves. These stoves are small and lightweight, designed for quick meals while camping or hiking.

Pros:

• Incredibly lightweight and compact. When not in use, these stoves fold into each other, making for a small but compact package.
• Depending on the model they run on either the small quick propane cans or the larger screw-in ones. The ones that use the larger can also be run off LPG if you have an adapter.
• These come included with cooking utensils inbuilt. (Pans and Pots).

Cons:

• Due to their size, they have a limited cooking capacity compared to other stoves.
• The lightweight materials may not hold up to prolonged use. I can’t say with certainty about the longevity of these as they are a relatively new addition to our camping setup. as time goes on, I will update this after I’ve used them more extensively.

Now for the last word. My preference. Over the last 5 years, I have spent a lot of time on the road and out and about camping. At this stage, I prefer my setup to be a quick up and down. so for me, the portable hiking-style stoves fit the bill perfectly. Even with the slightly larger Propane canisters, I still prefer them to the other two types of stoves. For you, this may not be what best suites your camping style. I hope after reading this you have a better understanding of the pros and cons of each style of stove and can make a better decision. Until next time.