Choosing the best car camping stove depends on your personal needs, like the size of group you’ll be camping with, how much gear you want to lug along on your trip, the type of fuel it uses and other factors. There are four basic questions to ask when evaluating or deciding what is the best car camping stove for your needs.
What is the size of the group and how long is the trip?
If a group of one to four people is camping for one to four days then consider a table-top two-burner stove powered by a small propane fuel tank like the Camp Chef Everest, Coleman Triton 2-Burner Stove or Eureka Spire. If you are camping for longer periods of time with four to eight people look at a larger stove like the Camp Chef Pro 60X or a Stansport 2-Burner fueled by a standard propane tank.
Type of Fuel: Propane or White Gas?
Propane is much easier to use, safer, and usually less expensive. For cooking on a stove like the Camp Chef Pro for four to eight people, get a hose adaptor and connect it to a standard propane tank. The disadvantage of propane fuel is that it tends to not work as well in cold weather down below 10 degrees fahrenheit. If you are cooking outside in weather that cold, you’ll want to keep the propane tank in warm place while not in use.
Power: How Many BTUs Does This Stove Deliver?
How much cooking power, or BTUs will the stove generate? BTUs are not a precise metric in a camping stove. A stove with lower BTUs per burner may actually boil water faster that a stove with higher BTUs depending number of variables, but it’s a good guideline for comparing stoves.
What Kind of Wind Protection Does the Stove Have?
Make sure the stove you are considering has some type of wind protection. Most of the table top stoves have two side windscreens as well as the lid which acts as the back windscreen
Here are five stoves that provide their own set of answers those basic questions:
Coleman Triton 2 Burner Camping Stove
Coleman stoves are well made and long-lasting and have some fierce advocates. One Coleman super fan on YouTube was showing off two of his Coleman stoves, the Coleman Triton and an older stove made in 1995. He claimed to still be cooking on a Coleman made in the early seventies and to have seen Coleman stoves made in the 50s still going strong. Even taking into account his brand loyalty enthusiasm, he is right on target about the Coleman Triton. It is a reasonably priced easy-to-use propane stove that will provide years of hassle free service.
Standard Features
- Weight: 10.6 lbs
- Burners: 2 burners
- Fuel System: Uses propane fuel
- BTUs: 11,000 BTUs per burner
- Ignition System: Automatic
- Windscreen: 2 side windscreens and a cover that acts as a back windscreen
Coleman Triton 2 Camp Stove Accessories: Adaptor for connection to propane bottle. Optional griddle
Unique Features: Good simmer control
Read More About the Coleman Triton 2 Burner Stove
Camp Chef Everest 2 Burner Camp Stove
The Camp Chef Everest is a 2 Burner stove that cooks to an enthusiastic audience of hungry campers, tailgaters or patio guests. It connects to small butane containers or an adaptor can connect it to larger containers. It has two powerful burners. It’s lightweight and portable and can accommodate two large home-style cooking vessels, a pot and a frying pan, for example.
Standard Features
- Weight: 12 lbs
- Burners: 2 burners
- Fuel System :Uses propane fuel
- BTUs: 20,000 BTUs per burner
- Ignition System: Automatic ignition system
- Windscreen: 2 side wind screens and a stove lid that serves as the back windscreen
Read more about the Camp Chef Everest 2 Burner Stove
Eureka Ignite Camp Stove
The Eureka Ignite has a number of special features that add to its utility in a traditional camping environment or on the patio.
- Remove the wind screens and cover to provide a cooking surface for oversized pots and pans.
- The burner flame can be precisely adjusted thanks to technology developed by JetBoil, one of Eureka’s sister companies.
- The Jetboil association is also responsible for a feature of the Eureka Ignite which allows multiple stoves (and not just Eureka Ignite) to be connected to the same fuel source. This allows you to assemble a large multi-stove, multi-cook camp kitchen. Or on a simpler level to boil water on a one-burner stove while the two burners on the Eureka Ignite are occupied with other cooking duties.
- The feet on the bottom of the stove can be adjusted for different heights allowing you to level the stoves on uneven ground. On the sides of the stove are rubber bumpers for protection.
- The grate is easy to remove and clean
Standard Features
- Weight: 11 lbs
- Burners: 2 burners
- Fuel System: Uses propane fuel
- BTUs: 10,000 BTUs per burner
- Ignition System: Automatic ignition
- Windscreen: Two side windscreens plus the stove lid which serves as a back windscreen
- Eureka Spire Accessories: Fuel line attaches from stove to propane tank
Read more about the Eureka Ignite Stove
Camp Chef Pro 60X
The perfect camping stove for groups of five to eight. It has large powerful burners and a huge grilling surface. The top of the stove opens up to provide two side tables. The stove is out of the box and ready to start cooking in 5 minutes.
Standard Features
- Weight: 47 lbs
- Burners 2 burners
- Fuel System Connects to a standard propane tank with a fuel hose.
- BTUs 30,00 BTUs per burner
- Ignition System Automatic ignition system
- Windscreen Low wind screen
Read more about the Camp Chef Pro 60X Camp Stove
Stansport Outdoor Stove
This is a large free-standing stove with two big powerful burners. Made of solid steel, it’s durable and easy to maintain and clean. Not having windscreens is a disadvantage for the Stansport.
Standard Features
- Weight: 30 pounds
- Burners: 2 burners
- Fuel System: Connects to a standard propane tank with a fuel hose with a built in regulator. Runs for approximately 15 continuous hours on 20-pound propane tank
- BTUs: Generates 35,000 BTUs from each burner
- Ignition System: Manual ignition using a lighting device of your choice
- Windscreen: No wind screens
Unique Features: The Stansport can be used freestanding, or without the legs it can be placed on a tabletop or tailgate.
Read more about the Stansport Outdoor Camping Stove