You checked all the essentials for your camping trip: tent, sleeping bag, bug spray, hammock — the list goes on. All that's left to do is think about how you're going to cook food outside. You could stick to roasting hot dogs or trying to hold a skillet over a fire pit, but you can do better than that.
A camping stove gives you a better surface for cooking actual meals. Plus, not every campsite will have a fire pit, so you want to be prepared.
Types of camping stoves
Camp stoves come in a ton of different shapes, sizes, and fuel types — each optimized for specific uses. For backpacking, you need a small stove than can fit in your pack without taking up too much room or weighing too heavily. The BioLite CampStove 2(opens in a new tab) is relatively small and light, but for long backpack excursions, we suggest the MSR PocketRocket 2(opens in a new tab), which is basically just a burner with a couple cooking accessories and is super compact and lightweight. If you don't need something that can pack down into a backpack, tabletop camp stoves like the Coleman Propane Grill Stove or the Camp Chef Everest are great for cooking meals for a group. With these stoves, just make sure you'll have enough table space at the campsite to fit them.
The most common fuel types for camping stoves are propane and butane. There are also a couple stoves that rely on wood, charcoal, or pellet fires. Most camp stoves do not come with fuel canisters — especially if you buy them online because companies are not allowed to ship flammable contents. If you don't want to depend on a gas stove with a butane or propane tank, opt for one of the fire-fueled stoves.
What to look for in a camping stove
Aside from figuring out the type of fuel that will work best for your needs, there are some other factors to pay attention to. Heat output is one of the most important features because it will determine how efficiently you're able to cook.
Heat is measured as a British thermal unit, or BTU, which is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. All that to say, a higher BTU means shorter boil and cook times.
Depending on your cooking needs, pay attention to whether a stove has adjustable heat settings — you don't want to sauté at the same heat level that you use to boil water. If you're just looking to boil water for coffee and to prepare dehydrated camping food, you'll be good with the simplest stoves, but if you want to whip up real meals, good adjustable heat settings will be much more important. Also consider the type of cooking surface you want — are you more focused on sticking a pan on top of a burner or do you need a grilling surface? Some stoves feature both.
Are camping stoves worth it?
If you're going to be camping for more than one night, we suggest getting a camp stove. Just because you're sleeping in the great outdoors doesn't mean you have to rely solely on gross dehydrated food (unless that's your thing — no judgment). You can still feel just as outdoorsy and Davy Crockett while cooking on a stove versus over a fire pit.
We've rounded up eight of our favorite camping stoves for different types of outdoor situations, whether you're backpacking, hunkering down at basecamp for a few days, or doing some backyard camping.
