The Best Camp Stoves for Every Type of Adventure

For casual, amateur campers, campground cooking is probably mostly relegated to the likes of s’mores, hot dogs and anything else that can be stuck on a stick and held over an open flame. And it might not even go that far — many folks are content to premake sandwiches and bring them along and/or stick to simple snacks, like trail mix (AKA gorp). But we’re here to tell you that there’s a better way, should you wish for your camping meals to stray from the simplistic and reach more into the realm of the culinary.

If you’re a fan of homecooked meals and you’d like to bring that passion to your outdoor adventures, you’re going to need a camp stove. Available in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, weights, fuel types and numerous other metrics, these clever devices are designed to bring the convenience of your home kitchen to the campground, making it easier to gain access to an efficient, high-temperature flame and, therefore, greater cooking power than, say, a traditional campfire.

The next time you’re ready to worm your way out of your sleeping bag, roll off your camp cot and eat a hearty breakfast out on the trails, you’ll be thankful you’ve brought with you one of the best camping stoves you can buy in 2022 — which we’ve gathered in this guide. From ultralight backpacking offerings to fully-featured multi-burners, the perfect camping stove for you and yours is waiting for you right here.

What to Look for in a Camp Stove

Format: When it comes to this metric, there are really only two categories of camp stoves that anyone needs to worry about. They are standalone and tabletop. As you might have guessed from their names, standalone camp stoves are freestanding (typically, they have their own legs and/or base) and require no additional base in order to function, whereas tabletop stoves require a surface on which to place them. Standalones are typically better for single-person, low-capacity camping (like backpacking trips) and tend to favor lightness and packability, and tabletop stoves are typically larger, more feature-rich and serve larger groups better.

Size, Weight and Packability: While the format of stove you choose will likely impact this greatly, it’s still something you want to think about when shopping as, even within the smaller format categories, there are a lot of variations. For backpacking and low-capacity camping, something much smaller and more packable will serve you best. Larger camp stoves tend to have more features but that also means greater weight and not as much packability, lending better to things like car, trailer or RV camping. Just be careful to pay attention to these metrics before you buy, as you can’t really make a stove smaller, lighter, or more packable once you’ve bought it.

Fuel Type and Capacity: Most camp stoves run on gas, usually butane or propane, which have important pros and cons to be mindful of. Camping stoves also aren’t designed to be interchangeable with either fuel type out of the box, so it’s essential to fully understand the distinctions of each fuel source to identify the right camping stove for your particular needs.

Propane is generally easier to purchase from gas stations, grocery stores and hardware stores. It’s also sold in refillable bottles, making it less wasteful. Keep in mind though that popular propane stoves made by Coleman and others may require an adapter hose to connect to the larger, non-proprietary propane tanks you’re used to seeing next to grills and outdoor heaters. Lastly, propane burns effectively within a wide range of altitudes and temperatures.

The big downside of propane is that it has to be stored under higher pressure, which requires propane containers to be made from tough, heavy materials like stainless steel. In car camping scenarios, the added bulk and weight of a propane container is often a minor inconvenience to deal with relative to propane’s upsides. While the 20-gallon propane tanks commonly sold for home grills contain plenty of gas for extended camping trips, we recommend purchasing a smaller five-gallon tank such as Ignik’s Refillable Propane Growler with an included adapter hose and carrying case for weekend trips.

Butane canisters are less widely available, though still easily found in most outdoor gear stores. Butane’s primary advantage over propane is that it’s stored under lower pressure, allowing the gas to be safely contained in lighter aluminum canisters. This storage advantage makes Butane gas a far lighter fuel source to pack and haul. Frustratingly, though, Butane containers are not refillable, making them a more significant source of waste. Butane fuel can also struggle to perform effectively in extremely cold conditions.

Beyond these two common gases, some stoves also use solid fuel pucks, wood, and other natural kindling (make sure you’re careful about rules and regulations wherever you might camp), and even alcohol. We’d highly recommend picking a stove that prioritizes gas due to simplicity and availability, but some can burn multiple types, which are great in a pinch. Fuel capacity only refers to gas-based stoves. The size of the canister determines the fuel capacity you get.

Number of Burners: Moreso than anything, the number of burners a camp stove has is a matter of convenience. Single-burner stoves are the easiest to transport, but they require the most time cooking since you only have access to a single heat source. Multi-burner stoves are harder to haul around (a two-burner stove is usually twice the size of a single) but they make for a much more convenient cooking experience, as you can heat up multiple skillets, pans, etc.

BTUs: Short for British Thermal Unit, a BTU is a measurement of the amount of energy needed to heat a pound of water by a degree Fahrenheit — and this is the standard for measuring the heat output of a camping stove in the USA. The higher the BTUs of a stove, the higher the heat it outputs. For the average camper, this is more a measure of convenience than anything else, as most halfway decent stoves will do the job in time. But if you’re impatient, a high-BTU stove is probably going to be what you want.

Ignition Type: Most camp stoves operate with manual ignition — meaning you have to supply a spark via a match, flint and tinder, or something similar (like MSR’s Handheld Piezo Igniter). However, some come with a push-button ignition (usually a built-in Piezo igniter). We don’t think it’s a necessity (lighting with a match or lighter is really simple, even with a breeze) but it is pretty convenient.

Extra Features: Depending on how and what you want to cook, there are countless other features to consider. For instance, if you want to bring a skillet along, you’ll want to make sure you have a camp stove that can bear the weight of a skillet over its flame — some come with built-in support arms and others have ones that are optional/detachable. Once you’ve considered the rest of the above metrics, that’s when you’ll want to take a gander at the smaller details and see if they fit your requirements. However, we believe the six preceding metrics are the direst when selecting your ideal camp stove.

Backcountry

Best Overall

MSR WhisperLite International Multi-Fuel Stove

• $110.00 at backcountry.com

Finding isobutane canisters can be challenging when you’re traveling. That doesn’t matter for this stove, which burns white gas, kerosene and, in a pinch, even unleaded. It’s fast too — boiling a liter of water takes just 3.5 minutes. At 10.9 ounces, it’s sized for backpacking, with wide pot supports that fold for transport. Plus, it’s one of the most efficient stoves in cold temperatures, which has earned it wide trust amongst mountaineers.

Backcountry

Best for Car Camping

Camp Chef Mountaineer Aluminum Cooking System

• $390.00 at Amazon

The Camp Chef Mountaineer is a premium stove with a premium price to match. Its aluminum construction is durable, great looking and is very easy to clean. Its dual burners are also quite potent and capable of producing up to 20K BTUs/HR, which is within range of professional-grade home stoves. That power combined, with smart design features including an excellent integrated, tight sealing windscreen and recessed burners, allows the Mountaineer to boil water rapidly and sear meats in ways lesser powered stoves can’t. The same design choices also make the stove remarkably fuel-efficient, granted you’re mindful of your heat settings. Integrated piezeo-electric igniters and heat adjustment knobs are easy enough to use, though cooking items on lower burner settings did require some practice. We nearly burned a few dishes during the first two days of testing. Size-wise, the Mountaineer is bigger and heavier than competing dual burner stoves, which could be an issue for trips where space is a premium. Generally, though, its dimensions still feel reasonable for a stove intended for car camping and tailgating. The extra cooking space, kitchen-level cooking power, and smart design features are easily worth the size tradeoff.

Traeger

Save $108

Traeger Ranger Portable Pellet Grill

• $359 at Amazon
  $450 (20% off)

Smoke meat, vegetables and more at your campsite with Traeger’s 60-pound, portable, pellet-powered smoker grill. Bear in mind that you’ll need to power it from your vehicle or a portable power pack to use it, but that enables its Digital Arc Controller, which keeps the temperature consistent. There’s also a warm mode that can keep food from going cold if you’re busy with an impromptu frisbee game. It comes with a cast iron griddle as well as grill grates.

Vargo

Best Collapsible Stove

Vargo Titanium Hexagon Wood Stove

• $60.00 at Amazon

Vargo’s hexagonal titanium stove burns twigs and other small scraps of wood, which means that you can avoid carrying fuel with you. It’s also hinged and folds flat for travel, making it ideal for ultralight setups. Deployed, the sides form a cone that focuses heat up toward your pot, and one of its panels is hinged so you can add more fuel and control the damping without pulling your meal off the heat. Add in Vargo’s converter stove, sold separately, and you can use this one to burn alcohol, fuel tabs or gels.

Cabela’s

Most Powerful

Camp Chef Pro Series Deluxe 2-Burner Camp Stove

• $250.00 at cabelas.com

Simmer, boil, braise, grill and toast over this stove’s two propane-powered cast-aluminum 30,000-BTU burners. Electronic ignition and a 3-sided windscreen help get this standing stove going and keep it burning in all weather. The folding steel tubing legs have built-in levelers and are angled to give the stove stability on uneven ground, and burner covers double as side tables for campsite mise en place. The whole thing is transportable with a briefcase-style handle and runs off regular grill-sized propane tanks.

Solo Stove

Best for Charcoal

Solo Stove Grill Ultimate Bundle

• $480.00 at solo stove

This easy-to-light convective airflow stove burns hot and fast so you can have the great taste of charcoal cooking without the hassle or the wait. Its cylinder shape provides a large surface area for food over a lower grate that holds the charcoal. This bundle comes with 13-inch legs, but you can remove them for easier transportation (and better marshmallow roasting access). It’s heavier than other stoves on this list, so consider this one for car camping.

Walmart

Best on a Budget

Coleman Classic Propane Gas Camping Stove

• $52.00 at Walmart
  $75.00 (31% off)

For car camping, it doesn’t get more dependable and affordable than Coleman’s Two-Burner. Each burner is independently adjustable and large enough to hold full-size pots or a griddle, and they put out 20,000 BTU of heat while side flaps block any wind. It’s not a fancy option and it requires that you have the means to light it, but it’s convenient, efficient and always a classic.

Snow Peak

Most Packable

LiteMax Titanium Stove

• $65.00 at snowpeak.com

This incredibly tiny camp stove packs down so small you can literally fit it in the palm of your hand (or in a pants pocket). It’s also absurdly lightweight, weighing in at just two ounces total (not including a canister). But if you’re worried about it standing up to punishment, don’t be — it’s also made from remarkably tough and durable titanium. There’s a reason this is favored by outdoors fanatics around the world: it’s one of the best around, bar none, and might just be the most packable in the world.

REI

Fastest Boiling Stove

Jetboil Flash Cooking System

• $98 at REI
  $130 (25% off)

For impatient camp cooks, there might not be a better cooking system than the Jetboil Flash. This truly remarkable camp stove can boil water in as little as 100 seconds, making it the brand’s quickest ever (and that’s saying a lot since that’s the Jetboil specialty). It’s also still relatively small, making it a great backpacking option, and works just as well for making campground coffee as it does for eggs and bacon. As an added convenience bonus, it even has a push-button ignition.

MSR

Best All-Conditions Stove

MSR Reactor Stove System

• $310.00 at msrgear.com

MSR is one of the most trusted and best-known brands in hiking, camping and backpacking gear. And for good reason: the brand has been in the game since 1969 and, for all this time, has been at the forefront of innovation. That can be plainly seen in its range of Reactor Stove Systems, which — while very expensive — hold the crown for the fastest and most fuel-efficient all-conditions stoves around. They’re windproof, extremely quick to boil water (0.5 liters boil in just 1.5 minutes), relatively compact and so much more. MSR has even redesigned its canisters to be smaller, making these a great solution for those that want both convenience and weight-saving.

BioLite

Best for Tech Lovers

CampStove 2+

• $112.00 at BioLite
  $150.00 (25% off)

There are a couple of major reasons we wanted to include BioLite’s unique CampStove 2+. For starters, this stove was made to burn natural ingredients — like sticks, twigs, and even leaves — efficiently and with as little smoke as possible. But it also has an integrated battery that actually charges using the energy created by the fire you’ve built inside it. Then, you can use that battery to charge up your tech even when you’re nowhere near a traditional power outlet or if you don’t have a solar panel. It is somewhat cumbersome and requires additional accessories to cook on top of it, but for techies in the great outdoors, it may very well be worth the investment.

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