The Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Best Outdoor Camping Stove
, by Laurence, 8 min reading time
Whether you're a camping newbie or consider yourself a bit of a professional in all things ‘the great outdoors’, finding the best outdoor camping stove is really important for your trip.
After all, cooking over an open campfire is great and feels really authentic – but it can be unreliable and very hard to control the heat. A camping stove will help you to cook safely, efficiently and really easily.
We know that finding the best camping gear can be a little tricky when there’s so much choice. And when you’re searching for the best outdoor camping stoves, it can be hard to know exactly what you should be keeping an eye out for!
Luckily, we're here to narrow down the need-to-knows and offer you a quick and easy guide to acing your outdoor camping stove search…
Consider Your Camping Stove Needs: What Do You Need It For?
The very first thing you should do is consider your camping needs. You'll want to figure out how many people will regularly be using the camping stove, the type of foods and drinks you plan to make with it, as well as where you’ll be using it.
Backpacking VS Family Camping Trip
For instance, a lightweight backpacking stove probably won’t be suitable for lots of cooking for larger families on a campsite, just in the same way that your family outdoor cooker system won’t provide the compact features you want for a hiking trip.
At this point, you should weigh up your wants and needs so you can determine exactly what you want your stove to do – because this is different for everyone. Once you’ve got that figured out, you can start to narrow down your options.
Cooking Surface Size And Material
For lightweight hikers looking for a quick coffee fix, or boiling water to rehydrate their ultimate survival food packages, a small-scale personal cooking system is ideal!
For example, our foldable micro gas stove is great for providing just enough surface area for light cooking and fits easily into your hiking backpack for when you’re on the go.
If you're looking for something more suited to a family camping trip, you’ll obviously want something with a larger and more robust surface so you can cook with multiple pots and cook up a storm.
For this, we suggest a titanium or stainless steel base. They’re durable enough to withstand rust and weathering and have the strength to support heavier camping stove grills and heavy-duty pots.
Gas Stoves VS Solid Fuel Stoves: Which Fuel is Best?
Once you’ve determined exactly what and where you’re going to be using your stove, the next step is to decide which type of fuel is going to be the most suitable choice for your trip.
Gas Stoves
Gas stoves can provide really great convenience for quick and easy cooking. You can adjust the flame level with a knob, meaning you don't need to fiddle around too much with fuelling up your stove when it's time to cook.
However, gas canisters are heavy and can be expensive to upkeep, so if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, they might not be the best choice out there.
That being said, their convenience, portability and user-friendly features make them a great choice for many campers!
Solid Fuel Stoves
Solid fuel stoves use a variety of fules, such as wood, twigs, charcoal or other flammable material. They’re lightweight, easy to carry and can save you money on gas costs.
Wood-fueled stoves are a really great option for campers who are looking for a more authentic and rustic feel to their camping cooking experience.
Plus, you can use specific wood species to add unique flavours to your meals! Beech wood and apple wood, for example, offer a really nice smoky taste to your food.
Always be careful when choosing your solid fuel source, though. We'd recommend steering away from cheaper, fuel-station options, as these are often low-quality or even covered in chemicals. Instead, opt for charcoal briquettes or similar natural products specifically designed for cooking purposes.
Liquid Fuel Stoves
Stoves that use liquid fuel are also an option, although they’re not as common nowadays due to their heavier weight and less efficient heat output.
That being said, if you're looking for something a bit more powerful than butane/propane stoves, liquid fuel could be a great option for you.
The Best Outdoor Camping Stoves
Here at Wood To Water, you’ll find a whole range of specially selected camping stoves from some of the best camping brands in the business! Whether you’re looking for a stove to accommodate for the whole family, avid hikers or bushcraft enthusiasts, our collection of camping stoves has everything!
We've listed some of the best in our range to help you out.
The BE Bushbox XL
This BE Bushbox burner is large enough to support a selection of pot and pan sizes, yet, adopting the name hobo stove or firebox, it can fold to just 1cm thick! This is super handy if you want something lightweight and compact, but that still provides a large enough cooking surface for your outdoor needs.
This burner supports solid or liquid fuels, with space for wood burning and a bracket for Trangia burners.
We offer expansions, such as a universal grate, meaning your lightweight cooking experience can be customised from water boiling on longer hiking trips to slower cooks on a family holiday!
Fire Maple Stoves
Our stock of Fire Maple stoves is ideal for survivalist trips.
The Hornet Micro Gas Stove in particular is a great choice! These stoves are foldable, portable but pack a punch, allowing you to transport with more ease than you can imagine as well as quickly boil/sanitise water in an emergency.
The Trangia 25-5 Complete Cooking System
This cooking system is perfect for 3-4 people and includes all you need for larger family cooks!
The choice of fuel type offers you variety and option whilst its larger size offers potential for larger recipes. A real centrepiece at the ultimate camping cook off!
Find Great Offers For Your Next Camping Trip At Wood To Water!
From handy and compact backpacking stoves to large-scale outdoor cooking systems, our range of camping stoves has it all! You'll find some of the best camping brands and stove models at Wood To Water, giving you the ultimate outdoor cooking experience for your next camping trip.
We have gas, liquid and solid fuel stoves available, so we truly have something to suit everyone's needs.
Explore our whole collection of outdoor camping stoves today and get ready for an unbeatable cooking experience!
Shop Outdoor Camping Stoves Now
Plus, keep up to date with our blog for more camping tips and tricks!
FAQs
Can you run a camping stove on patio gas?
This will be completely dependent on the model of the stove and the manufacturer's instructions.
We recommend checking the manufacturer's guidelines for more information on compatible fuel sources – it's really important to stay safe when using camping stoves, and only using the correct fuel sources can help ensure this.
We recommend checking the manufacturer's guidelines for more information on compatible fuel sources – it's really important to stay safe when using camping stoves, and only using the correct fuel sources can help ensure this.
Can you buy fold up family camping stoves?
Yes! Folding camping stoves are an ideal way to cut down on the space and weight of your camping gear. For example, the BE Bushbox XL can be used to support larger camping grills for more family style cooking at campsites.
Are gas camping cookers better than solid fuel stoves?
This all comes down to personal preference and what you want to get from your stove. For the ultimate convenience, gas stoves offer a quick and easy solution for boiling water or cooking light meals.
For those looking for a more authentic cooking experience and the option to cook up some really tasty meals, solid fuel stoves are great – particularly wood-fueled stoves.
For those looking for a more authentic cooking experience and the option to cook up some really tasty meals, solid fuel stoves are great – particularly wood-fueled stoves.
What can I use to fuel a wood-burning camping stove?
Different types of wood you can use include: beech, birch, oak, apple and cherry. The wood you choose will determine the burn time and flavour it adds to your cooking. We'd recommend trying to steer clear of logs you often see sold outside of fuel stations as these can be of low-quality or even covered in chemicals.
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