Our Guide to Stoves

We've organized the most commonly used items people use to address the Core function below, with example images, characteristics, features, etc.

Cooking technique		Using hot coals or a campfire	Using a grill (standalone only)*	Using a portable stove
				Regular stove (like a portable kitchen stove)	Wood burning stove	Solar stove	Liquid fuel stove	Canister stove	Alcohol stove	Tablet stove
Example images
Can you use multiple pieces of cookware at once? How many burners do you get?			N/A	Maybe Could have a layout that allows multiple cookware to be used (e.g., double burner)
Do you have to bring it yourself?			Some campsites have a grill
General fuel sources Check manufacturer's instructions for your model, important consideration that affects total price, weight & size, and availability		Wood or coals	Coals or gas (propane)	Gas**	Wood	Sunlight (may work when overcast)	White gas (actually a liquid), kerosene	Gas**	Alcohol	Solid fuel tablets (hexamine)
Will this need specific cookware? And why?		Ideal cookware has to tolerate directly sitting on hot coals or in a flame	N/A		Cookware is integrated with the stove		Cookware needs to be smaller since the stove top surface is smaller (a heavy, hot pot can tip over!). Some models may have integrated cookware
Is this primarily used for individuals or small parties?		Cookware is available at standard kitchen capacities. Have a cookout!			Depends Depends on integrated cookware capacity
Is there a steep learning curve to use?		Somewhat Need to light & maintain fire	Somewhat Need to light & maintain coals		Somewhat Some fire starting & maintenance still needed	Somewhat May require you to follow the sun's angles	Stove needs 'priming'
Can you control the temperature? With wood or coal, you could just let the fire die down, but here we're referring to an actual knob			If gas-powered
Is this best used to boil water?		With the right cookware, you can do a lot!							The flame can go out quite readily in wind & isn't very powerful
Once lit, does it heat quickly? Including average time to boil water		10+ min		1-2 min	5 min	20-30 min	1-2 min		6-8 min, in good conditions, see above
Any other considerations?		May not be permissible; check fire regulations	N/A	Butane (if that's what the model requires) doesn't work in cold temperatures	May not be permissible; check fire regulations	Cooks more like an oven (put it in & leave it)	Best performer at high altitudes***	N/A	N/A	Leaves residue on cookware & creates noxious fumes so you should cook with a lid
Effect on other factors Excludes fuel	Price	N/A	$50-200		$80-200			$10-50
	Weight & Size Large variation; data from models without integrated cookware & also excluded fuel weight		10-40lbs (5-18kg)	5-12lbs (2.3-5.4kg)	~2lbs (~0.9kg)	2-7lbs (0.9-3.2kg)	10-12oz (283-340g)	0.9-3.2oz (26-91g)	0.7-3.5oz (20-99g)	3.3oz (92g)
			Portable one likely won't fit in a backpack, but may have carry handle	Depending on number of burners, could fit in a regular or hiking backpack	Could fit in a regular backpack		Could fit in backpack side pockets	Could literally fit in pants pocket
	Rationale		More material				Less material
Why we do/don't carry it = we rent = we sell		N/A	Not as versatile for multiple use cases	Standard for most outdoor uses for car camping On our Catalog, this is indicated with "Portable stove"	Not as versatile for multiple use cases		For sale because some consider it a "classic". Not for rent because it requires more set-up & is heavier compared to the stoves at right	Versatile for most outdoor uses, therefore more worth the money On our Catalog, this is indicated with "Pocket stove"	Not as versatile for multiple use cases

*We're not referring to grill attachments, which may be available for the other stove options (e.g., kitchen stove, wood burning stove, or solar stove)

**Gas varies depending on stove. For example, Regular stoves usually take propane or butane, while Canister stoves usually take an isobutane-propane mix

***Since cooking at altitude isn't a concern for many, we have only highlighted the best performer, rather than going into detail about all the stoves (i.e., it doesn't mean that only liquid fuel stoves work at altitude)

If you don't go very often, of course you're going to want to spend less money, but this often means real trade-offs in terms of the experience that you will have with the gear. Even if you do go often & are ready to invest in quality gear, having the upfront funds can be hard!

Now, it may seem like this price & quality trade-off is disappearing, because you can find a cheap version of almost anything for tens of dollars that still has good reviews (assuming the reviews are real). So you might be thinking: I'll just buy something cheap, and because the price is so low it doesn't matter if it's less featured or heavier or whatever compared to something higher end. When that breaks, I'll buy something cheap again, and so on. Just remember:

• What's better than cheap? FREE! And we have a gear library of items you can borrow for free!
• Many reviews are written after only a trial use or first use: We've seen entire review videos of gear done at home, which is very different than actually being outdoors! And reviews after the first use don't tell you about durability at all
• You're headed outdoors to relax and enjoy life! Saving money only to have a trip ruined due to quality issues will feel terrible. Our program to rent stoves is designed to help you avoid this trade-off: you get to rent high end, quality stoves for around the same price as buying cheap ones (sometimes even for less!)

For this item specifically, the price vs. quality trade-off issues center around performance & durability.

• The stove wasn't very powerful: we don't discuss it here as a major choice factor, but the amount of heat (measured by BTUs) may matter to some cooks, and lower priced stoves may not output a lot of heat
• The stove wasn't very durable: Stoves have lots of mechanical parts that may break

The quantity of food you're able to cook at any one time is a function of form factor (see Type or Style section) or the stove that you choose, since that impacts the size of cookware you're able to use. We recommend careful planning, especially if you have a large number of people. For example, the right-most 4 stoves in the table in the Type or Style section are small and may not work for larger groups, though you can always rent the canister stove to test!

If you're thru-hiking 20+ miles (32+km) per day, every advantage counts! In this case, size refers to compactness. You can carry more gear in the same size backpack if all of it is very compact, or for more weight savings, you can get a smaller size pack.

There isn't a separate comparison table, because weight & size are functions of form factor (see Type or Style section) & within each form factor, the industry doesn't then offer 'Superlight' or 'Ultralight' models. Generally the right-most 4 stoves in the table in the Type or Style section are best suited for backpacking in terms of being lightweight & small. Rent a canister stove to try out how it balances function with weight!

Here, we give you a list of questions to start thinking about other features. We hope our approach of savings these features for last gets you to more critically think about what you need & not get caught up in the hype of what's cool and over-spend your budget. Remember, we allow you to hire a stove so feel free to try out various models with different features.

• How does it turn on? (Do you need a match or does it include a spark?)
• Does it have a wind shield?
• How easy is it to clean?