Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

[dio_free]

Hi guys!
I would like some advice from some seasoned campers.

First off, my wife and I (and dog for now, kids down the road) are tent campers and are just beginning to accumulate the gear we will want over the years.

Right now the big gaping hole in our equipment and most pressing need is a stove. However, I'm torn between which to buy. I grew up with my parents using the old coleman 2 burner stoves, as well as a single portable stove which always generated a massive fire to us kids' delight!

Requirements:
-A stove that can adapt to different situations
-Not ludicrously expensive
-Not hard to find parts or fuel in Canada

Cost-wise, I believe a straightforward 2 burner coleman stove is cheapest but I've read some articles on some newer players like MSR or Jetboil and wonder if they bring new technology to the table (I am a technology nut by the way).

anyone have any thoughts?
thanks

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

I assume you are car camping. I prefer the camp chef explorer model http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Expl...+chef+explorer
I have the one like the Coleman you mentioned, but it seemed cramped when cooking for my family of 4. Lets say 3 adults and 1 first grader. I like to use 12" cast iron skillets, griddles and a 12" Dutch Oven. I just felt al little cramped on the smaller stoves. The downside is that you connect the camp chef to a 20 pound propane tank, where as the Coleman, you use the 16.4 oz bottles.

[dio_free]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Thank you both for the advice. You offer some helpful insights that I would not have considered. I will think on this!

[frank6160]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Get a Coleman stove. Will last for years! If the 425 model seems to small find a model 413. A bit bigger and handles the larger pots and pans easier.

[tplife]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

I agree with Frank that the 413D, with 10% more heat output at the burners, also offers 35% more cooking area than the 425D gas stove. While I don't lug 50 pounds of cast iron cookware around, I do need the larger surface area for my GSI 10 inch fry pans and LiCamp nesting cookware. The advantage is 1/3 less cost of Coleman Fuel vs. propane, but you also pay a price in depth as the white gas stoves are much deeper to accomodate the fuel tank and burner setup. Our Coleman propane 2-burner stove has the same cooking area but is very shallow, allowing a bit more room for other gear. If you go propane, don't overlook the CampChef line - and I'm not talking about the monster version like RDF uses, but a Coleman-size model that I found a high-quality alternative to the Coleman models. Either will last you a lifetime for between $75 and $120 MSRP with the only replacement parts being o-rings you can buy at any Home Depot or industrial supplier. All of these propane stoves can run on either small bottles or larger metal or fiberglas cylinders, although sometimes an adapter will be needed to go big, or go small. While we have owned smaller stoves like the Svea over the years, these 1-burners lack good windguards, often don't cost much less due to production volume, and really only shine for backpacking or "micro-camping".

[immadman]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

I am in agreement with frank6160 and tplife. The 413D will give you more cooking area and will last forever. I have one that is old as Methuselah. Personally, I tend to stick with liquid gas type stoves. In my opinion, they are cheaper and more efficient than the propane. Of course, everyone has his or her own opinion and/or preferences. I cannot speak highly enough of the older Coleman line of stoves and lanterns, although I cannot speak as well of the newer stuff. I have a two mantle 220E that I literally grew up with (mfg date March, 1955) along with two others that were made in the 60's and they all still perform flawlessly. I very recently I bought a new dual fuel two mantle lantern because I was away from home and decided to do some camping (long story that I will relate somewhere else). It is not half the lantern the old ones were. I have been very disappointed with it and am going to return it. Some of the older stuff can be found for a very reasonable price on eBay, if you are patient. And yes, tplife, I used to backpack with a Svea and sometomes with a Bluet stove. Although there are other, more efficient backpacking stoves out there, the sound of the old Svea on a cool mountain morning coupled with the smell of coffee brings a smile to my face and makes the whole day a lot more attractive. :-)

[SmokeEater2]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Another vote for the older Coleman stoves (and lanterns) There are usually a few hundred older Coleman stoves on ebay at any given time at all price ranges. I see Coleman still makes the 3 burner stove also.

[Mike]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Like so many of our friends here on this forum, I have used almost every type of camp stove available - old and new.

Still, the campstoves I use today are Coleman. For reliability, flame control, ease of use, safety.... they are tops.

I too prefer the liquid gas stoves for economy and space. You can top off a liquid gas tank, buy you have to lug around whole canisters of propane even if they are 80% empty.

I hate to take the steam out of the retail economy, but there are endless used Coleman stoves at garage sales and on Craigslist for around $15.00, so there is not need for you to buy new if economy is important to you.

The Coleman two burner stove is stable and enough to cook for a family of four. One burner for coffee, one burner for cooking. Look at how you cook at home. I rarely, if ever use more than two burners, but if you use more than two and want to replicate home cooking when you are camping, you can get an additional single burner stove.

Be aware that you can get propane converters for liquid gas Coleman stoves. They are stupid easy to use. So, if you aren't sure which way to go, get the liquid fuel Coleman two burner stove and know that you can convert it to propane for between $10 to $20 if you ever want.

[Mike]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

wow, I didn't know you could convert a white gas stove to propane. That is very cool. I love learning new stuff on this site!!!

Ha! Hogsnapper, I honestly thought there was nothing new under the sun for you to learn or discover.

[coloradowalt]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

I have a couple of the old 2 burner white gas Coleman stoves. I am currently leaning toward replacing the large green suitcase with a Coleman Sportster II Dual Fuel stove, its a single burner white gas (or unleaded gas.... blech) stove and either a older Coleman 502 stove or a second Sportster. The replacement would be for our canoe trips. Love the large Coleman two burner but packing the two smaller stoves would be easier. Bought the Sportster after the last float trip. I have practiced with it several times and I can say I LIKE it. I probably should just purchase a second one but Dad had a 502 growing up and for nostalgia's sake (plus a little larger stove) I think I want to go that route. I've torn Dad's garage apart looking for that stove but he's hidden it from me very well :-) I even purchased a used Coleman Peak lantern (white gas) for our canoe trips. Smaller than the normal Coleman white gas lantern.

Its funny, for backpacking I prefer a canister stove, Snowpeak Gigapower. For other camping I like white gas.

[Mike]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Coloradowalt, for canoe travel, you will indeed find that two single burner stoves are more portable than one briefcase style two burner stove.

The next step for you is to learn how to accommodate your group's culinary requirments with one single burner stove. I can easily do this with groups of four and five when necessary. The first thing is to serve up hot tea or coffee. With a comforting familiar beverage, the crew can usually find enough patience for you to cook up a single pot meal. While they are devouring the main course, you can be cooking up a dessert.

Any camp chef who provides dessert can sleep with both eyes closed, comfortable in the confidence that his commrades will not scalp him in his sleep. Furthur, any camp chef who provides tasty filling meals quickly and designs meals that do not tax the party with cumbersome freight loads will be invited on future trips with emphatic persuasion from the rest of the crew.

SO, my suggestion to you, ColoradoWalt, is to make your next aquisitions knowledge, creativity, and skill so that you may downsize from the large two burner stove to your one single burner Peak stove and still provide delightfull filling meals

Hint: You may enjoy the timeless books SuperMarket Backpacker, or The One Burner Gourmet, and The One Burner Cookbook. All are by Harriet Barker. All printed in the 1970's. All are creative, practical, and helpful. You can read them like a book. All are available used on Amazon. Harriet Barker is an unsung hero for modern campers. Her creativity, knowledge and experiene in the kitchen and in the forest was put to print as a gift to all of us outdoor enthusiasts. Notice the Coleman singler burner stove on the cover. Nice.

[coloradowalt]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Mike, thanks for the book references. They even have a 502 on the cover. Not sure I will ever be able to give up the convienence of a second burner. Amazon has a copy of the "one burner cookbook". Think I will add it to my library.

[Mike]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Yes, I know what you mean about the challenge of going one burner. If you don't mind the extra weight and space, then go two burner. IMO, two single burners are more space efficient than a bigger two burner.

I remember a time when we brought only one single-burner stove for groups of five or six. We only used it for emergencies when we could not get a fire going because of torrential rain or some other circumstance. We didn't even bring extra fuel.

BTW, the Harriet Barker cookbooks are good because they were really written for backpackers with economy in mind. I have other camping cookbooks and they really aren't much more than a kitchen cookbook claiming to be a camping cookbook. Harriet Barker tells you how to dry your own food and how to use the foods that you dried in her recipes. She uses affordable ingredients readily available at the grocery store. If there is one weak-point, it is that the book was written in the 1970's when grocery stores were tiny and the variety was only a fraction of what it is today.

In truth, there are so many excellent ready made dried foods in stores today that you could easily eat for two or three weeks with delicious prepaired dried meals like Shore Lunch soups and stews, Hamburger Helper, the miriad of various instant pasta dishes, better quality instant ramen, pre-cooked shelf-stable Indian curries in foil pouches, rice of all varieties, instant breads of all kinds, a world of cereals. The list goes on and on. In fact, lighweight prepared food selection found in grocery stores economically has improved immensly since the 1970's and has opened up all kinds of possibilities for the backpacker, canoer, kayaker, and minimalist car camper.

[coloradowalt]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

Mike, what cook set do you use. I used a stacking camp set from my youth crossing the west with my parents in a VM camper for the longest time. Lately, I've been using a IMUSA 3 piece aluminum caldera set from WalMart with a REI Campware non-stick frying pan. I was eyeing the GSI aluminum dutch oven when I came across the IMUSA set. I've done a couple of stews in the big pot. They have a thicker bottom then traditional camping pots which tend to burn foods. Still thinking about the GSI aluminum DO.

[Mike]

Re: Help Choosing First *Camping Stove*

ColoradoWalt, I WISH I had such a heritage cook set as you. How lucky you are.

My stuff is mostly fro thrift stores with the exception of a couple of pieces

I have a one quart tea pot, a stainless two-quart covered boiling pot with bake-O-lite handle (1950's vintage food service coffee pot), a nice Tramontina Teflon fry pan made in USA, a cast iron fry pan, and a Dutch Oven. The tea pot and the boiling pot always travel, but the other pieces take turns. I never have more than three at one time

Still, it is an improvement over the pots we made out of old coffee cans and coat hanger wire as bail

My fond memory is of the large aluminum pot that my friend's mother gave to our high school camping gang. That was a big deal and we all remembered her for it. We used to go camping and each of us would bring a can of anything: mixed veggies, corn, whatever we could swipe from mom's cupboard. Into the pot it would go along with a cup of rice and a packet of dried onion soup mix. That would feed five or six hungry backpacking teens