The Best Camping Stoves
Verified by
Hadleigh V. Lead Product Analyst
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OutdoorGearLab, Outdoor Life and Switchback Travel each call the Camp Chef Everest 2X the best camping stove they tested. OutdoorGearLab's verdict came after Kate Pitts and Mary Witlacil ran 14 stoves through timed boils at 5,000 feet. Better Trail scores it 4.8 out of 5, the top mark among the nine stoves in its guide. CleverHiker and GearJunkie hand it their cooking-ability and high-output awards. Every guide that tested it gave it an award. OutdoorGearLab's two induction cooktops scored higher, but they need a wall outlet; among the gas stoves, the Everest's 83 out of 100 led the field.
Power is the first reason. Each burner puts out 20,000 BTU, twice the output of most budget two-burners. CleverHiker boiled a liter in under four minutes, "our fastest time by a wide margin." For Outdoor Life, Samantha Silverman clocked 3 minutes 12 seconds at 5,000 feet, then cooked at 7,000 feet in 15 mph wind and wrote that the conditions "were no match for these 20,000 BTU burners." OutdoorGearLab's windy boil came in at 3 minutes 45 seconds, among the best of any gas stove it tested.
All that heat still turns down low. OutdoorGearLab names the Everest and the Jetboil Genesis Basecamp the best open-flame simmerers in its test, and CleverHiker simmered rice and melted cheese in quesadillas on it. Switchback Travel draws the contrast with cheaper stoves: the Everest 2X "has excellent simmer control, while budget stoves like the Coleman Cascade Classic struggle." Better Trail fit two 10-inch pots on its 215-square-inch cooktop. It lists at $229.99.
What It Won't Do
It takes up a lot of room. The stove weighs about 12 pounds, and CleverHiker writes that "the biggest drawback to the Everest 2X is its size." Switchback Travel notes the 2X grew larger and bulkier than the model it replaced. Outdoor Life's testers called the 1-year warranty surprisingly limited, and Coleman gives even its budget Classic three. OutdoorGearLab found the case closures flimsy and would prefer an external regulator connection.
"After five years of testing, the Coleman Classic Propane Camping Stove remains the best all-around camping stove for most people," writes Kit Dillon at Wirecutter, where the team researched 26 stoves, tested 13 and took 3 apart. CleverHiker names it the Most Dependable stove in its guide and rates it 4.5 out of 5. It lists at $97.49, $132.50 less than the Everest 2X.
Its two 10,000 BTU burners cooked well in Wirecutter's tests. Uncovered water boiled in 5 minutes on the right burner, and Wirecutter says the Classic "boiled water faster than any other stove we tested under $150, yet when we turned it down low, it was gentle enough to griddle golden-brown pancakes." Soft scrambled eggs took 4 minutes. One 16-ounce propane bottle runs both burners on high for about an hour, and the lid folds flat when you need room for a big pan.
Simplicity is the rest of the case. The stove comes apart into about six pieces and has no piezo igniter, which Wirecutter treats as a feature: below $150, it says, those igniters almost always break. Coleman's 3-year limited warranty is three times what Camp Chef offers on the Everest.
Switchback Travel and Better Trail give their budget awards to the Coleman Cascade Classic instead. It missed our cut on test scores: OutdoorGearLab scored it 64 out of 100 and GearJunkie 6.2 out of 10, the lowest score in GearJunkie's chart, and Switchback Travel reports faulty ignitions out of the box. Switchback Travel also writes that the Classic Propane "matches the Cascade in power," and it costs less.
What It Won't Do
The boil can be slow. CleverHiker needed 10 minutes 26 seconds to boil a liter at about 4,500 feet, the slowest of its two-burner stoves, and concedes the Classic "lacks some power." There's no igniter, so a lighter has to live in the camp box. Wirecutter found the pressed-metal cooktop can shift and catch on the lid, and Kit Dillon once had to pry the case open with a spoon handle. Some owners also report sticky dials.
Who Should Buy Which
Camp Chef Everest 2X
Two 20,000 BTU burners and snap-in windscreens on a cooktop that fits two 10-inch pots
- Families and groups cooking full breakfasts and dinners
- Campers at altitude or on windy sites
- Cooks who sear on one burner while simmering on the other
- Anyone running two 10-inch pots side by side
- Car campers with trunk room to spare
Coleman Classic Propane Camping Stove
Two 10,000 BTU burners in a steel case that comes apart into about six pieces
- Families who car camp a few weekends a year
- First-time campers building a kit
- Anyone spending under $100 on a two-burner
- Campers who would rather pack a lighter than fix an igniter
- Scout troops and group camps that treat gear roughly