Are you going camping soon and busy planning and getting your camping gear organized?
- Camping tent – CHECK
- Sleeping bag – CHECK
- Adequate lighting – CHECK
- Backpack – CHECK
- Proper clothing – CHECK
- Proper footwear – CHECK
- Emergency medical kit – CHECK
- Food – CHECK
- Cooking ware – Uhm… not quite?
It’s easy packing dry foods in a container, work out your daily meal plan and take all the necessary ingredients to prepare yourself some lovely meals while camping.
But how will you prepare the food?
Of course, setting up a camp fire and prepare most meals on an open flame while camping is probably going to make out 95% of the means in which you do this. But what do you do when you need to boil some water, assuming you’re in a remote location without any available electricity? Or how do you prepare some hot breakfasts like scrambled eggs etc?
Having started where you’re at, with little to no experience camping with limited gear to my disposal, if there’s one thing besides a decent and durable camping tent as well as a proper sleeping back you need when going on any camping expedition, it is to have a proper camping stove for those quick heating requirements around any camp site.
I can not stress this enough: Invest in a proper Propane camping stove!
So where do you start when looking to buy your first camping stove? I mean what does it even look like, what does it cost, where do you buy it from – these are all important factors to consider when you’ve decided you want to spend the money on an essential camping tool like this.
There are several factors that come to play here such as the type of camping you do, length, number of people with you and so on. We will look at the most critical factors here.
- Number of Companions: If you’re car camping alone or with 2 or 3 individuals, a 1 or 2 burner stove will suffice. However, if there are 4 to 7 people with you, a 2 burner stove is the better option as there is more room to prepare different types of foods at the same time. For 8 people or more, a 3 burner stove will be required.
- Trip Duration: No matter the length of your trip, make sure your stove has enough fuel or gas for the amount of time you will be needing it. Be prepared for at least 1 hour’s use per day. Go to your stove manufacturer’s website and check its fuel consumption so you can ensure you have the appropriate amount. In most car camping trips, propane gas is used, with 1 to 5 gallon propane tanks being the most popular options available.
- Burners: As mentioned above, the number of people with you determines the number of burners you may want to use. However, that is only a general guide: if you’re the type who likes to cook a lot of food even when alone, a 2 or 3 burner stove is the best option. If your trip involves a lot of backpacking and moving around, a 1 burner stove is ideal.
- Weight and Size: If you’re car camping, you have room for just about any type of gas stove, whereas with backpacking it is a bigger consideration to take into account. The most practical option for campers is a standalone stove as they don’t need a table and have lots of cooking room.
In most cases, a 2 burner stove will do the job and is great for cooking several items at the same time. If you are camping with several companions however, a bigger stove is in order. With regards to weight, it corresponds with the size, i.e. the bigger the stove the heavier they get. This won’t be a problem if you are car camping, but again, you need to take this into consideration depending on your circumstances and needs.