best camp stoves for car camping

Camp Chef Everest 2X

The stove most gear testers hand the top spot to, and the one to buy if you only want to buy once. Its two 20,000 BTU burners are the most powerful you can get in a briefcase-style tabletop stove, and the tall folding wind panels keep that heat on the pan rather than losing it to the breeze. Testers also rate it well for simmering, which is unusual for a stove this hot, so it handles eggs as well as a rolling boil. The trade-off is bulk: at roughly 14 pounds and two feet wide it is one of the heaviest tabletop options here, and reviewers note the lid closures are the weak point.

Camp Chef Mountaineer 2X

The Everest's aluminium-bodied big brother: same 20,000 BTU per burner, a wider cook surface, and a suitcase-style latching lid built to survive years of being thrown in a truck. Reviewers call it durable, wind resistant and fuel efficient, and it simmers well. The catch is the price, roughly double the Everest for performance that tests only slightly differently, so it makes sense mainly if you cook outdoors constantly or want a stove that will outlast the vehicle.

Camp Chef Explorer

A freestanding stove on legs rather than a box for the picnic table, and the usual answer when you are feeding a crowd. Each burner puts out 30,000 BTU, enough to bring a big stockpot up fast and to cook for a group without waiting turns. It runs off a full-size 20 lb propane tank rather than the little green bottles, which is cheaper per meal but one more bulky thing to pack. At about 30 pounds it does not fold down, so it eats real trunk space, and it is lit with a match rather than a button.

Camp Chef Pro 60X

The biggest stove worth considering for car camping: a freestanding two-burner on legs with fold-out side tables and 30,000 BTU per burner. Testers rate it powerful, fast to boil and fuel efficient, and the prep shelves genuinely help when there is no picnic table. It is also the heaviest thing here by a wide margin at roughly 45 pounds, which is why the same testers score it poorly on portability. Buy it for base camps and big groups, not for weekends where you are moving every night.

Coleman Classic 2-Burner Propane Stove

The stove most people picture when they picture a camp stove, and still the sensible default for occasional campers. Two 10,000 BTU burners, fold-up wind panels and a latching lid, for well under a hundred dollars. Reviewers rate it as dependable and even-cooking, and it simmers better than its price suggests. It is not powerful next to the Camp Chef stoves and it has no push-button igniter, so you light it with a match or lighter every time.

Coleman Cascade Classic

Coleman's updated full-size two-burner, and the cheapest stove here with a push-button igniter. At under 10 pounds it is lighter than most full-size stoves, packs flat, and testers found it notably fuel efficient, so a single propane bottle lasts. The compromises show up in performance: it is one of the slowest here to boil a litre of water, and it loses ground quickly in wind. A fine buy for simple campground cooking, less so if you are cooking for a group or camping somewhere exposed.

Coleman Cascade 3-in-1

A stove that swaps in cast iron grill and griddle plates, so one box covers burners, burgers and pancakes without packing a separate grill. Testers like the heat control and call it the most versatile stove they test, and 12,000 BTU per burner is a step up from Coleman's cheaper models. You pay for that in money and in weight: it is the priciest Coleman here and the cast iron plates add bulk. Worth it if you would otherwise bring a second cooking device.

GSI Outdoors Selkirk 540+

GSI's compact two-burner, aimed at people who want a full-size cook surface out of a stove that stores like a laptop. It is under four inches thick folded, has wraparound windscreens on three sides that fold away for oversized pans, and lights with a push button. Each burner has its own micro-control valve, so it will hold a low simmer rather than only roaring. Output is a modest 10,000 BTU per burner, so it is a better fit for two or three people than for a hungry group.

Jetboil Genesis Basecamp

A two-burner that folds shut like a clamshell and nests inside its own pot and pan, which is why it packs smaller than anything else here with two burners. Testers like the lever ignition and how quickly it sets up, and the whole system runs off a standard propane bottle. The catch is the cook surface: the burners are small and set close together, so two large pans do not really fit, and it is one of the most expensive stoves on this list. Best for people short on space rather than people cooking big meals.

Primus Kinjia

The best-looking stove here and the one testers single out for simmer control, with a slim painted-steel body and a flexible fuel hose that makes bottle placement easy. At 8 pounds and three and a half inches thick it slides into a packed car easily. Two things count against it: there is no windscreen at all, so its boil time roughly doubles in a breeze, and it has no built-in igniter. A stylish, gentle stove for sheltered campsites rather than a workhorse.

ODSD 2 Burner

The value pick: a compact two-burner that folds to about the size of a shoebox and costs a fraction of the name-brand stoves, while still putting out 10,000 BTU per burner. It is by far the lightest two-burner here at four and a half pounds for the stove itself, and it ships with a grill plate, windscreen and carry bag rather than selling them separately. Build quality is where the price shows, and the tiny footprint means limited room between the burners for two full-size pans.

Gas One GS-3400P

The cheapest way to cook at a campsite, and a genuinely good backup burner. It takes both butane canisters and propane, which is the reason to pick it over other budget single burners: you can run whatever the nearest shop stocks. Testers rate it as the easiest stove to use and praise its simmering, and at just over three pounds it disappears into a car. With one small burner and 8,000 BTU it is slow to boil and useless in wind, so treat it as a coffee-and-one-pan stove rather than a group cooker.

Snow Peak Home & Camp Burner

A single burner that folds into a slab about the size of a water bottle, then opens into a wide, stable trivet that takes pots up to 12 inches. One gear site rates it their best camping stove overall on the strength of how evenly it cooks and how little room it takes. It runs only on butane canisters, which are cheap and easy to find but perform badly in cold or at altitude, and one burner means one pan at a time. Buy it for couples, minimalist setups, or as the stove that lives in the car all year.