16 best camping stoves and portable gas cookers for your outdoor adventures

We really liked the clever modular design of this stove, with the 1l pot holding the canister and stove and keeping the whole kit very stable, while the lid can be used to keep heat in when boiling water or meals, or turned over and used as a frying pan, complete with ceramic coating, so your scrambled eggs won’t stick.

The flame control was really precise, with an easy-to-use control and the serrated pot supports do a good job of blocking a breeze. We had a litre of water bubbling away in less than four minutes, thanks to the very powerful 2,500W burner, and, once you’re done with dinner and the washing up’s done, there’s a neat little mesh storage bag for easy transportation.

For a compact stove, this produced a nice wide flame, which made it very easy to cook more food, quicker, using a wide pan or pot, which is held in place well by the serrated edges of the supports.

We had a litre of water boiling in around six minutes, although, we tested on quite a windy day, so, in calmer conditions, it might have been even quicker. The gas pipe was nice and flexible, so, it made attaching the canister very straightforward – the stove lit first time and offered plenty of control for simmering or boiling.

This is a stove with a difference. Firstly, it’s serviced with small pieces of wood and twigs, so you need never worry about running out of fuel (or carrying canisters), as long as you have a steady supply of dry sticks around. Secondly, it uses thermoelectrics to create electricity from the fire, which can then be used to charge any devices that are running low, via a USB port. Alternatively, the energy can be stored in the on-board battery, for when it’s needed.

This camping stove certainly gets full marks for ingenuity but there are also bags of practicality, with an included flexi LED light that can be plugged into the USB port to light up your cookery.

The fire itself is simple to start and keep stoked, and can be controlled by adjusting the speed of the internal fan. When it was raging, we managed to boil our litre of water in around six minutes, with the LED display giving constant feedback on the strength of the fire, so you know when to add more fuel. Weighing less than a kilo, complete with foldaway legs, it’s a brilliantly portable heat source, too.

The party grill 400 design is ingenious, with a lid that doubles as a cooking wok and unclips to reveal a stove top, grill, griddle and plancha. The legs simply screw on to the base, to raise it above ground.

It uses the brand’s own CV Plus gas cartridges, which secure easily to the valve underneath the base, while the Piezo integrated ignition was suitably reliable, even in windy conditions.

Flame control was sufficient to be able to cook pretty much anything, from bacon and eggs on the plancha to a sausage sizzle on the grill.

Oozing Swedish style, the form of this two-burner stove is incredibly eye-catching, with its mix of oak, brass, leather and stainless steel. Its good looks are backed up with bags of functionality and portability, with an over-the-shoulder carry strap, and a base that levers effortlessly out to provide a stable platform for the two powerful burners. These each require a canister and can get you boiling in around two minutes (a little longer if you’re trying to deal with the wind, too).

The duo prefix means this model can receive both threaded and non-threaded valves, so, you’ve got a little more choice in terms of which canister you use. Whichever you go for, they secure easily and remain hidden by the fabric base, while the oak lid that protects the burners during transport has a dual purpose and can be used as a chopping board.

Ignition was straightforward, with a separate lighter, while the flame control was excellent, with the burners able to be controlled separately, so, you can cook multiple meals for hungry mouths.

If you often stop on a ledge for a cuppa, you’re going to want to have the lightweight MiniMo to hand, as it fuses portability with practicality.

Integrated canister stoves such as this one were simply invented to rapidly boil water but they are now also able to simmer – and the minimo’s simmering capabilities are simply superb.

The pot has a wide base, which means it’s a good option for anyone who enjoys (or, at least, tolerates) a good dehydrated meal, and the pot shape and size make it easy to devour the contents with a normal spoon.

The igniter was reliable and we found that heat was dispersed nicely by the flux ring – our meals were evenly heated, and the insulation on the pot was excellent, so, we didn’t have to wolf down the food before it went cold.

Stability can be an issue with these stoves but the burner-to-pot interface was secure and the stubby design means you don’t have to worry too much about spillage while cooking.

If you want a brew to accompany your meal, just turn up the heat and you’ll have a hot drink in no time – in fact, we had a rolling boil in around two minutes. The minimo has a small packing footprint, too – you can fit an 8oz canister inside the minimo pot itself, to save on rucksack space.

It may be small but the feed zone is big on functionality, especially as the burner (with 100g canister attached) will fit into the aluminium pot and if you also pack the microfiber drying cloth (supplied), everything will be suitably protected against rattling rides along trails.

The burner pot coupling was easy and secure and the pot has a nice pouring spout, which avoids spillages.

The 1,500W flame is lit by a reliable piezo igniter and is powerful enough to boil half a litre of water in around three minutes, depending on the wind strength.

However, you aren’t restricted to simmering and boiling in the pot, as there are removable metal pegs that stabilise the system, by screwing into the stove’s base, so you can use the burner with a pan if you want something more substantial.

You can also unbuckle the handle and turn it into a hanging stove if you’re limited in space or struggling to find flat ground on which to cook.

The aptly named pocketrocket could probably fit in a cargo pocket but we like to pop it in a camping mug. When screwed into a gas canister, it will deliver boiling water in around three to four minutes, depending on the conditions.

Robust and lightning fast to set up and attach to the canister, there’s lots of adjustability, so, you can go from low to high output and back again without any fumbling or faff.

The starter worked really well and there is a windshield incorporated into the burner, which was really efficient, even when we were struggling with gusty conditions.

The extra 10g of weight you get with the deluxe comes from the igniter and broader burner head, so, you get a wider flame and a more even simmer when dishing up a one-pot wonder. We also liked the serrated edges of the pot supports, which add to the overall stability of the stove.

Easy to set up, this is an excellent option if you’ve got plenty of room in the car or van and don’t want to be restricted in what you serve up once you’ve pitched up.

From the cast aluminium burners to the steel frame, the double burner feels bomb-proof in its construction, and we had no problem attaching the metre-long gas hose to the canister, which can run on either propane or butane.

With water boiling in less than three minutes, the explorer could also reduce to a simmer very nicely, which is great, because you can put pots and pans of any size on the burners.

The only slight problem is that, although there is an effective windshield on three sides, there is a lot of air circulating around and underneath the burners, which means that on really windy days, the burners can be affected. However, as this is a burner for car camping rather than a rocky outcrop halfway up a mountain, it’s more likely you’ll have it set up somewhere a little less exposed. In terms of the setup, you don’t have to use it with its legs, so you can just set it up on a camping table to ensure total stability when cooking.

Hidden inside this stove’s green gun-metal shell are two powerful burners that will have you boiling in just a shade less than five minutes. Not that you’re restricted to plates of pasta, as the Coleman has a sturdy grid covering the two burners, so, it will easily hold frying pans or other cooking pots, enabling you to flex your countryside culinary muscles.

The stove performed brilliantly in windy conditions, with the shields doing a very good job of protecting the flames, which we were in total control of throughout.

There’s a funnel included, so you can accurately top up the stove with your fuel, which will give you between five and six hours of cooking time, should you need to cook for the entire campsite.

Don’t forget your matches or lighter, though, as there’s no integrated lighter.

Stoves don’t have to be fire-powered – if you know you’re going somewhere with an electricity supply or you have a portable power station, you can plug in this 800W induction hob and have boiling water in around two to three minutes.

The double gives you a big cooking area, so, there’s plenty of room for stainless steel pans and kettles, while the hobs are really responsive, with LED controls offering plenty of control over what you’re cooking.

Easy to clean, and taking up minimal room, this is a great option for flame-free fodder.

As the name suggests, this stove is all about getting you to boiling point as quickly as possible, with the 1l FluxRing cooking pot fitting easily and securely to the burner itself and allowing the heat to spread evenly on the underside of the pot.

It took just under three minutes to get 1l of water boiling. The fact the JetBoil symbol on the mug changes colour when the contents have started boiling was a nice touch because it means you can get your brew going and busy yourself with getting the tent up while keeping an eye on the mug.

The piezo lighter was reliable, so, if you really want something hot and wet in the shortest possible time, there really isn’t a better system out there.

Design is everything when it comes to compact camping equipment, and you can’t fault the firestick for its ease of use. Simply take the stove and its accompanying lighter out of the woollen storage pouch (more on this in a minute), pop off the cap and the pot supports spring into life. It’s easily attached to the canister and the control valve was one of the best on test, enabling us to go quickly from a boil to a simmer without inadvertently turning the whole thing off, which is one of the most frustrating things about some of the stoves we tested that didn’t make the final edit.

The recessed burner head and the pot supports to act as a very effective wind break, so you won’t have to use your body to coil around the stove to stop the wind from getting to the flame. We had our litre bubbling away nicely in less than four minutes (less than five minutes when the wind was strong). Once you’re at temperature, you can use the woollen pouch as a pot holder, too.

We’ve seen some online grumbles that the pot supports don’t do the best job of stabilising your mug or pot, but we found the serrated edges fitted our mug perfectly and we were never in danger of spilling, so, it might be worth ensuring your utensil is suitably tailored to the firestick’s dimensions.

The Trangia cooking system has been around for a while now, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective at rustling up something very tasty. It’s fuelled by methylated spirit, so, all you have to do is fill up the burner, light it and get cooking.

The wind guards protect the flame well, enabling you to cook your meal without having to keep relighting. It’s not the most efficient flame, and boiling water will take time, but the range of pots and pans means you can cook an expansive meal. The whole aluminium cook set is very light but, even though the set is modular and held together with a strap, it will take up a fair bit of room in your rucksack – if you’re short on space, this set probably isn’t for you.

The double gas burner means this stove can cope with a range of cooked breakfast requests when everyone starts to emerge from their tents in the morning. The 1,500W burners are very responsive, so, you can get the bacon and the kettle on and have everything ready before you can say “fry up”.

The real bonus about this stove, though, is the very clever downward grill that will also cook two slices of toast at a time. Once you’re finished cooking, you just detach the gas bottle and the stove folds away very neatly into a briefcase-style steel carrier that’s very robust and will protect the stove while it’s in transit.

We really liked this wood-burning stove, which breaks down into four parts. Assembly takes seconds, too. It also relieves you of the need to carry a canister of fuel – all you have to do is collect dry kindling, branches and twigs from around your campsite, light them up and get cooking.

The ingenious design means the wood has plenty of protection from the wind and, just in case it’s been raining in the day and your camp is surrounded by wet wood, the lumberjack also burns solid fuel tablets.

Once you’ve finished cooking, you can repurpose the lumberjack as a mini-fire pit for the rest of your evening.