The Best Camping Stoves of 2024 – Your Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Cooking

What is the best camping stove to pack for your upcoming adventure? The Camp Chef Everest 2X comes highly praised for its powerful burners and compact design. The Optimus Crux and its Lite cousin offer unmatched versatility for the low-maintenance camper. MSR WindBurner is another fantastic choice due to its compactness and efficient heat transfer. With that said, there is no such thing as an exact right choice for the best camping stove – everything will come down to your preferences, needs, cooking ability, the size of your party, and a few other factors. Read the rest of the guide below to find out more.

What is the Best Camping Stove?

Camping stoves are the cornerstone of camping kitchen equipment. Without one, you can’t throw together delicious meals to nourish yourself and your companions after a long day’s hike. Honestly, they are definitely a camping essential whenever you head out for more than just a day trip.

However, to answer the question of what the best camp stove is, rather than looking at models and rankings, you need to carefully think over your needs and preferences to make an informed and valid purchase. Here’s some food for thought to whet your appetite:

Cooking skills: If you’re more of a Lunchables person rather than someone keen on whipping up three-course meals, then an elaborate cooking setup will simply be a waste of money. But if you enjoy cooking, experimenting with recipes, or cooking for a larger group, investing in a versatile and powerful camping stove may be worthwhile.

Camping style: What do your adventures typically look like? Do you drive your family out to a remote setting, or do you prefer going solo on lightweight backpacking trips, hopping from place to place? In the first case, it makes sense to pack a robust setup to feed everyone, whereas in the other, the weight of the stove and the volume of food are vastly different.

Overall, your cooking preferences will dictate which one of the cooking stoves you’ll see below will be best suited for your camping adventures. Whether you’re a minimalist camper or gourmet outdoor chef, picking the right stove will help you whip up the best camping cooking recipes easily and quickly.

Best Camping Stoves in 2024

Here are our suggestions for the best camping stoves in 2024:

Camp Chef Everest 2X

Car campers – look no further. The Camp Chef Everest 2X is a true powerhouse that checks all the boxes. Powerful stoves? Check. Wind resistance? Absolutely check. Easy to use, maintain, and carry around? You bet. This incredible camping stove is truly irreplaceable and will fit your needs perfectly when you need to feed a partyful of hungry mouths. It comes with extra clasps that keep the unit secure, and the powerful 20,000 BTU stoves make for easy cooking. Once you start using this beautiful piece of equipment, you won’t be going back to anything else.

Optimus Crux / Optimus Crux Lite

Both variants of this extremely versatile and portable burner perform exceptionally well for the less demanding hiker who mainly wants to stay sated and get back on the trail. The Optimus Crux weighs next to nothing – only 83 grams – and fits in the palm of your hand when folded. The Optimus Crux Lite clocks in at an even smaller 72 grams. Both feature a reliable and powerful stove of 3000 Watts, which seems unbelievable for such a lightweight and portable device.

MSR Windburner

Another great option for the hiker who can never stay put and always wants to keep moving. The MSR Windburner comes with a built-in 1-liter cooking container and boasts incredibly efficient heat transfer capabilities. It’s perfect for quickly boiling water to brew a hot drink in winter temperatures or whip up a quick soup or stew. However, be mindful that you can’t fit other types of cookware, which considerably restricts your options unless you buy the Windburner Combo System which also comes with a saucepot and skillet.

JetBoil Stash

The JetBoil Stash Cooking System combines the portability of the Optimus Crux with the Windburner’s powerful fast boil technology. This stove kit comes paired with a saucepot for boiling liquids and can be equipped with a range of other accessories, including a coffee press for when you desperately need that energizing shot in the morning.

Soto Outdoors Windmaster 4Flex

As the name suggests, this camping stove has been designed to withstand harsh winds and allow you to cook your meals in peace. The Windmaster’s unequivocal advantage comes in the form of its low price point. At the same time, it’s compact and lightweight, and the burner itself packs a solid punch, ensuring no performance issues even in the cold.

The Takeaway

To pick the best camping stove, make sure you’re lining its features and functionality with your camping style and cooking skills. Doing so will help you eliminate choices that won’t perform well out on your adventures, and instead let you prepare meals exactly how you like them in the right quantities.

You may also read: The 4 Best Camp Chairs for Your Next Outdoor Adventure