Best Backpacking Stoves in 2022 – Which One Should You Choose?

If there is a set of people who experience life in its true form, it's the outdoor lovers; not to mean that indoor aficionados got it all wrong. They've got the internet, which is also another magic. But with that debate put on halt, the real adventure is out there.

Camping, hiking, backpacking, hunting, mountaineering, you name it. The trick to the best and enjoyable outdoor experience lies in proper preparation and putting together all the right equipment. My team and I were asked to give an honest review of ten of the best backpacking stoves and create a comprehensive guide to the best backpacking stoves on the market today.

It wasn't meant to be easy to create this guide, but it was actually. I guess it's because we are outdoor enthusiasts ourselves, which makes us users of these stoves. We have used them in one way or the other. Read this guide closely between the lines to help you determine your favorite stove.

10 Best Backpacking Stoves - Comparisons

You can even put your meal over low flame for a few minutes without the need to adjust the flame or scorch your meal, thanks to the larger regulator and its more finely tuneable fuel flow. This is how it allows for unprecedented control, at high elevations or not.

The JetboilMiniMo comes complete with an amazing pot that can carry the rest of the system components for storage or transportation. Even better, this stove is an excellent choice for a beginner backpacker. It sets up pretty fast because it is easy to set up and use.

Radiant burners have no flame jets, and that makes them impervious to the wind and extreme weather conditions. I've noticed that they burn hotter and longer without a difference of canister fuel used. Also worth keeping note of is the rounded concave surface with a wire screen to help produce a better flame for more efficient cooking experience.

No need to worry about wind since the MSR WindBurner can withstand it anyway. It is a complete stove system, which means you can both cook with it and still eat out of it too. The pot is an anodized aluminum and is wrapped with insulated sleeve to prevent unnecessary heat loss and protect you from possible burn.

The heat exchange fins located at the bottom of the cook pot absorbs heat and keeps the cooking pot warm even after you shut the burner off.

Also Read: Best Gas Stove – Choose From Our Top Picks!

You need a stove that you can depend on when you in dire need of something to eat, fast. With this stove, you can boil up something to drink or cook your food as fast as within two minutes. That is almost twice as fast as most backpacking stoves out there.

The designing of this stove has gone a notch higher to create a stove that not only produces reliable flame but also prevent spilling of whatever food you are boiling. It is a lightweight package that makes water boiling fast. It all hooks up together nicely in such a way that you can even use it in your car without risking burning the seats and everything else in the car.

On the bottom, the stove contains air intake holes which channel air directly to the bottom of the fire. The holes also channel hot air up between the stove walls. The Solo Stove Lite is a convenient piece of innovation that grant you the ability to cook easily on longer trips in remote places. Its gas fire design burns wood and produces heat more efficiently.

The air flowing up between the two cans is heated and helps burn the smoke coming out from burning wood to form a strong fire that can cook fast. Besides, this amazing stove leaves much less environmental impact because it leaves less mark on the ground.

When you buy this stove, it comes with a shielding, custom-fit travel case that makes carrying it or traveling with it a lot easier and safer. It would fit into the smallest corner of a backpack yet it would boil a liter of water in just under four minutes.

Even more of a convenient feature is its fully adjustable flames which let you cook gourmet meals from a slow simmer to a rolling boil. You won't have any problem with operating it in that regard since the control valve is easy to turn even when you have your gloves on.

It's quite a product of extreme innovation in the camping stove industry. It is fitted with serrated port-supporters, which prevent the pot from falling off or just shifting. These supporters amazingly fold up pretty compactly for travel. That makes it a real convenience.

It is a very compact stove with just the right size for carrying in a backpack while you are out hiking or camping far from home. Something unique about this stove is its four pot supports rather than the normal three. The supports fold out to provide a more stable grippy surface that holds the pot in place. Built-in Piezo igniter makes lighting it up a lot easier and improves its overall efficiency.

It is suitable for a hiker on a budget because it is low priced and easy to maintain. Stable stove base makes cooking on a varied surface possible. The Snow Peak GigaPower performs pretty well in cold weather.

Also Read: Best Propane Camp Stoves for Camping – Comparison

Maybe you've been hiking for hours, or you are camping somewhere, and you find the need to cook something quickly. Only a stove that is easy to set up and use such as the Gwild Camping Stove can save you in such a situation.

It has an electric spark ignition system that makes lighting easier so that you don't need a lighter to fire. Regarding design, the Gwild Camping Stove is made up of sturdy stainless steel structure that is designed that way so that it can stand burning temperature and the weight of food and pot while cooking.

It feels very solid in the hands. And do you know that you can boil a liter of or slightly more water in just 2.5 minutes? You will like its portable nature. It is small to slip into your backpack.

Now, if there is a backpacking stove that is easy and small enough to carry around with you if you are a camper on just an outdoor enthusiast, it's the Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove. For sure, it is a beautiful piece of technology that will make your work a lot easier. This is a stove that is super easy to set up. It stands on a large base that perfectly holds the weight in place so that the propane tank sits on the base.

Another amazing quality that is a great advancement in this stove is the Coleman's PerfectFlow pressure control system as well as PerfectHeat Technology, both of which makes this stove as reliable and fuel efficient as possible. This s also the reason why it operates just as good in cold or windy conditions. On high heat, it can burn for about three hours, while on low heat it can last you 9 hours.

No matter how many people you are, you can share it if you have to. It boils water or cooks food fast, and that makes it convenient for such outdoor activities and in isolated areas where supplies are not readily available.

It's made of stainless steel and aluminum alloy, both of which are strong and can stand high temperatures and large weight. They are also low weight materials that help in giving the stove its portable characteristic. That's even made better by its compact and collapsible design, and it comes with a carrying case for better portability.

How To Choose The Best Backpacking Stove

With products like camping or backpacking stoves, not so many people know how to pick the best especially since most of them look a lot alike. The first trick to picking the best stove is to know what you want to achieve with it.

Stove Type

One of the most common sources of confusion for users is the wide variety of types of backpacking stoves available. You can choose to buy a canister stove, solid fuel stove, liquid fuel stove, wood stove, or alcohol stove.

All these can be found on the market, and they vary in characteristics. Each type has its pros, cons, and unique characteristics that set it apart from the rest. Your choice of stove type can be influenced by a variety of factors, some of which include your style or activity you want to use it in.

Simmering Ability and Control

I love stoves with excellent simmer control because they allow me to cook more complex meals. Not all camping or backpacking stoves have this feature though some liquefied gas stoves and canister stoves have it.

Simmer control characteristic can be very handy not only for making complex meals but also for preparing simple backcountry meals. Simmered food is obviously better tasting, and that is an indisputable truth that you should keep note of.

Weight

Because of the purpose, they are meant to serve, backpacking stoves are better lightweight. Weight varies greatly among different types of stoves. A backpacking enthusiast will tell how enjoyable hiking can be if you are backpacking light.

That is why you need a lightweight stove model. Weight might sound like a minor factor to consider, but actually, it isn't. With all other factors considered, weight should be one of the first considerations.

Performance in Windy Condition

Because you will use your stove in the outdoor with all the wind and other extreme weather conditions lurking, you need a stove that can withstand it all, because you got to eat and drink no matter what.

With proper designing and protection against the wind, any breeze will blow away heat before it even gets to the pot, and that would make your stove far less efficient. Integrated canister stoves perform better in windy conditions. However, you can use wind screen even with stoves that perform poorly in windy conditions.

Final Verdict

Never treat a backpacking stove as a second option to anything when setting off for camping or hiking spree. You will require it more than you think if you love eating freshly prepared food and drinks on activities on an enjoyable but challenging day.

Just make sure it is a stable stove that won't knock down your food to the ground after you've waited for it to cook up. Any of these stoves will serve your heating, boiling, or cooking needs on the outdoors just right.