Buying a Camp Stove: Guide to Propane, Butane, and White Gas Stoves

Whether planning a family summer camping trip, a scout camp trip, or an extreme camping trip for the experienced outdoorsman, buying the proper camp stove is important. When setting up camp with a large group of people, you will need to bring a stove that is large enough to accommodate food for the entire group. However, when space is an issue such as on backpacking, hiking, or canoeing trips where you will be carrying your supplies and setting up camp on the way, you will want to consider an a compact and lightweight single burner camp stove. Regardless of your needs you will find just what you are looking for with our large selection of discount camping stoves available online at Hunting Camping Deals. Feel free to browse the broad selection of stoves below or select individual categories to narrow down your search from our Outdoor Cooking Equipment page.

Types of Camp Stoves for Outdoor Cooking

The Family Camp Stove and Grill: A Traditional Group Stove

Group camping stoves are the traditional outdoor stoves commonly found at campgrounds for family and scout camping trips. These stoves offer stability when cooking a variety of foods with two burners or a burner and large grilling surface. Group camping stoves are often dual-fuel stoves operating on either large propane or butane canisters. In addition, they provide superior functionality with adjustable burners. A main disadvantage of the family camp stove is its size. These are large and heavy stoves not ideal for use when hiking or backpacking. However, if you plan to set up a base camp, these large camp stoves are ideal for outdoor cooking for the family.

Canister Stoves for Backpacking and Hiking: Propane, Butane, and Isobutane Camp Stoves

Canister stoves, or compressed gas stoves, are compact, lightweight stoves ideal for the beginner camper or backpacker. These durable stoves usually consist of burners that fit directly on top of butane, propane, or isobutane canisters. Canister camp stoves are ideal as backpacking stoves as they are lightweight, easy to set up and use, simple to carry, and require little maintenance or advanced training.

A main downside to canister stoves as camping stoves is that they do not function in low temperatures, which is something that you will need to consider if you plan on hiking high into the mountains or camping in the winter. In addition, unlike with liquid fuel, these empty canisters cannot be refilled and must be properly disposed of. This means empty canisters must be repacked and brought home resulting in an extra load. Finally, while canister stoves are inexpensive to buy, new fuel canisters are generally more expensive and not easily available in all areas.

Liquid Fuel Stoves: Camp Stoves for the Extreme Outdoorsmen

Liquid fuel stoves are the type of camp stove most commonly used by mountaineers or extreme outdoorsmen. These camping stoves are compact, reliable, and produce the most heat even in subfreezing temperatures. If you are looking to buy a versatile outdoor stove that will work even in extreme weather conditions, a liquid fuel stove is an ideal choice. Another benefit of liquid fuel stoves is that while most frequently used with white gas, a clean burning pure form of gasoline, they can be used with other fuel sources if necessary such as kerosene, diesel, unleaded auto fuel, or jet fuel. This is important especially if traveling in remote areas or outside the United States where white gas may not be available.

The main disadvantage to using liquid fuel camp stoves is that in order to remain in proper working condition, these stoves must be cleaned frequently to remove carbon build up. Another disadvantage is that when burning some liquid fuel sources, especially the dirty types including kerosene and gasoline, there is often an unappealing odor and black smoke.

If you are interested in buying any type of camping stove, Hunting Camping Deals is your leading supplier for all discount camp stoves. With a variety of affordable outdoor stoves from leading manufacturers, you are sure to find the stove to fit your needs online through our store. If you have any questions about any of the discount camping stoves seen here, please feel free to contact Hunting Camping Deals for more information.