A quality, lightweight camping stove can be a useful part of your bushcraft or survival kit. While many people who bushcraft build their own camp and cooking fires, a camp stove allows you to quickly cook food and boil water without having to gather wood and tend to a fire. Here are our top 10 favorite bushcraft and camping stoves.
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1. Lixada Wood Burning Camping Stove
This stove is a great option for bushcraft, camping, and backpacking. The Lixada Camping Stove is made with an extremely durable and super light stainless steel/titanium construction. It’s fueled with easy-to-find options like wood, twigs, branches, leaves, and paper. One cool thing about this design is that it folds flat so it can easily fit into your pocket or backpack. You just connect/disconnect the panels to build or breakdown the stove. Titanium is known for being very durable and lightweight, which contributes to the Lixada stove weighing just 10 oz.
2. Ohuhu Camping Stove
When you don’t want the added weight of carrying camping stove fuel, this Ohuhu Stainless Steel Wood Burning Camping Stove is a terrific option. Finding fuel for your Ohuhu Camping Stove is as easy as finding twigs, leaves, pinecones, and wood. The stove has a compact design and includes a carrying case. A 3-arm base support system helps keep this camping stove stable, even in windy conditions. Made of durable stainless steel, this Ohuhu camping stove weighs 14.2 oz.
3. Unigear Wood Burning Camp Stove
The Unigear foldable Wood Burning Camp Stove is an excellent cooking stove for serious backpackers, survivalists and bushcrafters who enjoy a hearty meal. Consisting of just 4 parts, the stove sets up easily in just 3 simple steps. Unlike other wood-burning stoves that are cylindrical in shape, the Unigear Wood Burning Stove folds like a book into a slim size, leaving more space in your pack for other gear.
Unigear backpacking stove uses twigs, leaves, pinecones, and wood, allowing you to find fuel wherever you are. You can also use solidified alcohol, coal and gas stove as fuel. Weighing 1 lb, 10 oz in the case, this stove is on the heavier side compared to the other wood-burning stove options. That being said, it’s made of sturdy, high-quality stainless steel and provides a stable cooking surface.
4. MSR PocketRocket 2
Weight just 2.6 oz, the MSR PocketRocket 2 Ultralight Backpacking, Camping, and Travel Stove is a great camping stove that collapses to fit in the palm of your hand. Whether climbing mountains or camping, the stove is durable, reliable, and easy to use. While small, this stove can boil one liter of water in just 3.5 minutes and can accommodate a wide range of cooking pot sizes and styles.
Note that you will need to bring your own fuel (isobutane-propane) which does add weight to your pack, so if being as lightweight as possible is your main concern, you might want to consider one of the wood-burning stoves also in this list.
5. Etekcity Ultralight Camp Stove
Whether you’re a beginning backpackers, ultralight campers, or just want another option for your outdoor equipment, Etekcity mini camping stove is a solid choice. With minimal setup, it’s extremely easy to use and has a piezo ignition system for quick ignition. The Etekcity Ultralight Portable Outdoor Backpacking Camping Stove is made of aluminum alloy and stainless steel that folds into a compact portable size. You adjust the flame with the control valve and it is fueled by butane/butane-propane mixed fuel canisters (EN 417).
6. REEHUT Ultralight Portable Camping Stove
The REEHUT Ultralight Portable Outdoor Backpacking Camping Stove is a super compact portable camping stove that can fit in your pocket. Built of stainless steel and aluminum alloy, this lightweight stove has a piezo ignition system for quick ignition. Control the height of the flame with adjustable settings.
This all-in-1 design folds down to fit into an included carrying case and weights just 0.6 lbs, making it a great choice for ultralight camping and backpacking. You will need to pack your own butane/butane-propane fuel.
7. Coleman Sportster II Dual Fuel 1-Burner Stove
If you need a camping stove that can deliver in harsh weather, consider the Coleman Sportster II. With Dual Fuel technology, giving you the option of using Coleman Liquid Fuel OR unleaded gasoline, this portable, single-burner propane stove delivers 10,000 BTU. Coleman Sportster II Liquid Dual Fuel Stove is designed with All Season Strong technology and wind baffles so it can perform in both mild and rough weather. Perfect for camping hunting, and survival kits, this fully adjustable stove is easy to use and weights just 2lbs.
8. Coghlan’s Stove
In case of emergencies, Coghlan’s Emergency Stove is a good stove to have. Whether you need to quickly start a fire in the wilderness, at home, or in a car, this stove easily adapts to your situation to provide heat, allowing you to use a variety of different solid fuel sources. Coghlan’s Stove easily fits in your emergency survival kit or backpack and includes 24 solid fuel tablets so it’s ready to use right out of the box. This isn’t a traditional camping stove but it’s a good piece of survival equipment to have in case weather or other circumstances prevent you from accessing other heat sources.
9. Jetboil Zip Camping Stove Cooking System
The Jetboil Zip Camping stove and Cooking systems are super-dependable, pack light, set up quick, and achieve rapid boils in just over two minutes while using less fuel than traditional stoves. Lightweight and compact, the Jetboil Zip stove focuses on boiling water in the outdoors.
This is an ideal stove for casual afternoon hikes with friends – when you want to quickly and easily heat up some water. Note that the Jetboil Zip Cooking System does not have self-ignition, so you will need to bring matches when you’re ready to use it.
10. BioLite Campstove 2
The BioLite Campstove 2 is a unique backpacking and camping stove. It has the added feature of being a USB charger. If you bring your phone or electronic devices with you on your outdoor trips, you may find a time you need to charge your device when out in the wild. The solution is the BioLite Campstove 2 Wood Burning & USB Charging Camp Stove.
Burning only wood, the BioLite CampStove 2 generates 3W of power, while creating a smokeless fire you can use to cook meals and boil water. Use any renewable biomass – like sticks or twigs – as fuel. Boils 1L of water in 4.5 minutes. Coming in at 3lbs, this is one of the heavier camping stoves on this list.
Final Thoughts
When choosing the stove to add to your bushcraft and survival equipment, there are a few things you want to consider. How large/heavy is the stove? What type of camping fuel does it use? How does the stove work?
With more and more innovative and affordable backpacking and camping stoves hitting the market, there’s a wide range to choose from. Hopefully, these top 10 bushcraft and camping stoves will help you choose the best camping stove for your trip.
Lot of good material here keep up the good work
All wood-burning stoves may be inappropriate at times of high fire danger. In some areas of the Sierra Nevada range, fires above 10,000 ft. are prohibited, partly for ecological reasons. In those areas you must use gas stoves. The ultralight stoves save weight, but without a wind shield this advantage will be reduced. Without the shield, you may require more fuel because of loss of heating efficiency. The JetBoil is good for long trips above the tree line when you are rehydrating freeze-dried food. Its fuel efficiency reduces the number of fuel cans that you need to pack in. The pan of fried bacon and eggs looks great, but cleaning up afterward in an ecologically sound way is a big hassle in the wilderness. And if you don’t do a good clean-up, expect a visit from Ms. Bear. Eating food rehydrated with boiling water simplifies clean-up and reduces the number of pots and pans in your pack.