Best camping stoves for 2024 | Tested by our resident outdoor cooking expert

The Kinja from Swedish brand Primus is a fantastic bit of kit. Sturdy, stylish, well-made and easy to clean, it ticks all of the boxes for everything you’d want in a camping stove. Sure, it costs a little extra than your average two-ring burner, but you get a lot of performance for your money, as well as a lifetime guarantee of quality. Primus makes stuff that lasts, and we can’t see this stove suffering from much in the way of wear and tear anytime soon. 

The Kinja benefits from a relatively uncluttered design. It’s one of the few camping stoves on this list which doesn’t have an in-built ignition, but we actually think of this as a plus. It means one less thing to break, fewer knobs and dials to clean, and should it be wet, you’re not going to waste gas waiting for it to light. And the Kinja does indeed work well in all weather, boiling 500ml of water in around 4 minutes even in a proper Scottish downpour. 

We especially like the wooden handle which also locks the stove for storage. The entire thing feels beautifully designed and put together, especially the bronze regulator for the gas canister. Additionally, the Kinja is relatively lightweight for a stove of this size and power, while staying quite compact at the same time. It’s also one of the easiest cleanups on test. We’d recommend it for everything from car camping and campervanning through to base-camp backpacking and even just nights out at the park or at the beach.

The Vango Blaze Double is a very cool take on a camping hob. It’s stripped back, minimalist and doesn’t mess about when it comes to getting value for money. You seem to get a lot more stove than you’re paying for, despite the lightweight design. 

The Blaze Double is the two ring version of the Blaze single hob. It runs off a standard backpacking gas canister and has two removable rings so it can pack down into a smaller space if needs be. It’s so light and packable that we’ve actually taken it backpacking a few times when there’s been more of a crowd to feed - though it’s also great for lightweight campsite setups if you’re short on space in the boot of your car. 

Performance wise, it’s pretty good, with the caveat of it needing to be sheltered for it to work most efficiently, seeing as it doesn’t come with any sort of windshield. It does, however, have plastic feet for extra stability on rough ground should you need it. But we’ve found that the footprint actually digs into sand, rock and grass really well and we’ve not needed the feet at all.

The Olida from popular camping brand Outwell is a nifty bit of gear that’ll see you cooking family meals in all weathers due to the built-in windguard. The side flaps clip into the lid so that your cooking area is sheltered, meaning you’ll get food on the table (or the lap, depending on how fancy your setup is) much more efficiently, using less fuel as you go. 

Aside from the windguard feature, we like that this stove offers great value, good portability, and that it runs off those lighter EN147 backpacking gas canisters rather than having to lug a 15kg butane bottle about wherever you go. It also stows easily enough, and it's easy to clean, with a removable pan rack rather than having to unclip any fiddly burners.

The one possible downside that it’s not as solidly built as the Primus Kinja (which is reflected in the price discrepancy) and some parts such as the connectors and the piping don’t seem like they would be as durable over the longer term. However, during our testing, we had no problems at all. So, if you’re looking for something to cook on for a couple of weeks a year during family camping trips, this is the one for you.

The Vango sizzle stoves are induction hotplates designed for outdoor use. There is both a single and a double version; we tested the single and were mightily impressed with its overall performance and concept. 

If you’re going to be at a campsite with a van, or with a large family tent and an electric hookup, we wouldn’t hesitate to buy the double version of this stove over anything else on this list. Firstly, it’s a lot safer than gas: there’s no chance of suffocation, leaking or explosions with the Sizzle. You’re also far less likely to burn yourself, set fire to your own tent, or knock a pan off it due to the surface being entirely flat, unlike gas stoves where the pan must balance above the burner. 

Another advantage to the Sizzle is that you don’t have to keep replacing gas canisters or worry about running low. That’s a huge plus in our minds! Additionally, it’s designed to work just as well in the wet, so if you do need to be outside when it’s raining, you needn’t worry about being electrocuted. 

Performance wise, we’ve also been convinced. It has 7 levels of heat, with the lowest just about keeping things warm, and the highest bringing water to the boil in no time; there’s a lot of control within this range too. It’s easy to use and is incredibly responsive, unlike older induction hobs. 

Of course, with any induction stove, the caveat is that only certain pans will work. You’ll need to check if your camping pans are compatible, or if you’re not worried about keeping things light, simply bring along something made of cast iron (or any modern kitchen pan manufactured in the last 5 years). Overall, we love the Vango Sizzle and think it’s a fantastic addition to a camping setup where mains electricity is available.

Where the other units here are purely stoves, the KitchenBox is indeed a foldout kitchen.
What starts as a curious box ingeniously transforms into a cooker complete with bench space and even seating.

It's outrageously expensive but if that doesn't bother you, you'll love the KitchenBox. We used it up in Scotland along with a TentBox tent and thought it was excellent.

The stove runs off standard screw on gas cannisters and has three burners, so heating or boiling anything takes to time at all. Folded out you get around a metre of bench space, and supplied with the KitchenBox are two stools and a collection of cookware.

At 19.5kg this is quite a heavy thing but it packs away reasonably compact and took up about a third of the boot space in our Dacia Duster.

Petromax is a muscly German campfire brand, with a focus on rugged outdoor cookware and firepits. The Atago is their flagship product: it’s a barbecue, grill and firepit all in one, and looks to redefine what we mean when we say “let’s all have a beer around the fire”. 

Make no mistake, this is a hefty bit of kit. Sure, it collapses and has a handle; the portability is there but at 6.1kg you won’t be wanting to carry this very far for very long. Luckily, the Atago excels at being plonked in the middle of a circle of camping chairs as the focal point for a group camping trip, or nestled into the sand on the beach. It takes either wood, charcoal or eco-friendly briquettes and produces a hot, almost smokeless fire that is perfect for cooking on in around 30 minutes; much faster than setting fire to your average wooden pallet. 

While we haven’t yet had a chance to test the dutch-oven compatibility for bread and casseroles, the Atago has performed brilliantly as a grill for meat, vegetables, and even for putting a non-stick hotplate on for fried eggs and pancakes. It’s easy to boil water on too if you’re in possession of a camp kettle or a pot with a lid. The heat is surprisingly even and controllable too.

The only downside is that it’s not exactly an instant cooker. You do have to wait for everything to get going (and when it does, it’s great) but if you’re using this as your main cooking apparatus, you’ll probably want to pack a backpacking stove for the mornings where you just want coffee and you want it now. 

The other downside is the price. It’s not cheap. But seeing as it’s built to last, and you’re getting a firepit, cast-iron compatible outdoor oven (you can buy a bunch of accessories for the Atago too!) and a barbecue all in one, then it’s certainly not the most spendy option on the market.

This camping stove differs from many on the market due to coming with two separate griddle plates, essentially becoming a portable gas barbecue. One plate is flat, for pancakes or eggs; the other is, well, more griddly so you can get some fab char marks on your steak or your red peppers. Both are fabulously non-stick and easy to clean. 

Of course, if you’re not into steak and eggs for breakfast you can remove the griddles and Lo! The stove is again, a stove. It has good performance and control, with a built-in ignition and windshield, and the whole thing folds away for easy storage.

The other advantage to the CampingGaz Grill and Go is that it runs off both the smaller backpacking gas canisters or the larger (cheaper to run) butane canisters, which make it both ideal for car camping, or for family campsite use. The dual regulator is sold separately but it’s worth buying to give you both options. 

And sure, it’s not the lightest, most compact, or indeed the cheapest on test. But it’s from CampingGaz, one of the most trusted suppliers of stoves and gas on the market, so you’re guaranteed quality here.

Before you run away when you look at the price, let it be known that the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is more than a firepit. It’s an incredibly effective, blisteringly hot way of cooking communally, which not only provides high quality grub, but it’s almost completely smokeless too. Therefore, it’s a great centerpiece for a social evening outdoors - even when the nights draw in and it starts getting chilly.

It’s also good for people who suffer from asthma, or for using in built up or urban environments where not everyone appreciates the smell of smoke wafting through their back gardens. 

In terms of its effectiveness as a camping stove, sure, it’s not one for everyday use for things like porridge, coffee and eggs but it’ll cook you a fantastic steak or some juicy burgers in absolutely no time. You also don’t need to bother buying the expensive kit that comes with it to do this. A cheap adjustable grill will do the trick rather than the whopping £220 needed for the grill top and hub. 

And at just over 10kg, it’s not exactly backpacking compatible, but it does collapse into a carry case for ease of use at campsites or at the beach. The patented removable baseplate also makes for easy cleanup of ash. We think the Solo Stove Bonfire has a lot of untapped potential as a homemade rotisserie chicken vessel, and are excited to further test out the endless possibilities of open fire cooking without the annoying smoke.

This is the only gas stove on the list that doesn’t have a separate fuel regulator or pipe. Instead, the NJ-02 double burner gas stove uses the smaller 227g cylindrical cartridges: one either side for maximum power to each ring. This is super useful for places like festivals, where space is limited and having a separate camping gas bottle can pose a drunken trip hazard. It also makes the NJ-02 one of the easiest stoves for which to source fuel: every B&Q, Halfords and most large supermarkets stock these lower pressure canisters. 

Performance wise, the NJ-02 is good. It boils a litre of water in around 5 minutes on a windless day, and keeps things at just under a rolling boil with ease. The main selling point of the NJ-02, however, is that it comes with a huge non-stick grill plate, essentially turning it into one big gas barbecue, which is great fun for mixing it up while on camping trips. And although it’s not the lightest or smallest stove, it does come with its own handy carry case, which we like. 

The cons of the NJ-02 are intertwined with its tubeless design: it uses the gas canisters which have the lowest pressure, and the highest use of gas per minute, meaning that you get a slightly less powerful flame, and at full whack the canisters do run out pretty quickly, especially in colder weather. There are certainly scenarios where this isn’t an issue (weekend summer festivals, campsites with an on-site shop) but if you’re going further afield - pardon the pun - you might want something which can stand up to a little more abuse. It also comes sans windshield, so we’re inclined to think of this as a good value summer camping option.

If you want the efficiency of a Jetboil but with the ability to do more with it in a campsite setting – including cooking for more than one person – an all-in-one set like the PrimeTech from Primus is the way to go.

Sure, it's a not exactly going to do you the same job as some of the other camping stoves on this list, but if you're after something that you can take backpacking as well as use from the comfort of a campsite, you can't go wrong with the PrimeTech. This 1.3-litre kit works for 1-3 people, while the 2.3-litre version can feed 2-5 people. You're limited to one pot and one burner, of course, but there's a lot you can still do with that.

Like a PCS (personal cooking system), the burner and pots are designed to work together, with a heat exchange on the underside of the pot and a dedicated windshield. The burner has the advantage of being mounted off-canister, making it more stable and wind protectable. Like much of Primus's range, the PrimeTech feels durable, solid and built to last, while still remaining packable for your mountain adventures.