low/er budget camp stove review

TwinStick

Explorer
I will start by saying: I really wanted a Partner or Camp Chef Mountaineer. But this was half the price & more importantly, was available right then & there, & so was the case.

I recently picked up the Cabela's/Bass Pro 3 burner campstove made by Stansport. I knew I was taking as risk, but since you can return just about anything to them with the receipt, I felt comfortable pulling the trigger. So far, I am pleasantly surprised. I also picked up a padded carry case. Yes, it fits great, even though the dimensions say it shouldn't.




For its test, I decided to try it out heating up to boiling, the Mac Daddy Cabela's 36 cup coffee pot, full, from cold tap water. It began rapid boiling at 13 min 55 seconds. Not too shabby IMHO. It took over 30 min with my Coleman with 10,000 btu burners. Granted, my test was indoors with no wind, & that's because it is about 0*F outside with the wind chill.

Sorry, I do not have pictures.

Pro's: 2, 25,000 btu burners & 1, center 10,000 btu burner. It seems to simmer very well......but it was indoors with no wind too. The 2 outside 25,000 btu burners have wind screens right on the burner, in addition to the lid and 2 fold up sides as wind screens. This thing REALLY cranks out the heat. Each burner has a removable grate. drip tray closely hugs the burners. It has 2 metal latches to hold the lid closed. Has a built in handle on one side of the bottom. Seems well made. Carry case seems well made & fits well/easily inside.

Cons: The knobs are not recessed, so care will have to be taken when packing it. For me, this is a non-issue. I put it in the padded carry case with knobs facing the carry handle of the padded case & pack it with the handles of case facing up. YMMV. Heat......this thing gets HOT. Windscreen & burner grate were glowing BRIGHTLY. It was a non-issue indoors with no wind but could possibly become an issue if you are not paying attention. Burner grate did discolor from the heat. The lid & side wind screens did not discolor from the heat. Center burner does not have the auto ignite feature that the other 2 have. If you had something like a griddle on it, it may self ignite from the other 2 burners, IDK. Again, this is no big deal for us. we always have matches or something that would work. The drip tray is not easily removable, that would involve a complete teardown but can be done. I would suggest using foil if you are a messy cooker. LOL

Observations: It seems to me that technology has greatly increased in camp stove btu output. That's great for me because I love to cook. But The btu output has reached the point now (again, just my opinion) that if you are going to be the one doing all the cooking or a lot of it anyways, it would be prudent to have a 20# propane tank & the proper hose & regulator. I say this because even with a brand new room temperature 1 lb propane tank, when I had a 25,000 btu burner going bull bore, & then turned on the other 25k burner to full bore, I could see a slight decrease in output. When I turned 1 off, it went right back. So a 1 lb propane cylinder is on the verge of not being quite adequate & then the "how long will it last" issue arises.

For me, all this stuff is a non-issue, I have 20# tanks & hose already & did not have to purchase them. I am REALLY liking this stove so far. Love the case too. It was a no brainer for the price, to protect the stove. They got a little mad in the store because I took both items out of the box's , to make sure the stove fit in the case, but they got over it. It was a 1 hr trip 1 way for us so I was making sure before I left ! LOL

Hope this helps other on a budget. When you have a lot of food to cook or coffee or tea to make, this thing does not disappoint. BTU's matter when those things need to get done.
 
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old_CWO

Well-known member
I bet you could have found a clean used Coleman liquid fuel 3 burner for a third of that price.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
We converted our liquid burning Coleman's to propane years ago for Baja use. We didn't like carrying a bomb around in the Landcruisers. Propane was very easy to obtain down there. I still use propane up here. Looks like a good buy with the case.
 

old_CWO

Well-known member
We converted our liquid burning Coleman's to propane years ago for Baja use. We didn't like carrying a bomb around in the Landcruisers. Propane was very easy to obtain down there. I still use propane up here. Looks like a good buy with the case.
The propane conversion is cheap, easy and certainly worth having. Not sure how LPG in some kind of pressurized container is less of a "bomb" than a quart of liquid fuel?

A $20-$30 used Coleman plus a $15 LP conversion is just a great bang for the buck in a camping stove. The white gas really shines when you get to some altitude and the propane loses efficiency. When push comes to shove the Colemans will run on unleaded as well. Pretty hard to beat a $50 tri-fuel camp stove even with a little lower BTU rating in my opinion.

That Stansport has a nice slim form factor and puts out a lot of heat for an LP stove. I'm sure it's a keeper.
 

alia176

Explorer
I bet you could have found a clean used Coleman liquid fuel 3 burner for a third of that price.

This debate has been raging for years ;)

I have three of the coleman liquid fuel two burner and two single burner stoves in the shed. However I love using a two burner propane stove and just purchased a brand new Everest from Fleebay because the thought of 20k btu /burner sounds freaking awesome! Yes, I have a 10# worthington alum tank mounted inside the Cruiser so hopefully that'll last few trips between refilling. Yes, I open the windows and the giant rear hatch is also open during cooking, just in case y'all were about to school me on propane being stored inside a rig.

I've thought about using one of them coleman propane regulator adapter that lets you use an old liquid fuel stove with propane but then I recall how cheesy that second burner fuel valve is compared to the primary fuel valve.

This reminds me, I prolly should sell all of my old Coleman liquid fuel stoves along with all the accessors that come with them! I won't miss the pumping and the low BTU output of those awesome vintage stoves but I will miss the aroma of liquid fuel.
 

old_CWO

Well-known member
...I will miss the aroma of liquid fuel.

The nostalgia of that scent is a certainly a component of my favor of them. Nothing reminds me of camping like the mixed aromas of pine, bacon, coffee and Coleman stove fuel in the morning. It makes me instantly think of my grandfather who I loved and miss dearly. His pre-war Coleman lantern is currently hanging in my garage and I fire it up from time to time just to conjure up fond memories.

Funny what molds our choices...
 

Vinman

Observer
This is the image I think of when carrying a propane tank inside an enclosed vehicle, it didn’t work out so well for this guy.

CBC6B59B-0E8A-4E62-B04E-AA3B307BBBA9.jpeg
 

TwinStick

Explorer
I bet you could have found a clean used Coleman liquid fuel 3 burner for a third of that price.

The Coleman Even Temp 3 burner only has 2, 11,500 btu & 1, 5000 btu burners - for a total of 28k btu's. This one has 2, 25 000 & 1, 10,000 btu's, for a total of 60k btu's. Apple's to oranges as far as heat output.
I had a Coleman 2 burner. Only had 10k burners. Giving it to my son. If I waited to go to garage sales or to to find one online, I'd be waiting a long time. Let us know when you find one though.
I bet you could have found a clean used Coleman liquid fuel 3 burner for a third of that price.
 

TwinStick

Explorer
Thanks for the responses. I'm pushing 60 now, have been out west twice. In temps of up to 114*F in Joshua Tree National Park. We had propane and a large Iso butane cylinder with us. We had no issues. Just be smart and put something over them so they are not in direct sunlight and don't smoke.

I think it was a good buy because I was comparing it to the Partner and the Camp Chef Mountaineer and their carry case, which ends up being about double.
YRMV.
 

JackW

Explorer
And that's why I carry my five pound bottle in a carrier on the roof rack. I really like my sixteen inch two burner Partner Steel stove.
When you are camping out of a Defender 90 smaller appliances are a good thing.

1615337383733.png
 

alia176

Explorer
I ended up purchasing a Camp Chef Everest from eBay. Let's see how this stove turns out as it's the most expensive stove I've ever bought. Come to think of it, it's the ONLY brand new stove I've ever bought :giggle:
 

alia176

Explorer
that was an acetylene boom

Those pics are wow, scary. I transfer Oxy, Acet and Co/Ar bottles in my vehicles but ALWAYS with the valve cap screwed on tightly. Still, it's not a pleasant feeling to know what's behind the front seats but the safety caps make feel tons better about transporting them.
 

Ragman

Active member
I remain a bit befuddled by the focus on burner BTU in camping stoves. Looking at high end home ranges such as Wolf their large burners are 15k and my Coleman white gas are 10k. I have never had any issue cooking anything on my Coleman nor any problems boiling water. To generate more BTUs you need to burn more fuel which seems a bit wasteful to me. Can someone provide me an easy primer on why a 20k btu camp stove is desirable?
 

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