An important part of any weekend away or a larger planned trip is a good hot meal or the necessary cup of coffee. Choosing the correct stove to get this done is crucial, and sometimes, well most of time with the Gear Guys, we need indestructible gear as we like to venture deep into the woods and off the beaten paths to give our readers true testing results. Our gear has been trekked through snowy woods, strapped into a sled, stashed in backpacks while being hiked up rocky bluffs, and bounced down 4×4 trails in the back of our rig.
The Gear Guys have expanded their line-up of stoves to three to cover most adventures we plan. We now have a classic Coleman two burner stove and two different single burner stoves. A tried and true stove we have used is the one-piece unit Coleman liquid Duel Fuel single burner; we find in never lets us down if cared for properly. I read one review on this stove that the user found it laying under trash in a county dump. He took it home, cleaned it inside and out, gave it a tune up, and has been using it for five years trouble free. A great thing about this stove is should you need to repair or maintain it, parts are readily available from a multitude of sources. We purchased ours at our local climbing gym gear-swap at about 85 percent of the retail price of $70.00.
My favorite feature of the Coleman single burner is the dual fuel option. We have never run out of fuel that we carry on an adventure but it is nice to know that we can run the stove off unleaded gasoline if our supply of white gas were to run out. The stove has a 1.1 pint capacity of fuel which will fuel the stove on high for two hours cranking out 10,500 BTU’s . The burners cooking surface is designed to hold a 6 inch pan but with a little propping and support, we were able to cook in a 10 inch cast iron skillet that was fully loaded with brats and beans. We did not track the time it took to cook the meal but it cooked very evenly and within a respectable time frame. The stove has proven to boil a quart of water in 4 minutes which proves priceless when you are percolating coffee on a cold fall morning. Coleman has built their All Season Strong technology into the burner. This technology allows the stove to provide a steady flow of fuel in the worst of conditions- be it cold, high altitude, or even low fuel. This technology will provide you a good even flame ranging from wide open to all the way down to a simmer. We have used this stove in -3 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as 40’s and rain with wind whipping around and have never been let down. It has built in wind baffles which help support your cookware and do a great job keeping the flame in place while allowing the heat to focus on your cookware
A positive about the stove is that it is one piece so no assembly is required before lighting it but a negative would be that it does not pack down as well as a Whisper Light International. The stove is quick and easy to light; it did require taking winter gloves off though. We were able to pump the pressure up in the tank and get a flame going quickly. The stove takes a little getting use to as the directions can be a little misleading. If the fuel tank is full then it requires significantly fewer pumps; otherwise, you will have a flame about 2-3 feet high for a few minutes. The adjustment valve does prove to be very responsive once lite. A few usage tips we recommend include if you have been simmering for awhile before you turn it off, crank it up to high for a couple minutes to burn off the carbon buildup that builds up inside the vaporizer tube from low flame use. The stove requires no large seasonal maintenance other than basic cleaning. We also do recommend bleeding off tank pressure before repacking it during your trip so that if the valve gets bumped, you won’t have fuel spill all over your gear. If you develop a leak from the cap or body, there are a couple of standard o-rings that can be purchased on the road from any local hardware store. Once home and ready to store back in your gear room, drain the fuel out and don’t screw the cap down hard. This will keep the gasket in the intended shape and also apply a thin layer of oil on the gasket to keep it from drying out. One important safety tip we give regarding this or any stove…NEVER USE IT IN CONFINED SPACES. We find it very solidly built and comes with a five year warranty for confident usage in the toughest of conditions. You will find it to be one of the heavier single burner stoves but a great stove for car camping, overlanding, snowmobile adventures and home emergencies.
The Gear Guys 