(Updated April 2023) It’s probably an understatement to say that 2020 was quite a challenging year, but I’d be a liar if I said it was all bad. Fortunately we had the opportunity to escape for a few stellar camping trips (shout out to you, Utah!). Of the few pieces of gear that we purchased for our adventures there’s one gem that sticks out, and was by far the BEST $35 I’ve spent on camping equipment—a Coleman portable tabletop butane stove. It’s probably one of my favorite pieces of camping gear that I’ve ever bought. We’ve been camping for most of our lives and have cooked on all sorts of propane grills, with charcoal, and over campfires. We really love and prefer campfire cooking but you can’t always rely on being able to start a fire. It could be too windy, too damp, or even too dry—as we’ve learned the hard way by encountering unexpected fire bans. (Make sure to check online or call the campground or local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office to see if fire bans are currently in effect, before you head off with all your firewood in tow, food and no backup plan. Pretty sure we ended up eating our lunch for dinner, i.e., turkey sandwiches.)
We had our eyes on the little butane camp stoves for awhile before we finally decided to buy. Our good friends have one that we’d used camping many times and always appreciated it’s efficiency and ease of use. I’ve owned a few different propane grills including a three-in-one burner/griddle/grill, which sounds pretty convenient but I always found these grills to be awkwardly shaped, a little heavy, and would end up collecting tons of grease. It always felt like I was burning through the small cans of propane rather quickly and it was a pain to dispose of the empty tanks. Typically we travel by car and camp in tents so saving space is crucial, and the bulky, heavier grills just weren’t cutting the mustard. (I’m sure they’ve improved tremendously over the years, but right now I’m in love with my baby blue butane. I’ll write a review when we get our next propane camp grill.)
Why we love our butane camp stove
Initially we were worried that we’d miss having a grill, but you can do pretty much all the same cooking with the one-burner camp stove. It’s especially handy for car camping because it’s extremely light and compact and comes in it’s own carrying case that can be squeezed virtually anywhere in a packed vehicle. I was stressed that I was going to blow myself up but fortunately the little butane stove is super easy to use. You basically lock an 8.8 ounce can of butane into the side, hit the ignition button and voila, you’re cooking with gas! The flame is very easy to adjust with the knob and we found that the stove heats up quickly and evenly. Even on a few windy nights of camp cooking the flame stayed lit. The burner supports up to a ten inch pan or pot. For a small stove that weighs just under five pounds this thing packs a big punch for only $35—check it out here on Amazon.
The butane cans themselves are also pretty small and light, and in our experience last longer than the small propane canisters. Our Coleman butane stove cooks with 7,650 BTUs of power for up to 75 minutes; I think we were able to cook five separate meals with just one can! However, there are some minor downsides of butane—for one, it’s not as readily available and easy to find as propane. Of course you can buy cans of butane on Amazon, and will certainly save money buying them in bulk. You can also find them in camping and outdoor stores, as well as Walmart, Target and large grocers like Fred Meyer, however there’s a good chance they won’t be as available outside of camping season (summer). In October I was struggling to find them at these stores and didn’t have enough time to order from Amazon before our trip. After doing some online research of local stores I was able to locate the butane cans at CHEF’STORE (formerly, Smart Foodservice, that was formerly Cash & Carry), a warehouse store that carries restaurant supplies. And they were cheap—we scored a package of four cans for $7.70!
There’s a plethora of options to meet your needs and budget when it comes to camp stoves and grills. If you’re cooking multiple items or for many people it could get tricky with the one burner, but if you time everything right you can make it work. For us, this camp stove was perfect and we have no complaints. I’ve seen the same type of butane camp stove for as low as $20, but I just couldn’t resist the vibrant blue one sold by Coleman. At $35 it was worth it to me, even if I probably paid $15 more for blue paint! I’ve always found Coleman brand gear to be good quality for the price so I felt confident spending a little extra money. If you have a camp stove or grill that you really like please tell us about it in the comments, and if you have any questions about the portable Coleman tabletop butane stove feel free to reach out.
Butane vs. Propane
Not until I started writing this blog post did I ever stop to wonder what the difference is between propane and butane (and inadvertently learned about one of the drawbacks of butane). Propane has a lower boiling point at -42℃ (-43.6℉), whereas butane is higher at -2℃ (28.4℉). The downside of butane compared to propane is that it doesn’t work as well in cold temperatures; if the outside temperature is lower than it’s freezing point the gas will stay in liquid form and won’t be able to produce a flame. This is significant to consider if you camp in cold temperatures. We typically do not camp when it’s below freezing outside, but it’s not unheard of to get that chilly overnight in the mountains, even in the summer. According to the butanesource.com blog, a container of butane often has a higher volume than the same size container of propane, and it provides more energy than propane when the same volumes are burned above freezing—which explains why it felt like our butane cans were lasting longer, they actually WERE! #science
In addition to camping, the butane stove also came in extremely handy during a winter ice storm and power outages! Granted we got a little nervous when temps dropped well below freezing, but somehow that stove continued to light for us—an ice storm miracle perhaps? Either way, yet another win for little blue. Go get yours today!
Thank you for reading and happy camp cooking!
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