Questions to ask yourself before looking for a stove.

Here is a list of the first few questions you need to ask yourself before even beginning to shop for a camping stove.

1. Where will I be camping regularly?
2. Will I need to hike to the camping location?
3. What types of weather will I be camping in?
4. What types of food will I be cooking?
5. How do you camp?(roughing it or camping in style)
6. How many people will you be cooking for?

Of course the answers to these questions will vary greatly depending on the person so your needs will also be different as well. Below i will describe some of the different answers a person may have to these questions.

1. Where will I be camping regularly?

On top of a mountain, under a bridge with the trolls, at a lake, or in the middle of the desert. If you are camping on top of a mountain you won't want to carry a 20 pound stove up the mountain. On top of a mountain you won't have a table to place your stove on. In fact you may not have hardly any room at all. If you are camping at a lake 30 steps from a parking lot size and weight won't be an issue. You could buy a tabletop stove and it will work great. You could buy a stove that weighs 100 lbs and it probably wouldn't be an issue.

2. Will I need to hike to the camping location?

Many of the same considerations from above apply here as well with one main additional consideration space. this matters in both your backpack and your car. You don' want to buy a stove that will take up all of the space that you have.

3. What types of weather will I be camping in?

Windy conditions or storms will cause problems for many small stoves. Especially if the stove doesn't come with some sort of wind shield.

4. What types of food will I be cooking?

If you are cooking very simple meals then you can cook it on a very basic stove or an advanced stove. If you eat while camping like I do then having a good quality stove makes a much bigger difference. I tend to eat better while camping then I ever do at home.

5. How do you camp?(roughing it or camping in style)

Many people camp very rugged others bring air mattresses, sunshields and portable showers. Of course the rugged camper will be happy with a very simplistic stove. The luxury camper would want a two burner free standing camping stove with a holder for their paper towels and tools.

6. How many people will you be cooking for?

The number of people that you will be cooking for changes the way you cook. If you are only cooking for 2 people you don't need a big stove. But if you are cooking for 30 people the smaller the stove typically the longer it will take and the less comfortible you will be.