Heading out on an overlanding trip? Bring one of these.
BioLite CampStove 2 ($130)
We’re always nervous when a company opts to upgrade a favorite piece of gear, but the second generation of the CampStove 2, BioLite’s electricity-generating wood-burning stove, features some outstanding improvements, including an integrated battery and increased efficiency—it generates 50 percent more power while still boiling a liter of water in under five minutes.
Eureka Gonzo Grill ($190)
The versatile Gonzo shone during more than half a dozen rafting trips last summer. The ingenious cast-iron cooking surface—grill on one side, griddle on the other—evenly distributed heat for flawless golden pancakes in the morning and perfectly seared steaks at night. In fact, the Gonzo excels at so many tasks, it doubled as one tester’s full-time backyard grill.
Coleman FyreSergeant ($180)
Coleman hasn’t brought out a new stove in a couple of years now, but the FyreSergeant has withstood the test of time since it first appeared in 2015. How? Both of its burners have three interchangeable covers—grill, stovetop, and optional griddle ($40)—which allowed it to transform from 200-square-inch barbecue to pasta boiler to garlic-bread toaster, all during the same meal, feeding 20 people.
Primus Kuchoma ($180)
This midsize 17.6-by-12-inch grill caught our eye with its sexy oak, brass, and stainless-steel exterior. But it was the Kuchoma’s extra-deep lid that quickly made it an all-time favorite. At six inches (the deepest of any stove we tested in this category), it allowed us to indirectly cook a perfectly juicy 3.5-pound chicken.
Snow Peak GigaPower Li ($375)
Just because Snow Peak went big with the 34,000 BTU GigaPower doesn’t mean it abandoned the sleek Japanese aesthetic we’ve come to know and love. With its clean metallic build, this stove wouldn’t look out of place in a droid-staffed onsen circa 2049. Yet the hottest-in-class single burner and extendable legs easily accommodated a Dutch oven full of chili large enough to feed an entire base camp of hungry hikers.
Camp Chef Summit Two Burner ($132)
It may not look like much, but don’t let the bare-bones exterior fool you. The Summit Two’s intuitive dual-burner design earned it ease-of-use accolades. The burly, nonstick steel grate is nickel coated, so it didn’t rip up burger patties, and sturdy adjustable feet made balancing a big pot of boiling pasta on a rocky beach breezy.