The Best Backpacking Stoves In 2022

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Outdoor adventures call for gear that can help you enjoy the wilderness and keep you safe. Included in your pack must be water, a first-aid kit, apparel appropriate for any conditions you may face, and some food to fuel you along. This is the baseline even for a day hike, trail run, paddling trip, or any outing that will have you outside the range of immediate assistance. When your mountaineering expedition or backpacking trip will last more than a day, your gear needs evolve notably. Now shelter and sleeping gear become essential, your stores of food and water (or at least a reliable way to purify water you collect) must expand, and, unless you want to exist on energy bars and go without hot coffee — which is not advised at any time and is an even worse idea in the backwoods — you need a way to cook food, too.

Fortunately, campsite cooking is easier than ever these days, even when you're carrying all of your gear on your back, as so many brands now offer great backpacking stoves. There are compact, lightweight stoves suitable for use on multi-day treks or even when you're climbing, and every ounce counts. There are larger, highly capable stoves with BTU (British Thermal Unit) outputs that will make your home's range jealous yet are still portable. And, of course, there are backpacking stoves to fit every outdoorsman's and outdoorswoman's budget, too. We'll trek our way through all sorts of stoves today!

The Jetboil Flash Cooking System is one of the best-known, most widely trusted camping stoves out there and for myriad good reasons. First, as the name suggests, it really will bring water to a boil fast. Maybe not in a literal flash, but how's a minute and a half for two cups of water? Second, it really is a system: The same vessel you use to boil water can become a vessel from which you sip your coffee, spoon your oatmeal, or slurp your soup. Third, unlike with many otherwise excellent portable outdoor stoves, this one has a built-in ignition system, so there's no need for a lighter, matches, or sparking device to light the stove. (That said, you really should have reliable fire-making tools with you out there!) And, of course, as you'd fairly demand of any good stove for backpacking, this system is very lightweight, coming in at 13.1 ounces, not counting the fuel canister. 

And hey, want a cool tie-in? The amazing Geyser Systems portable shower — which can also be used to do dishes at the campsite — was designed with a Jetboil system in mind. Dump two pots worth of cold water and one boiling pot of water into your Geyser, and boom, you have a hot shower that can flow for well over 10 minutes. Yeah, it's an upgrade worth your close consideration.

As of November 2022, the Jetboil Flash Cooking System sells for $114.95 at REI.

This Coleman Gas Stove is pretty heavy, and in fact it might be too heavy for many backpackers. If you'll be trekking up any notable elevation, logging many miles over many days, or seeing your gear weight already adding up to near your safe and comfortable capacity, then it's not the right pick for you. This Coleman Gas Stove weighs 2 pounds, and it's made largely from solid steel — compare that to the titanium and alloy composition of the 2-ounce Snow Peak LiteMax. Also, at over 7 inches across and about 6 inches in height, it's a larger burner, too. Plus the fuel can is heavier. So why are we recommending this as a good stove for camping or backpacking? Because this is one rugged, reliable beast of a burner.

We have had one of these stoves for more than a decade, having carried it up several mountains and on many long trails, so it can be done. And we've used it at countless campsites, often to cook meals in full-sized pots and pans — the same cookware we use in the kitchen at home. This stove creates excellent heat and can be precisely controlled, so a rolling boil or gentle simmer are both easy to manage. It can withstand years of regular use, even with drops, spills and dings. And it's pretty cheap, too, in the scheme of things.

As of November 2022, this Coleman Gas Stove costs $39.99 at Amazon.

This Solo Stove Lite will take you a good deal longer to heat up than any other unit on our list because it requires you to kindle, grow, and feed an actual fire in order to use it. Is that as easy and efficient as twisting a knob and either pushing an ignition button or flicking a lighter? No, it's not. But on the other hand, those oh-so-easy-to-light-up portable backpacking stoves require a fuel source you can't readily gather from nature unless you know how to do some backwoods crude oil refining and can separate out the butane. To heat up a Solo Stove Lite, all you need is some wood, some kindling, and a source of fire or spark.

This plucky little wood-burning camping and backpacking stove weighs 9 ounces and stands a mere 4.2 inches wide and 5.7 inches tall, so it won't weigh you down or take up too much pack space, either. It features a cleverly designed airflow system wherein air is drawn in from the top and bottom of the stove and is pre-heated before it's fed to the fire, the result being quicker combustion and a hotter, steadier flame with less smoke produced than you'd get with a compact fire pit of the same size. Also, it throws off decent heat, so you can warm your hands and toes, too.

As of November 2022, the Solo Stove Lite is $69.99 at Amazon.

To be honest, we were so shocked by the low price of this tiny little camping stove that we were skeptical at best that it could be any good. But after cross-referencing reviews, ratings, and write-ups all about the AOTU Portable Backpacking Stove, it seems that, for less than 15 bucks, it's actually pretty great. Review after review from people who had actually used this stove in the field all went along the same basic lines of "way better than expected!" or "can't beat the price!" or "I was wary of the price, but ..."

The specs here are comparable to a much pricier portable stove like the Soto WindMaster; this stove weighs just a bit less than 4 ounces (so the Snow Peak LiteMax still reigns supreme there), and it will easily tuck away into the smallest pack. Its output is around 10,000 BTUs at its maximum heat setting. That is plenty for most camp cooking needs, and it can be easily adjusted to higher or lower heat settings. The AOTU stove does feature a push-button ignition system, but we noted several users calling it finicky, so have those matches or a lighter at the ready. And at this price point, don't expect this stove to last forever — to that end, be sure to test it before each outing so you know it can still bring the heat.

As of November 2022, the AOTU Portable Backpacking Stove is $12.74 at Amazon.

This is a larger stove than most people will need to bring along on a backpacking trip. At nearly a pound, it's the second heaviest unit on our list, and when fully unfolded and set up, it's the largest and most cumbersome, too. But not only can the WADEO Windproof Camping Gas Stove handle large pots and pans with ease, it also puts out an amazing amount of heat. In fact, when blasting away at its full heat output setting, this portable stove can generate well over 13,000 BTUs of heat, and that's more than most of the burners on a standard kitchen stove can do. So if you want to rapidly cook large meals while you're trekking over the land out there, then this is a good option.

And it's a pretty affordable option, too, at less than $25. Most reviewers are pleasantly surprised with its performance overall, though some did note issues with the ignition system. But at that price, that's no surprise, and you can always spark up the burner directly. This is a multi-fuel stove, which is always a plus, but does, again, mean you need to take the time to clean it out and check it every now and then to make sure it stays in good working order.

As of November 2022, the WADEO Windproof Camping Stove is $17.99 at Amazon.