My Favorite Camp Stoves For Car Camping
I am a seasoned campground camper and take multiple family camping trips every year. Just like I shared in our post “The Sleeping Pad That Will Make You Want To Tent Camp Again,” my gear has evolved over the years—and so has my approach to camp cooking.
I thoroughly research every purchase and want to share my experience on what has worked well for our family camping trips over the years.
If you’re new to camping with your family or thinking about upgrading your cooking setup, this guide breaks down 3 different types of camp stoves I’ve used (and still use) and love:
- Coleman Classic 2 Burner Camp Stove (Walmart $59)
- Coleman XCursion Camp Stove (REI $70)/Eureka SPRK 1 Burner Stove (unavailable)
- Jetboil Flash System (REI $144)
Each of these varies in size, fuel type, setup, and best use—and each one delivers hot, tasty meals. I love each of them for different reasons. Let’s get into what makes them great and which one might be right for you.
Coleman Classic 2 burner 
Single Burner 
JetBoil Flash System
Note: You might also enjoy our helpful Packing List for Car Campers or more reviews of our favorite gear such as the Inflatable Standup Paddleboard that we’ve used every summer with great results, or some of our best finds from our Favorite Gift Ideas for Outdoor Families.
Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we may get a commission if you make a purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you. We don’t do sponsored posts, free trips, or accept items for reviews. We only link to things we like and use personally. Read more about our philosophy.
Coleman Classic Two Burner Camp Stove
The Coleman Classic Two Burner Stove is an excellent and affordable camp stove. This was my first camp stove purchase, and I’ve had mine forever- over 15 years and it’s still going strong.
The Coleman Classic is an affordable piece of equipment, and you can usually pick one up at your local WalMart for around $55. There is a reason you frequently see this green “briefcase” stove around campgrounds.
When cooking for the family, the two burners are incredibly useful and can hold a decent sized pot and a 10” frying pan. I can heat soup on one burner and grilled cheese on the other.
And equally important, you can heat up water for coffee on one burner while also cooking tasty bacon on the other during those cool campground mornings.
One feature I like on the Coleman that my other stoves do not have is the wind barrier on each side. If you camp in an area that is often windy, it definitely makes a difference.
You can also buy a griddle to place on top of the two burners for an even larger surface area for pancakes, cooking quesadillas, hamburgers, grilled cheese, etc. You get 4-5 pancakes at a time on the grill, handy when you are feeding a pack of hungry kids who eat them as fast as you can make them.
Fuel Source for The Coleman Classic Camp Stove
The stove requires 16oz propane tanks that can be found practically anywhere– REI, Target, Walmart, Lowes, grocery stores, ACE, etc. They cost about $5 each, and one tank easily lasts me through a weekend of cooking pancakes and dinners, but I usually bring 2 just in case. (The specs state that a single cylinder lasts up to 1.1 hours on high or 4.5 hours on low.)
The Coleman Classic is super easy to set up. Just screw on the gas regulator and the propane tank, and you are ready to go. With this stove, you turn on the gas and manually light the burner. Not a problem unless you forgot your grill lighter!
The Coleman Classic has knobs that adjust the strength of the flame- just like a regular gas stove.
Coleman also offers a fancy version of its Classic which can be found at REI. The Coleman Cascade, also a 2 burner, is just a tiny bit smaller (22x13x5) compared to the Classic’s 22x15x5. It has an upgraded matchless lighting mechanism, but keep in mind it’s much more expensive than the classic- $130 REI vs $59 for the Coleman Classic at Walmart.
Why Choose The Coleman Classic Stove?
- Families- With 2 Burners, you can churn out family meals quickly
- Budget-minded: Inexpensive yet sturdy and reliable
- First-Time Campers- A reasonable cost to see if camping “takes”
- Windy climates
- You have room for it and are not worried about space (it’s the largest of the 3 listed here)
Coleman XCursion Camp Stove (REI $70)
(My Eureka SPRK 1 Burner Stove is now unavailable)
I purchased the Eureka SPRK single burner camp stove when I was looking for a smaller piece of equipment for those times when we didn’t have the entire family along for the trip. (it is no longer available but the Coleman XCursion is a worthy successor!)
It too has a nice sturdy case, and it’s about half the size (13 x 11 x 4) of the Coleman Classic 2 Burner.
The single burner is a good size burner which easily holds a full size 10” frying pan, and it boils water quickly (again, a must for the morning coffee!)
Several different brands offer essentially the same functionality. I bought my Eureka Sprk several years ago from REI (it seems to be limited availability these days), but I see that REI carries a clone of it with the Coleman XCursion ($70), and Amazon has a similar one for $39.99.
My single burner stove has 10,000 BTU so it gets hot quickly. If you buy a different brand, I would pay attention to the BTU number. The higher the better which translates to faster cooking and happy children! Note though that you will pay more for the higher BTU burners.
Fuel Source for Single Burner Stove
The Eureka Sprk uses butane fuel rather than propane, and it’s super easy to set up and start cooking. You don’t need a match– it has a matchless lighting system, so you just snap in the butane canister in the compartment, lock it in place, close the door, turn on the burner, and turn the knob all the way to ignite the flame.
It also has the typical adjustable heat dials that you find on your stoves at home.
The butane cylinders typically cost less than $5, so they are comparable to the propane cylinders used by the Coleman Classic but you can often find them on super sale.
The butane cylinders have a slight advantage over propane canisters in terms of size and weight, but that is less important for car camping but obviously more important if backpacking.
Why Choose The Single Burner Camp Stove?
- Those cooking simple one pot meals without the need for two burners or just for coffee during mornings
- It’s smaller and therefore takes up less space in your already overpacked car.
- Budget-minded- You can find inexpensive versions that work well
JetBoil Flash Camp Stove
The Jet Boil is our most recent purchase, and I love it. It’s a compact cooking system (just 4” x 7”) with a built-in, insulated cooking cup designed to heat up to 16 oz of water very quickly. And it does just that. Turn it on, and you’ll have hot water within 3 minutes.
It doesn’t require any additional pots and pans. However, you can purchase a pot attachment for it, but we have never tried that.
It is perfect for that quick cup of coffee in the morning, and it heats up water fast for freeze-dried meals. (My favorite is Mountain House beef stew!)
And if you’re tired of packing a big cooler full of food, we’ve found it helpful to occasionally simplify our meal cooking to include at least a few freeze-dried meals.
Although it is designed for backcountry cooking where space and weight is super important, we use it when car camping, often in addition to our single burner stove.
Its ease of use and practically instant hot water allows for a quick cup of coffee or hot cocoa at any time, not just at meals.
You would be amazed at the assortment of freeze-dried meals: Chicken teriyaki, chicken alfredo, chili beef mac, pad thai, and more! It’s fun for the kids to pick out their own meal pack before our trip, and everyone can eat when they are hungry because it’s so easy and quick.
It’s a super quick set up. Add your water to the insulated cup (not exceeding the visible max line), attach it to the fuel canister, turn on the fuel switch, and flip the igniter. And as with all of the stoves described here, you can adjust the flame intensity as needed.
JetBoil Fuel Source
The JetBoil uses an isobutane-propane fuel mix canister which retails for about $7 at REI. The fuel canister seems to have ample life, and we’ve never used an entire canister on a camping trip. And better yet, everything packs up right back in the cup. Super efficient.
It’s a bit pricey ($145 REI), but I think it’s worth it. It has held up over time, and we feel like it’s a game changer for meal prep when camping. These days we are mostly packing our JetBoil and the single burner Eureka Sprk on our family camping trips, and it’s worked well for us.
Why Choose The JetBoil Camp Stove?
- Light-weight and compact
- Designed for backcountry camping (but we use it in the campground)
- Heats up water instantly for coffee or freeze-dried meals
- Could be useful in addition to a single stove
In Summary
The best camp stove for you depends on your specific needs- do you need to provide food for a family of 4? Perhaps you just need a hot cup of coffee in the morning?
- Coleman Classic 2 Burner Stove (Walmart $59)
- Coleman XCursion (REI $70)/Eureka SPRK 1 Burner Stove (unavailable)
- Jetboil Flash System (REI $144)
You can’t go wrong with any of these or even a combination like we are doing now with a single stove and the JetBoil. Hope this was helpful and happy camping! – Amy
Note: You might also enjoy our helpful Packing List for Car Campers or more reviews of our favorite gear such as the Inflatable Standup Paddleboard that we’ve used every summer with great results, or some of our favorite finds from our Favorite Gift Ideas for Outdoor Families.
