Spent $80 on a portable camping stove for budget trips and it's been a mixed bag

I grabbed a cheap single-burner butane stove for my road trip through Oregon last month. It cooked my meals fast and saved me from buying expensive diner food every night. But the wind kept blowing out the flame on the coast, and I had to use a lot more fuel than I planned. Anyone else find portable stoves worth it for saving money, or do they end up costing you more in hassle and fuel?

2 comments

2 Comments

susan42420d ago

My husband was always pushing for us to get a proper camp stove and I thought it was just an unnecessary expense. I figured we could make do with cold sandwiches or building a fire, but after our last trip to the Smokies I was completely wrong. The rain was relentless and we couldn't get a fire started for anything, so we ended up eating trail mix for two days straight. That experience changed my mind completely, and now I see a good stove as essential gear rather than a luxury.

the_stella19d ago

Oh you've hit on exactly what I went through last summer camping in the Olympic National Forest. I was stubborn about using just a fire pit too until three days of drizzle left me eating cold canned beans and wishing I'd spent the money on a proper little stove.