Heading out on an overlanding trip? Bring one of these.
BioLite CampStove 2 ($130)
We鈥檙e always nervous when a company opts to upgrade a favorite piece of gear, but the second generation of the CampStove 2, BioLite鈥檚 electricity-generating wood-burning stove, features some outstanding improvements, including an integrated battery and increased efficiency鈥攊t 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鈥攇rill on one side, griddle on the other鈥攅venly 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鈥檚 full-time backyard grill.
Coleman FyreSergeant ($180)
Coleman hasn鈥檛 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颅鈥攇rill, stovetop, and optional griddle ($40)鈥攚hich 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 mean it abandoned the sleek Japanese aesthetic we鈥檝e come to know and love. With its clean metallic build, this stove wouldn鈥檛 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鈥檛 let the bare-bones exterior fool you. The Summit Two鈥檚 intuitive dual-burner design earned it ease-of-use accolades. The burly, nonstick steel grate is nickel coated, so it didn鈥檛 rip up burger patties, and sturdy adjustable feet made balancing a big pot of boiling pasta on a rocky beach breezy.