If you are planning to backpack off the beaten track and away from towns and cities you will need to make a provision for food and how you are going to prepare it. Backpacking stoves are a great way of cooking food whilst backpacking as they enable you to use pots and pans like you would on a stove at home and are much safer than cooking over a fire.
Click here to see Amazon.com’s range of backpacking stoves
Fuels
There are lots of different models of backpacking stove that run on a variety of different fuels. The most popular types are:
- Petroleum Stoves – These are pretty much the standard backpacking stove but due to their weight aren’t suitable for ultralight backpackers or those on long treks. They are very cheap but can be quiet dangerous if misused so care must be taken when lighting and storing them.
- Liquefied Gas – These are very popular as they light very well and there is a great level of control of the heat it produces. The downside is that they don’t work below freezing and can be expensive to refuel. Canisters are not refillable and canisters have to be thrown away after user which is not good for the environment.
The Giga Power by Snow Peak. A powerful little iso-butane backpacking stove.
- Solid Fuel Burners – These stoves are incredibly light and consist only of a small metal dish and a fire lighter or similar. They don’t provide much control over temperature so are really only suitable for those who wish to boil water or whom are dedicated to backpacking as light as they can.
- Wood Stoves – Very heavy and baulky, wood stoves are not normally carried by backpackers and tend to only be used at base camp where there is vehicular access. They give off a wonderful smell but tend to blacken pots and pans which can be messy when you come to store and carry them.
Make sure you consider what type of trip you are going on before you purchase a backpacking stove. Each of the above has it’s advantages and disadvantages so think carefully about which will match your needs.
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Thankyou for the support Elfrieda. We are working hard to make all information about European backpacking as accessible and easy to understand for as many people as possible. It is great to hear that our hard work is being appreciated!
I just wanted to add that there are multi-fuel stoves available (they can be a bit expensive) that weigh just a few ounces and use a refillable fuel bottle. This eliminates the weight of extra bottles, extra empties getting left behind, and the best part is you can use just about any liquid fuel. I have an MSR Dragonfly stove and have used everything from white gas to diesel to naphtha and many other fuels so you don’t have to worry about finding a specific fuel.
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