Portable Cooker
There is nothing better than a decent Portable Cooker to use when you go away. When you are camping its vital that you have a reliable cooker to cook your food, warm up water and to clean your dishes with. I have been fooled into buying cheap cookers before, and never been impressed in the long run. The fact remains with these that buying a decent quality Portable Cooker is well worth the extra money. Sure, it’s a larger upfront cost but when you measure it over several years of use then they become much cheaper. The cheap cookers break very easily, and often block up. A Portable Propane Grill is often a good idea for larger crowds.
The first thing that you need to do when buying a Portable Cooker is to be aware of the purpose of the burner. A cooker designed for someone that does hiking is totally different to one that you would find in a camper trailer, or one that you would find in a four wheel drive. There are a lot of options ranging from the type of fuel that is used through to the number of burners, the price, size and a huge range of other variables. I have had personal experience with a number of the Coleman burners and have to say that they are well worth the money spent. They are a bit more expensive than the average burner on the market, but they work brilliantly.
Metho burners tend to be one of the cheapest burners, and I would suggest that you steer clear of them unless you really want something that is cheap. For starters they don’t burn as hot as a decent Portable Cooker, and as a result you use a lot more fuel than needed. They can also be messy and you can’t really get rid of any unused fuel. You also need to carry a bottle of fuel around which can be a real pain. Some of the best burners that I have seen are able to run on multiple fuels. I know you can get a few that will run on unleaded, butane, mentholated spirits and a range of other substances. In saying this, a Trangia Cooker is good for hiking.
Having something like this allows you to have the full range of fuel, which can be very handy. Be very wary of the size that you purchase. If it’s only for yourself then you only need a tiny burner. What you plan to use on the burner should match the size of the burner itself. For example, if you are heating up a small pot then a tiny single burner is fine, but if you are cooking for a whole family then it’s worth getting one of the bigger Portable Cookers to use to heat it up.
I have seen large single burners which you can screw straight onto a gas bottle, and they just sit above the gas bottle. These are cheap, and a great backup for those who are a little unconfident about their burners! Personally I much prefer using a gas bottle and a larger gas cooker, but for hiking this isn’t really possible. You can buy a Portable Cooker that uses butane bottles (about the same size as a fly spray bottle) and the burners are incredibly cheap. However, they chew through the fuel very quickly, and the fuel takes up a lot of space.
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Nature's Quest Deluxe Portable Gas Butane Stove with Free Case List Price: Sale Price: $13.99 You save: $36.00 (72%)  |
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RoadPro 12-Volt Portable Stove, Black List Price: Sale Price: $24.50 You save: $45.49 (65%) |
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GASONE Portable Gas Stove CSA Approved Sale Price: $14.94 |
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GAS ONE Portable Gas Stove UL and CAS List with Gift Box List Price: Sale Price: $25.75 You save: $19.25 (43%) |
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Portable Butane Gas Camp Stove Camping Burner Range List Price: Sale Price: $12.99 You save: $22.00 (63%) |
Alternatively you can buy the larger bottles, which last for a while but are still not very economically viable in the long run. The best option if you are camping from a car or trailer is to have a gas bottle. Even a 4kg bottle will last you for years when you are camping, and they can be filled up for next to nothing. Make sure that you look after the Portable Cooker as well. Water in the jets causes them to block up, and then they never work again. Carrying spare o rings and hoses is often well worth the trouble because they will break from time to time.
At the end of the day you have a huge range of cookers to choose from, but with a bit of careful research you will get something that suits your purposes exactly. Don’t buy something that is too big if you don’t need it, and likewise don’t skimp on size or budget or it will bite you later down the track.
