Top Five Camping Stoves

Yes it's winter, but this is when you need a good stove more than ever. Lets face it the 'Insta' reality of beach fires doesn't happen int he UK or Ireland very much so if you're going to boil something, or cook something a stove makes a tonne of sense so lets go - 

1. The Jetboil - It is a joy to use, will boil water in a very fuel efficient minute or two, handles wind well and can easily transported and used pretty much anywhere. It runs on pretty common gas cylinders and is a joy. Downside it isn't any good at frying and that sort of thing, but if you need a brew, cuppa soup, or even beans it does the job fast an easy, and is our favourite. 

2. The Standard Stove - We've all got/had one, they screw or snap into a canister which you can get in most countries and they just work forever and ever and ever. Not as fancy as the old jetboil, but it just gets the job done. Easy to transport, but of course unlike the jet boil you need all the pots and pans as well, which is ok in a van a pain if you're flying. 

3. The Trangia - Several of us, including myself had a transit for a long while, in fact in early adventure days it was the go to. It has several really big pluses, the whole stove and pans all go together into an indestructible easy to carry package. The second is the fuel, it basically runs on alcohol, methanol etc. which is available everywhere, which is good. Basically they work really well, but they are not perfect, power is not as good as gas, and they hate the wind, but we have a soft spot for them.

4. BIOLITE CAMPSTOVE 2 - We got one of these a couple of years back, at first thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but it really does work. It boils water fast, is fuelled by twigs and bark and charges your phone, sounds stupid I know but it works and we like it. If you have to instagram everything as well, then it's a dream. 

5. A Fire - I know I said at the beginning we don't often get the chance of setting up a beauty of a beach fire, but it does beat any stove really.