Message Forums

I concur with daveyjp to get a true comparison you have to bring kwh in your equation. Its like working out how much it is to run a car without taking into account mpg.

For instance the coleman duel fuel is 4225w and the campinggaz bistro is 2300w (just over half)

The boil time (which is frankly the most important measurement of any stove ) is 4 mins (coleman) vs 5 1/2mins for the camping gaz. So for a two hour burn you can get 30 kettles from the coleman vs 21 for the bistro !

So in camping units that 5.6p per kettle for the coleman vs 7.4p for the campingaz bistro !!

Is it wrong I enjoyed doing that ??

Blimey mcguire and davey,you really need to go camping!

But it's very considerate of you to work out the costings of the gas/petrol for cooking,we use one large gas per year for longer camps and 3 packs of 4 canisters for the single burner.....per year. (£45 approx)

From my experience over the years (and I'm not going to be doing all the figures lol!) I think the suitcase style works out very slightly more expensive for my own personal use.

That said, I weigh this up against taking two suitcase stoves and a few cannisters against my two burner cooker and hefty gas bottle and I know that even if it was a fair bit more expensive I'd still go for the seperate suitcase. I can move them around much more easily, they are better for packing, no gas bottle to lug around, can use two decent sized saucepans at once where as not enough room on cooker with the top and side windshields up. That and the fact that there is a grill underneath the cooker that really isn't worth having that just annoys me anyway lol!

Anyone get the impression that I don't like the two burner thing that lives in my loft 

It's good to have this thread though, lots of interesting information, thanks.

TCx

OK then which one??. We are back to a tent this year and although we will have some luxurys I have been ordered to cut back everything,so something that will do for weekends and maybe a 4 nighter and takes less room sounds good to me. I was looking at the suitcase ones,which are the best????

Karen

Well "best" is a potetentially different answer from who you talk to...hence lots of discussion on this site.

Ulitmately if you get the performance you require for a price you're happy to pay, then you are getting the best for you!

Personally I love my Coleman Duel fuel, as I always know where to get fuel if i run out. I would not however use it in a tent.

If you want a suitcase stove (or 2) then I'd go with the Campingaz Bistro. As other threads have discussed not all suitcase stoves are the same, even though they may look similar.

I would also recommend the Campingaz cartridges, as they have demonstrated better gas regulation than certain other cheaper makes (although the Bistro can cope with lesser performing cannisters, our backpacker stove can't and flares with other makes, which is how we know).

Just remember to only use pans of a size that fits within the black plate on the stove (so not to spread flames and heat towards the cannister) and to read the instructions for your particular stove.

We just had a holiday in the Lakes. We chose a site at £8 per night total instead of one for £23 . 50 per night, so the extra cost of gas we just accepted

PS. I am waiting to try out a cheapo gas refill when the Gaz one runs out, in my new Bistro stove to see if there is any difference.