Stansport Outfitter 2-Burner Propane Stove

Probably one of the best basecamp propane stoves now on the market with oversized stainless steel burners producing a full 25,000 btu's. Each burner has its own windscreen and the cooking grate easily supports the heaviest pots and pans. But it does not work well over 4,000 feet in elevation. And there is a lot of camping above that level, even in California.

I was ready to replace my old Coleman propane camping stove with a more modern edition, one that had a Piezo ignition system.  I especially wanted a larger cooking surface so I could do a batch of bacon at one cooking; ours was just too darned small.

At the same time I wanted to replace those one pound bottles with a small bulk tank, because my service dog and I tent camp for up to thirty days, generally three nights at a campground, 3 or 4 times a year. That means taking a lot of those bottles along, or buying them expensively along the way.  So I went to as many reviews as possible to narrow the results in order to obtain the best possible portable camping stove.

I bought it to replace an old Coleman stove because I wanted more surface space (which it gives), a greater heat output because we camp mostly at higher altitudes, and electronic ignition inasmuch as we have had to carry two igniters. Coleman only gives 10 to 11,000 btu's for each burner and this stove has an output of up to 25,000 btu's for each and there is a built-in windscreen for the individual burners. The Camp Chef indicates that their burners are only 20,000 btu's and even if the Stansport is exagerating a bit the output is more than double that of the Coleman.

Also I am sick and tired of lugging around those "throw-away" one pound cannisters that always leave some propane in them, and also run out in the middle of making coffee.  So I purchased a 3 gallon Lite Cylinder at the same time, along with a Camp Chef propane distribution tree that will also allow use of a lantern and the stove at the same time.

Among other reviews, I came to the Outdoor Gear Lab and its test for camping stoves. The Stansport Outfitter series propane camping stove was rated with the Camp Chef as an Editor’s Choice.

I found out that the BTU rating alone did not tell you how fast it boils water, to make that pot of coffee each evening, or that the simmering ability of stoves could vary widely – dependent on altitude. But their results were impressive, allowing a short time to make coffee.

While the Outdoor Gear Lab’s results were a selling point it was not until later that I found out (actually, they had told us in the article) that their results were based only upon tests conducted at the five campgrounds in the Joshua National Park, with altitudes from 3,800 to 4,400 feet, despite having a rated BTU output of 25,000 for each of the two burners.

So, I purchased the Stansport Outfitter from Amazon and did not have a chance to use it until now. We have just returned from a 22 day camping trip to New Mexico, Arizona and southern Utah.  We had experienced a little wind, some cold weather - but mostly normal weather for this time of the year, late March and early April. Temperatures ranged from a night time low of 23 degrees to a high of 82. Winds were mostly in the 10 – 15 mph range, but we had some gusting at 35 mph and a full-blown wind/dust storm at 50 mph.  Elevations at the campgrounds ranged from 2,000 feet at Apache Lake in Arizona to nearly 7,930 feet at Jacobs Corner, with most of our camping at about 5,500 feet.

The Outdoor Gear Lab’s results can be summed up as: “Boils water fast, great size for most camping situations: not too big or small, great wind protection.”

It wasn’t until I questioned the restrictive rating systems of the Outdoor Gear Lab when a 25,000 BTU burner could not get water to boil in our 10-cup perculator in less than 50 minutes. That is, when we were at altitudes that exceeded 7,000 feet. While it was slower for other campgrounds the Stansport was really inoperative at that altitude.  For three days at the Grand Canyon we decided to time coffee making; and, it ranged from 65 to 73 minutes. 

And, one time when we put on an additional 1 litre pot on the other burner – it never did come up to a simmer, let alone a boil. That was at El Morro National Monument which is at 7,217 feet.

I bought it to replace an old Coleman stove because I wanted more surface space (which it gives), a greater heat output because we camp mostly at higher altitudes, and electronic ignition inasmuch as we have had to carry two igniters. Coleman only gives 10 to 11,000 btu's for each burner and this stove has an output of up to 25,000 btu's for each and there is a built-in windscreen for the individual burners. The Camp Chef indicates that their burners are only 20,000 btu's and even if the Stansport is exagerating a bit the output is more than double that of the Coleman.

Also I am sick and tired of lugging around those "throw-away" one pound cannisters that always leave some propane in them, and also run out in the middle of making coffee.  So I purchased a 3 gallon Lite Cylinder at the same time, along with a Camp Chef propane distribution tree that will also allow use of a lantern and the stove at the same time.