Ditched my heavy coleman stove for a tiny backpacking one last trip

I used to lug my old dual-burner coleman stove everywhere, even on short hikes, because I thought I needed the space for cooking real meals. Last month at Big Sur I finally got tired of the extra 15 pounds in my pack and tried a little $30 butane stove my buddy lent me. Has anyone else swapped out their big setup for something smaller and regretted it or loved it?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice_kim1mo ago

Start by saying I REGRET swapping my big two burner for a lightweight one. Honestly, that little stove is terrible for anything more than boiling water for coffee or instant noodles. I spent a whole weekend eating cold canned chili because the wind kept blowing out the flame on my tiny burner. Tbh, I missed having a stable cooking surface where I could actually sauté garlic and onions for a real meal. Ngl, the extra weight was annoying but at least I could cook a full dinner without fighting the elements. I'll take the heavier pack over eating sad, cold food any day.

david_rivera424d ago

Funny how that works. Seems like everywhere you look these days, people are trading function for lighter weight or smaller size, and then wondering why things don't work right. Kinda makes you think we're all just chasing the wrong spec sheet sometimes.

julia_carter701mo ago

Oh, but you can actually saute on a tiny burner if you have a small windscreen.