Knowing how to choose a backpacking stove can be an incredibly important consideration. Imagine, you’re out on the trail, packed with some of the best dehydrated food your local outfitter has to offer and the stove that you’re carrying has stops working on you. To paraphrase the movie Wild “great – cold mush.”

Make sure that your stove is the right one for the right occasion. Taking considerations like fuel, seasonal weather and where you’ll be backpacking are all important considerations that tend to go overlooked by some experienced backpackers, not to mention beginners. Of course the main considerations of weight and boil time are typically carefully studied before making the first purchase. Here’s a guide to help you decide what kind of stove you should be buying.

Integrated Backpacking Stove Systems

Integrated stove systems like the ones by Jetboil and MSR are great all in one style systems that pair the stove with a pot that’s designed specifically to work with that stove making these stove systems great for boiling water. They’re also fuel efficient, wind resistant and compact. The challenge to them is that they don’t work quite as well in extremely low temperatures because the isobutane-propane fuel canisters need to be kept above freezing and most of them require an adapter to use other pots, potentially rendering that cook set you bought useless.

Stove		Fuel	Weight	Avg Boil Time
	Jetboil Flash Cooking System	Isobutane-propane	15.25 oz	5 min
	JetBoil FlashJava Kit	Isobutane-propane	1 lb 0.25 oz	5 min
	Jetboil Joule Cooking System	Isobutane-propane	1 lb 9.2 oz	2 min 40 sec
	Jetboil MiniMo Cooking System	Isobutane-propane	14.6 oz	4 min 30 sec
	Jetboil Zip Cooking System	Isobutane-propane	11.75 oz	5 min
	MSR Reactor Stove System	Isobutane-propane	1 lb 3 oz	3 min
	MSR WindBoiler Stove System	Isobutane-propane	15.25 oz	4.5 min

Canister Fuel Backpacking Stoves

Canister stoves are the most convenient for trail experiences that don’t get too cold. They attach to isobutene-propane blend fuel canisters and are easy to use without any priming. Canisters self-seal to prevent fuel spills and are easily adjustable for varied cooking temperatures. Fuel canisters do need to be kept above freezing to operate efficiently so, as long as you’re not in sub freezing conditions, these types of stoves should work well for you.

Stove		Fuel	Weight	Avg Boil Time
	MSR MicroRocket Stove	Isobutane-propane	2.6 oz	3 min 30 sec
	MSR PocketRocket Stove	Isobutane-propane	3 oz	3 min 30 sec
	Primus Classic Trail Stove	Isobutane-propane	8 oz	3 min
	Primus Eta Stove	Isobutane-propane	1 lb 5.1 oz	3 min 35 sec
	Snow Peak BiPod Stove	Isobutane-propane	7.76 oz	4.5 min
	Snow Peak GigaPower Auto Stove	Isobutane-propane	3.75 oz	4 min 48 sec
	Snow Peak LiteMax Stove	Isobutane-propane	1.9 oz	4 min 25 sec

Liquid Fuel Backpacking Stoves

Liquid fueled stoves are best for cold weather, international trips and longer term trips. The great thing about liquid fuel stoves are that, while they all run on white gas, some of them can also run on kerosene, jet fuel, diesel or plan old unleaded automotive gasoline so, no matter where you are in the world, you should always be able to find fuel. Fuel for these stoves is relatively inexpensive but most do require priming the stove to preheat the fuel line before you start cooking. These stoves are also perfect for longer trips because they can be maintained, and even repaired, in the field.

Stove		Fuel	Weight	Avg Boil Time
	MSR DragonFly Stove	White gas / kerosene / diesel / auto	14oz	White gas: 3 min 30 sec Kerosene: 3 min 54 sec
	MSR WhisperLite International Stove	White gas / kerosene / auto	10.9 oz	White gas: 3 min 30 sec Kerosene: 4 min 24 sec
	MSR WhisperLite Universal Stove	White gas / Isobutane-propane / kerosene / auto	13.2 oz	White gas: 3 min 30 sec Kerosene: 3 min 45 sec
	MSR XGK EX Stove	White gas / kerosene / diesel / auto	13.7 oz	White gas: 3 min 30 sec Kerosene: 2 min 48 sec

Alternative Fuel Backpacking Stoves

These stoves are great for ultralight backpacking because the stoves themselves are incredibly light and use fuel sources that are also lightweight or found on the trail. Some of these stoves can even generate the electricity you need to keep your electronics charged on the trail (21st century backpacking at its best) The downside to these stoves is that these fuel sources don’t burn as hot as other fuels so it’ll take longer to boil your water when you’re ready to cook.

Stove		Fuel	Weight	Avg Boil Time
	BioLite CampStove	Wood	2 lbs 1 oz	4 min 30 sec
	Esbit Pocket Stove	Esbit fuel tablets	3.25 oz	Unknown
	Esbit Solid Fuel Stove & Cookset	Esbit fuel tablets	7 oz	Unknown
	Hexagon Titanium Wood Stove	Wood	4.1 oz	Unknown