Hiking Equipment - Which of the Three Types of Hiking Stoves Are For You?

Overnight hiking is great fun but is does mean you need to take more hiking equipment and one of the extra pieces of hiking equipment you need will be a hiking stove. In fact you don’t need to be going overnight – a hot chocolate on a hike is very welcome even during the day. Therefore you will need a hiking stove as part of your hiking equipment.

So what hiking stoves are available and which ones do you need to take on a hike. I will recommend three types of hiking stove as part of your hiking equipment to go in your rucksack.

Firstly, liquid fuel hiking stoves. This type of hiking stoves will require quite a bit of effort to get going. The stove requires a pumping action (as a plunger primer) to ensure that the fuel tank is pressurised allowing a vapour to be ignited. However the positive point here is that these are more efficient and give out a lot of heat when they are in full flow. My suggestion is that liquid fuel hiking stoves are more for the seasoned and experienced hiker than a beginner hiker as part of your hiking equipment.

Secondly, taking a look at gas canister hiking stoves. These are very quick and easy and provide instant heat. These are more popular and used in most circumstances because they are easy to use for hiking equipment. The disadvantage is that once the canister has run out of gas then disposing of the old canister is not easy. My suggestion is that this is great for the beginner hiker and a good part of your hiking equipment. I guess the seasoned hiker will have a choice which stove to use.

Thirdly there is a combination of the above two types. They are called multi fuel stoves which is another consideration to your hiking equipment. These types of stove can run on either liquid fuel or gas canister. Again this is for the seasoned hiker. As there are different types of liquids and canister around the world this type of stove can be used anywhere in the world.

I will add a few safety tips here as well.

Never light your stove in a tent as stoves can easily be knocked over and tents can easily catch light to your tent and your hiking equipment.

Plan where you are going to place your stove. It should be located on flat ground and away from trees and other fire hazards.

Have a great hike and eat with hot food and drink with your hiking stove - an essential part of your hiking equipment