Primus Classic Trail Stove
A simple screw-on canister burner, and it remains the correct first stove for most people. Primus still sells the Classic Trail, which makes this one of the reviews here you can act on.
Why this type is right for most camping. It lights instantly, needs no priming, simmers properly, packs into a mug, weighs very little and costs very little. Compared with the liquid-fuel stoves it competed against, it removes almost all the fuss, and for weekends in a country with outdoor shops there is no reason to want anything else.
Its limits, which are the limits of the whole category:
- Cold. Canister pressure drops as the temperature falls, and below freezing an upright burner struggles. Keeping the canister in your sleeping bag overnight and inside your jacket while cooking genuinely helps.
- Wind. An unshielded burner loses most of its heat to a breeze. A foil windshield weighs nothing and halves your fuel use, but never enclose the canister.
- Fuel logistics. You cannot fly with gas, so you buy it at the destination, and there are places where that is difficult. Check before you commit.
Stability is the thing to watch: a tall pot on a small burner on top of a narrow canister tips easily, and it is full of boiling water. Use a canister tripod and cook on flat ground.
The one addition since this review: fire restrictions. Much more of the western US and southern Europe is under a ban for much more of the year, and a canister stove with a shut-off valve is often still permitted where wood and alcohol are not. Check before you travel.
Part of the guide to stoves and camp cooking.