Camping means nature and being in nature is rejuvenating.
Despite the fact that it is a fantastic activity that provides hours of enjoyment and a welcome opportunity to connect with loved ones and nature, there are also a lot of wonderful health benefits resulting from camping.
So, you have not to miss any occasion to improve your and your family mood.
And if you want to camp, you must prepare yourself for such an experience, especially when it comes to cooking.
Cooking at camp takes time and after a day full of outdoor activities, you will want to prepare something easy, simple and very fast.
Camping is a great way to spend time with family and friends while taking in the great outdoors, but you need to provide safe food and cooking while camping.
Incidents of your children getting a burn from improperly lighting up the stove will certainly ruin a camping trip and nobody wants this.
If you do not prefer starting a fire for barbecues or simply for heating food, you should consider other heating sources or cooking appliances. But what if you choose portable induction cooktops or butane stoves for camping?
Portable induction cooktops or gas butane stoves for camping – Pros and Cons
Portable induction cooktops are perfect for camping: you will be able to cook fresh meals for lunch, in hotels while traveling, using one or two in an RV, for camping, or other outdoor events.
A great solution is using induction cooking stoves that are compact: they are easy to carry around for camping, road trips, picnics, etc.
Such appliances are great for camping when your campsite has electricity or you have an electric generator.
Since it does not use flames, this cooker is smoke-free, pollution-free, safe and environment-friendly.
The best part of using these cooktops is that they cook safely: you (or your children) cannot burn yourself on the cooktop. With such induction cooktops, you can do cooking just as you would do in kitchen countertops at home.
But, you have to take into account the fact that you need special cookware for this portable induction cooktops: it is possible that the pans or pots that you already have do not work on induction appliances.
Also, these products and cookware are more expensive but considering their benefits, you have nothing to regret.
On the other hand, you have the portable gas butane stoves for camping; compared with using other types of fuel such as unleaded gasoline and kerosene, butane is extremely easy to use: while other types of fuel may require priming with a preheat fuel or pouring a certain amount out; butane cartridges and canisters are easily attached to the stove and then they are ready to go.
Also, butane bottles are much lighter than those filled with propane, and because they are energy efficient.
Butane produces about 12% more energy than propane when the same volumes are burned above freezing. You will save both money and space by using butane because you will not need to buy or pack as many butane refills as propane refills.
When lighting a portable gas cartridge stove, butane lights instantly and reaches its maximum heat output right away so that you do not have to wait to start cooking.
Gas camping stoves are also very easy to control, long lasting, maintenance free, and safe. Butane canisters are easily resealed even when they are not completely empty and can be saved and used for the next meal.
But, if you plan going camping in the winter, you should not choose butane. Once temperatures dip below freezing, it is difficult or even impossible for the liquid inside of butane bottles to turn into a gas, meaning that it will not produce any flame.
With portable gas butane stoves for camping, you should carry multiple canisters for long trips, and also pack out fuel cans.
Tips to know before purchasing portable induction cooktops or gas butane stoves for camping
A portable induction cooktop for camping should be energy-saving as campers only have limited electricity source for operating it.
You may choose a compact and light-weight product for carrying and storage.
Be aware that the flameless design of induction burners allows you to use in a windy area! But you have to remember that do not use it outside in rainy place: water from rain may harm the functions of an induction cooktop.
Also, consider using the cooktops in dry place only because of its safety. The perfect place for using induction cooker is flat and clean area to avoid damage of a pan on the back of it.
Considering portable gas butane stove, your choice will depend very much on how you like to camp.
If you have a vehicle to get to your campsite, your stoves can be as heavy as you can manage. But if you have to carry your stove in your backpack, then you have to search for other smaller options. So, they should be convenient and comfortable to carry around.
The number of burners you want on a single stove is truly a matter of personal preferences and needs.
You may consider the devices with a piezo-electric ignition system, which means you do not have to bring a match or a lighter with you.
Then, you have to think about how much gas you need: it is a worthwhile pursuit to determine exactly how much gas will be needed in any particular instance before buying, to keep from buying either too much or not enough gas.
Get sure you do not buy the wrong type of gas or the wrong kind of canister as the results of doing so can be disastrous!
Induction Cooktops for Camping
If you like to camp, you may benefit from the convenience of cooking with an induction burner directly in your camping trailer or outdoors.
Induction cooking has been around for years, but the cooktops were too big and expensive for RV camping.
But now, it is not the case: both problems have been solved and nowadays, using induction cooking stoves that are compact is a great solution: here you have two examples of induction cookers for camping.
MaxiMatic EIND-88B Elite Platinum Induction Cooker
Elite Platinum EIND-88 Maxi-Matic Mini Induction Cooker, Black has 7 levels of heating power and digital display and push button controls; it is designed with a 7″ cooking surface which measures 10″ diameter x 3″ height.
This is the fastest way to cook quicker than gas or electric burners as it is 800-watt cooker for use with cookware suitable for induction cooking that cooks at a high heat with no open flame, the pan becomes the heating element.
With digital display and push button controls, you are going to cook food faster and more efficiently with the Elite Platinum Portable Induction Cooktop Burner.
In case you wonder, the Elite Platinum Portable Induction Cooktop Burner is perfect for small kitchen spaces, RVs, and office kitchens.
Being energy efficient and safe cooking, it will take you less than 5 minutes to make a soup with one chicken thigh, chopped onions and carrots, cabbage, and tofu.
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This is a perfect travel and accessory cooktop: if you want to cook real food in a hotel/motel while on the road, or just need a side burner to keep something hot, this cooktop is ideal.
NuWave Induction Cooktop PIC “Flex”
NuWave Induction Cooktop PIC “Flex” Adjustable Wattage Output is perfect for small spaces and rooms, RVs, campers, and anywhere space is limited.
Compact and portable, you have an item with 6.5-inch cooking inner coil, 50-pound weight capacity and a wattage output control of 600, 900 and 1300.
With NuWave Induction Cooktop PIC “Flex” Adjustable Wattage Output, you can set for Fahrenheit or Celsius and program your own recipes: you have some cooking functions as boil, simmer, deep-fry, sauté, steam, sear, slow cook, all in one appliance.
It is great if you have an outdoor kitchen on your boat dock as you can carry it back and forth from your house. It is really fast as it heats up almost instantly.
The temperature range on the appliance is from 100 to 575 degrees F. In case you want to see if your cookware is good, try to use a magnet: the magnet must stick to the bottom of the pan. This model also offers custom temperature in 10-degree increments.
Enjoy your product for indoors and outdoors cooking that is smaller than the other PIC cooktops!
Portable Gas Butane Stoves for Camping
Another solution can be portable gas butane stoves for camping: you can cook delicious meals for your friends or family when out camping, caravanning or picnicking using the following gas stoves.
And do not forget that butane has about 12 percent more energy than propane by volume and this means that you can cook longer with a bottle of butane than with a propane bottle or cartridge of the same size.
GAS ONE NEW 10,000 BTU CSA List Portable Butane
GAS ONE NEW 10,000 BTU CSA List Portable Butane Gas Stove with Carrying Case CSA Listed is CSA certified for safety; it measures approximately 13-4/5 by 12-1/2 by 3 inches and regarding the fuel, it is sold separately.
The butane stove delivers 10,000 BTUs per hour; the item is designed with Piezo ignition and safety lock and pressure sensor with auto shut-off.
Having user-friendly controls, long and textured grates for stability and adjustable flame, it is a safe, functional, and convenient device perfect for camping and outdoor recreation.
The butane cylinder lasts about 2 hours with the burner on high and about 8 hours for simmering, but this depends on how high heat is needed, how long you cook and if there is much wind.
The pot support has a lip that limits the pot size to 10-3/4 inches or 27.5cm. Any pot larger than that will not be supported in a stable fashion and would be in danger of slipping and slopping out hot contents.
It works just like a stove at home and can reach a high heat quickly: it boils water for coffee, fry eggs and bacon etc., while the butane canisters last quite long as well.
The stove is safe and easy to use and goes anywhere and great for work cooking, boating, camping, tailgating, backyard or patio or right on your dining room table.
You do not have to remove the fuel canister at the end of each use: just be sure you flip the black lever up and turn the knob to off.
Iwatani Corporation of America ZA-3HP
Iwatani Corporation of America ZA-3HP Portable Butane Stove Burner is 12,000 BTU butane gas stove with high power, heat panel, Piezo-electric ignition, automatic safety stop, and plastic carrying case.
It is extremely safe to use indoors or outdoors: no different than a built-in gas range in your kitchen, this stove is typically used for cooking right on the kitchen table, such as a soup or wok dish.
The older model was a 10,000 BTU stove, while this is the newer with 12,000 BTU and has an added heat panel that keeps the fuel canister warm meaning it maintains performance better when the fuel is getting low.
One butane canister usually lasts almost a week; you can heat tea water every morning, make an omelette most days, sauté vegetables most nights, and simmer a big pot of soup once a week.
The burner itself is aluminium. The base supporting the burner is steel. The heat exchanger for the butane canister is aluminium, while most of the remaining housing and other components are steel and plastic.
In case you search a way to adapt this burner to use butane, you should know that this is strictly designed to use the butane canisters.
This is safe for use indoors unlike backpacking stoves which generate carbon monoxide and if you cook in your tent you risk death by asphyxiation.
The mechanism for putting in and securing the canister is simple and hard to muck up. It is the perfect stove because it is so easy that you can put it on super low, medium or high it depends on the temperature you want.
Conclusion
Portable induction cooktops or gas butane stoves for camping are great solution each time you decide to go camping.
Portable induction cooktops can be your choice if you have an electric source on a campsite, while portable gas butane stoves are cheaper and can be used everywhere as long as the butane canister lasts.
Although gas butane stoves are an optimal choice for people who want fast and high heat output, they do not perform well in cold weather.
Also, Iwatani Corporation of America ZA-3HP Portable Butane Stove Burner and GAS ONE NEW 10,000 BTU CSA List Portable Butane are designed with a larger cooking surface than NuWave Induction Cooktop PIC “Flex” Adjustable Wattage Output and Elite Platinum EIND-88 Maxi-Matic Mini Induction Cooker, Black.
This means that you probably decide for portable gas butane stoves if camping in a group of 3 or more people, while the portable induction cooktops are perfect for 1 or 2 campers.
In terms of safety facilities, there is nothing as great as induction cooking.
If you have easy-to-use, fast and safe appliances, your favorite camping meals and recipes are simple and easy for campground cooking: when it comes to food, camping is easy and fun. Try it and you will see!
