During REI’s recent anniversary sale I scored Camp Chefs’ Everest 2 Burner stove for a great price and wanted to provide my initial review. I had been on the market for a more “base camp” style stove and had been doing some comparison shopping between Coleman and Primus for a couple of weeks. Finding myself at REI with a sale price that was backed up with a solid 4.3 rating between REI and Amazon, I went ahead and made the purchase.
Initial unboxing left me satisfied with the design and looks of the stove. Much like many of the other stoves on the market, it packs into its own case and maintains a fairly low profile. Measuring 13.5”L x 23.5”W x 4”H, it’s a little longer than its competitors’ offering plenty of cooking real estate. For me, who primarily cooks with cast iron both at home and in the field, I was confident knowing I could easily fit two 10-12” pans at the same time. In addition, the Everest Series offered subtle features like a built in carrying handle and matchless ignition which helped distinguish the stove from its competitors. But, most of us probably don’t buy stoves based on looks, size, and design features alone.
Offering two high-pressure 20,000 BTU burners for a total of 40,000 BTUs of bacon cooking power is definitely the biggest selling feature of this particular stove. No other stove in my research offers that much cooking power in such a compact package. Your typical camp stove may offer 20,000 BTUs (10,000 x 2), but I haven’t found a stove around the same price with equal rates. The regular adapter included is meant to be used with your typical 1-lb propane cylinder. With the ability to purchase a separate adapter which can be used with standard bulk propane tanks offers us overlanders and outdoor enthusiast a serious tool for our overland kitchens.
Initial use in the field shows that the burner controls do offer a degree of finesse. I found I could run the stove on more of a “simmer” setting without risking the burner going out and still provide plenty of heat to cook. Cranking the burner controls all the way to 11 let me rapidly boil a liter of water slightly north of 3:30. Of course, operating at this temperature is a great way to burn through 1-lb bottles, but the simmer setting allowed me to operate the stove more conservatively. Having a standard bulk tank would definitely alleviate any concerns over fuel usage.
This stove has accompanied me on 2 weekend trips so far and my initial impressions are good. The stove cleans easily and hardly takes up any room in the rig when packed away. I’ll continue to monitor the finish on its ability to resist build up from cooking as well as the matchless systems continued performance. The wind guards which fold to offer a more enclosed cooking area are riveted to the body and come into question regarding durability.
After I spend a few more months with it in the field, you can expect a long term review. So if you’re in the market for a high performance, compact, $100 camp stove I would definitely give the Camp Chef Everest a consideration for your overland kitchen.
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