Camp Chef Stryker 100
Budget saver
Brand: Camp Chef
Model: Stryker 100
Our take This personal Camp Chef cooking system—an integrated burner and pot—heats water fast and saves fuel (about 30 percent compared to a standard canister model), putting it in a crowded field of similar stoves. What’s unique is the price: $70. With a built-in windscreen and heat ring at the bottom of the 1.3-liter aluminum pot, it can boil a liter of water in just over four minutes. That’s slower than some competitors, but still plenty fast given the price. And you still get an automatic ignitor, a fold-down handle, and an insulated sleeve, and the components pack up neatly inside the pot. Ding: It takes muscle to disconnect the pot from the base so be careful when it’s full of boiling water, and don’t plan on simmering.
Trail cred “Even without a regulator, the stove continued to boil water fast when I was backpacking above 10,000 feet in the Rockies,” says a Colorado tester. But performance does drop off when the canister nears empty.