Best camping stove for boiling water FAST in 2023

Fed up of sitting around for 20 minutes waiting for your camp stove to boil some water for a much needed cup of coffee?

We feel you.

There are plenty of good camp stoves for boiling water these days, and your choice will primarily depend on three things –

Once you’ve answered each of these questions, you’ll easily be able to pick out the one that suits your needs the best.

In a hurry? Here’s our top 3 picks for the best camping stove for boiling water.

Best camping stove for boiling water

Jetboil Flash

Fastest camping stove for boiling water

Jetboil were always going to make it onto the list weren’t they? But, the simple matter of the fact is the Jetboil Flash IS the fastest camp stove for boiling water in the industry.

It comes supplied with a 1-liter FluxRing cooking cup with an insulated cozy to keep your boiled water warmer for longer. Not only that, but the cup features a color-changing heat indicator to let you know when your water is boiled at the blink of an eye.

One of Jetboils’ advantages over many other stove systems is its large ecosystem of accessories. You can purchase add ons such as a coffee press, skillet, cooking pot and utensils.

They have also developed a pot support adapter to allow you to use your own pots and pans. A nice way of not locking you into their entire product line if you already have your own cooking kit.

One of the only negatives of the Jetboil Flash is its limited fuel type options. It requires use of isobutane/propane mix fuel, though it doesn’t have to be the Jetboil branded fuel, it is still more limiting than some of the other stoves.

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Camp Chef Stryker MS200

Is it really the Jetboil killer?

The Camp Chef Stryker MS200 has been hailed as the Jetboil killer, rightly and wrongly so.

While it’s definitely extremely durable, fast boiling and versatile, it’s a lot heavier and bulkier than the Jetboil Flash. If weight and size aren’t an issue, then the Stryker is very much a worthy Jetboil alternative, but if weight and size are an issue, it doesn’t even come close.

The Stryker MS200 allows use of both isobutane or propane fuel for added convenience and flexibility. If you use a 4oz canister, you can actually fit this inside the cup along with all the other accessories for easier transport.

It comes supplied with the stove, an insulated pot, folding tank stabilizer, lid and a mesh carry bag.

Similar to the Jetboil, Camp Chef have also engineered a pot adapter to support alternative pots and pans, a great addition if you already have some pots or pans you’d like to use with the stove.

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MSR WindBurner

Best for windy conditions

The MSR WindBurner is the only stove we’d recommend if you plan to camp in windy or adverse weather conditions.

As its name might suggest, the WindBurner was created with windproof performance in mind. It features 100% primary air combustion, a fully enclosed design and an internal pressure regulator to make it virtually immune to outdoor conditions.

Besides its major benefits in windy weather, it’s also the second fastest at boiling water, being only 5 seconds behind the Jetboil Flash stove.

The MSR WindBurner is suitable for use with loads of MSR accessories including the MSR WindBurner accessory pots, MSR WindBurner Skillet, hanging kit and coffee press.

While MSR don’t offer their own alternative pot support, we tested the Jetboil pot support on the WindBurner with our own pots and pots and it worked like a charm. It fits perfectly and the pot felt super stable. So if you already have your own pots and pans and don’t want to buy more, the adapter is a convenient alternative.

The main drawback for some might be the fact that the WindBurner doesn’t have push button ignition. However, it can be lit via a match, lighter or MSR’s Strike Igniter (which also doubles as a bottle opener). Don’t be tempted to purchase MSR’s Piezo igniter as it isn’t compatible with the WindBurner stove.

The stove comes supplied with the stove burner, a folding canister stand, a full-sized bowl and 1-liter pot. All of this, plus your 4oz gas cannister stows away nicely inside the 1-liter pot for super easy transportation and compact storage.

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BioLite Campstove 2

Best wood-burning camp stove for boiling water

The BioLite Campstove 2 is a neat alternative to the usual gas stoves. While it’s the slowest at boiling water, it’s still an exceptionally fast time. The only downside is the set up time is obviously longer than that of just lighting up a gas stove.

The small chamber allows for you to use small twigs, pinecones or anything else you can gather together from your surroundings so you don’t have to worry about carrying wood to have a fire!

It also features an internal fan for a quicker and hotter burn, while reducing smoke by 95% in comparison to standard wood stoves.

However, one of the coolest features of the Campstove 2 is that it captures the waste heat from burning the wood and turns it into electricity to charge your USB devices.

It also has its own ecosystem of accessories including the KettlePot, CoffeePress and portable grill. It doesn’t come with any of these accessories however, and requires you to purchase the KettlePot if you want to boil water.

There is a smart LED dashboard located on the front of the Campstove that allows you to assess the strength of the fire, power output to your devices and control the fan speed.

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Optimus Crux Weekend HE

Best budget camping stove for boiling water

The Optimus Crux Weekend stove is a fantastic budget choice, and actually comes in as the lightest stove.

The Crux Weekend HE comes supplied with a 0.95L pot, a smaller frying pan that doubles as a lid for the larger pot, and the foldable stove component. The stove and an 8oz fuel canister fit inside the pot, the lid then goes on top and everything fits inside the supplied drawstring bag.

Once everything is packed down it takes up minimal space in your backpack.

The stove itself can connect to most any fuel canister and fuel type (butane, propane or isobutane) and lights up super easily but does require a lighter or something such as Optimus’ Sparky handheld piezo.

The pot fits nicely atop the foldable stove brackets and remains pretty stable while cooking on uneven ground. The pot handles have a rubberized coating to help keep them cool while cooking (just remember to pull out the handles before you start cooking!).

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