Best Overall
Coleman Cascade 3-in-1
Key details
- Weight
- 15.8 lb
- Total Output
- 24,000 BTU
- Cooking Surfaces
- Two burners plus grill and griddle plates
- Folded Dimensions
- 22"L x 13"W x 3.7"H
Two cast-iron plates, one ribbed grill and one flat griddle, travel in a nylon bag that tucks inside the folded stove, and the regulator has its own storage recess. Latched shut, the whole package is 3.7 inches deep and 15.8 pounds. That packaging is the first thing that struck us: a combo whose parts live loose in a bin is a combo that stops coming along.
What made this the pick for us is how many jobs one cooktop does. Bare burners take a stockpot or a skillet; the grill plate turns the same surface into a barbecue; the flat plate handles pancakes for a crowd. Coleman also reworked the knob travel on this model, and there's a low, steady setting below a boil — the place where most camp stoves give themselves away.
Cleanup decided a couple of places in this roundup, and the Cascade does well: the cast-iron pan support and the aluminized steel cooktop lift out, and the plates come off without tools. The cast iron itself is rough-textured, which holds a sear beautifully and holds onto a stuck egg just as well. Scrub it while it's still warm, dry it over the burner, wipe on oil before you pack it, and the plates are the best thing about the stove.
Pros
- Grill and griddle plates plus two adjustable burners
- Rotary ignition lights without a match
- Folds to 3.7 inches in a latched case
Cons
- Premium price for the group
We point most people here: it grills, griddles and simmers from two burners, lights without a match, and folds to 3.7 inches for the trip home.