In our comparative test for low-temperature control, the Coleman Classic cooked soft scrambled eggs from raw in 4 minutes. This result was well below the 10 to 15 minutes that the recipe calls for, yet still 2 minutes 30 seconds slower than the more-expensive (and now discontinued) Coleman FyreCadet took. Also, even though the Classic’s eggs weren’t as ethereal as those cooked for more than 10 minutes at home would be, they were still wonderfully soft. Model 9 continued to be the ovenless version of Model 2 above. This Model 9G, in Alex Swanson’s collection, has the same features as Model 2G above except for lacking the oven.
It can be tough to light on cold mornings (think mid-October in Maine), but pre-heating the generator helps resolve that. I must admit that this has not been my go-to backpacking stove for many years. The weight and thirst issues didn’t help, but I was principally concerned by an inability to resupply fuel in many British and some European locations. The amount of fuel I was having to carry, for more remote destinations, made me reassess my options. Full blast is the default on this stove — it wants to fry your chicken in record time. The temperature dials are sensitive at the lower end, which means simmering takes a little finesse, but it’s definitely possible.
The cooking controls were delicate enough that we could crank up the Coleman Classic to boil water and fry bacon or turn it down to poach an egg and create golden-edged pancakes. And your family and friends will be surprised by the quality. Uncovered, the Coleman Classic boiled water in 5 minutes on the right burner and 6 minutes 30 seconds on the left burner. Just love it and can usually find replacement parts if necessary. I like that I don’t need to connect a braided fuel hose to a fuel canister. You can assume it’s safe to use a camping stove after you inspect all the parts, test it outside before your trip, and follow all the instructions.
Our mission is to empower all walks of life to be ambassadors of the outdoors. Read our About page for more information, and check out our gear reviews, trip reports, and outdoor guides. The warping doesn’t affect the function of the coleman camp stove stoves much. But now that I’ve cooked on these Coleman 3-in-1 stoves for a couple of weeks, it is really nice to know that it’s never going to warp. They’re incredibly stable, and they’re unlikely to develop a wobble over time.
The Cascade is a pale green, a throwback to the company’s pre-1960s stoves (and perhaps a nod to Gen Z Green?), with silver latches and hinges. The 1900 series is black with gold latches and hinges, but they are otherwise exactly the same shape and dimensions—25 inches wide, 12 inches deep, and 16 inches tall when open. First, and most obvious, this stove packs in 3 burners into a large cooking space that allows three 8″ pans or two 12″ pans. For me, I enjoyed being able to use one stove and keep multiple items cooking at the same time. The knobs are large and knurled for good texture, and the electronic ignition knob rotates to light the burners. Sometimes the push button kind can get sticky over time and pushing on your camp stove on a camp table sometimes leads to knocking things off when the stove slides.
You’ll appreciate the latch when you use the stove’s built-in recessed carry handle, too. 4.5 minutes seems attainable, but the boil speed is dependent on the type of fuel you have and how closely you monitor your fire. The battery was about half charged out of the box, and we rarely had to recharge it in a wall socket or with a portable battery charger. The stove generated enough power to keep its battery continually charged as long as we didn’t siphon off too much energy to charge phones or run the fan on high continually.