Camp Chef Stryker

Field Notes: Active Junky testers have been running and gunning with this little integrated Camp Chef system for six months, and consistently-hard use has yet to subdue the Stryker’s flame. All over Colorado, from late fall to early spring, the Stryker has been a welcome addition to our backpacking testers’ gear arsenal.

Pros: The boil time is solid (half a liter in approximately two minutes), and the insulated sleeve works well to permit easy handling of boiling heat. While testers picked the MSR WindBurner over the Camp Chef Stryker, this integrated stove has one major bonus going for it: the matchless ignition system. Especially useful in wet or windy weather, the ignition feature forgoes the need for a lighter, and has worked as advertised for the past six months. This backpacking stove is also much less expensive than the MSR WindBurner.

Cons: Aside from the obvious that plagues nearly all integrated camp stove systems – it isn’t compatible with other pots and pans – there are two things that stick out. It doesn’t seem to be as durable as the WindBurner, and while the ignition system is handy, it could cause issues if it ever were to fail.

Favorite Feature: Surprisingly, it wasn’t the self-igniting feature that got the vote from our testers.  In fact, it was the nesting design. You can easily fit stove, stand, and fuel inside the pot for compact packing, making it ideal for solo trips, day trips and use as a back-up stove on longer trips.

Tester Commentary: “We packed this to the top of a 14er before the sun rose to keep us warm with tea as we waited for the sunrise. I don’t think I’ve ever had people so grateful that I brought a stove along, especially since the trip was only four or five hours long. Usually, people think of stoves as only being for overnights, but when it’s this small and easy I don’t have qualms about toting it on a day trip.”

Bottom Line: A cheap integrated stove system that has a lower price tag than both MSR and Jetboil. This is our pick for the stove with the best value. 

Best for: Backpacking, upgrading on a budget, your first backpacking stove

Key Attribute: Intuitive (Ease of Use)