Camp kitchen and water

Cooking outdoors is an energy problem with a well known answer. Once you know how many kilojoules your menu needs, fuel, stove choice and cooler size stop being matters of opinion.

Three numbers run this entire topic#

377 kilojoules. The energy needed to take one litre of water from 10 degrees C to boiling. Fixed, whatever stove you own.

334 kilojoules. The energy absorbed by one kilogram of ice as it melts. It is the whole mechanism of a cooler, and it also explains why melting snow for water costs roughly twice the fuel of heating stream water.

45.8 megajoules per kilogram. The energy in canister gas. Divide the first number by the third, allow for the fact that only a third to two thirds of the flame reaches the water, and you have your fuel requirement to the gram.

Everything else in this section is an application of those three: how much fuel to carry, which stove delivers its energy best in wind and cold, how much ice a weekend needs, and where the crossover sits between a cooler and a fridge.

Water treatment is the exception, and the one page here where the stakes are health rather than comfort. It is organised by threat class rather than by product type, because the only question that matters is which of protozoa, bacteria and viruses you are defending against.

Where to start#

Frequently asked questions#

How much gas does a weekend need?#

For two people boiling about 1.2 litres each per day on an upright canister stove in light wind, roughly 100 to 140 g over two days including a margin. That is one 110 g canister if conditions are kind and a 230 g canister if they are not. The fuel calculator works it from your own menu.

Is a heat exchanger pot worth the weight?#

It roughly doubles delivered efficiency against an open burner in wind, so it pays for itself in saved fuel on trips with many boils, and never pays on a two night trip with one hot meal a day. The break-even is a fuel weight calculation, not a preference.

Do I have to filter water in the mountains?#

Clear, fast moving water high above human and livestock activity is lower risk, but risk is not the same as none, and giardia and cryptosporidium are present in remote catchments worldwide. Treat unless you have specific local knowledge, and choose the method by which threats are present.

How much ice do I need for three days?#

For a mid-range hard cooler in the shade at around 26 degrees C, expect to need roughly 1.5 to 2 kg of ice for each kilogram of food and drink over three days, more in direct sun. Pre-chilling the box and the contents removes a large slice of that.

Every guide in camp kitchen & water

  1. 01Camping stove types compared, by what each one is actually good atCanister, integrated, liquid fuel, alcohol, solid fuel and wood stoves compared on grams per boil, cold behaviour, and the one disqualifying weakness of each.Choose a stove by its worst case, not its best day
  2. 02Canister stoves in the cold: pressure, blends and what actually worksWhy butane rich blends quit below freezing, how fractionation weakens the last third of a canister, and which warming tricks are safe and which are not.Fractionation, not just cold, kills the last third
  3. 03How much stove fuel to carry, worked from the energy upWork stove fuel from 377 kilojoules per litre and your real delivered efficiency, with a worked four day example, snow melting costs and a weighing protocol.Efficiency, not fuel type, decides how much you carry
  4. 04Backcountry water treatment: matching the method to the threatWhich method covers protozoa, bacteria and viruses, how long each one takes, and the field routine that stops you recontaminating clean water.Cover the threat present, then avoid recontamination
  5. 05Coolers and ice, by the numbersHow much ice a cooler really needs, worked from latent heat and wall conduction, plus what shade, block ice and pre-chilling are worth in kilograms.Shade and pre-chilling buy more days than a thicker box
  6. 06Camp cookware and kitchen kit that earns its weightPot volume per person, what aluminium and titanium conductivity really change, the lid and width arithmetic, and a break-even for heat exchanger pots.One right-sized pot with a lid beats a nesting set
  7. 07How long does a 1 lb propane cylinder last?A 16.4 oz cylinder holds about 22,200 Btu. Divide by the appliance's rating for its runtime, with a table from 2,000 to 20,000 Btu per hour and the cold limit.22,200 Btu divided by the rating, at full output
  8. 08Where are bear canisters required?Canister rules for nine parks, forests and wilderness areas from their current regulations: where, which dates, whether hanging still counts, and which lists apply.Where, which dates, and whose approved list
  9. 09Is it legal to refill disposable 1 lb propane cylinders?Federal law bans moving a refilled DOT-39 in commerce, not the refill itself. Who that covers, the current penalties, California's 2028 mandate and the legal route.The law targets transport in commerce, not the refill
  10. 10Can you take a camping stove on a plane?The stove can fly, the fuel cannot. Which bag it goes in under TSA, FAA, IATA, Canadian and airline rules, and the 7 hour purge that gets a used stove accepted.The stove flies, the fuel never does
  11. 11How long does a backpacking water filter last?Rated life runs from 250 litres to 378,000 across nine filters. Why the numbers do not compare, and the four signs that retire a filter before its litres run out.Freezing, drops and lost flow end it, not litres
  12. 12Can you leave propane or fuel canisters in a hot car?A sunny parked car reaches the 49 to 52 degrees C limits on propane and canister labels within an hour from about 25 degrees C outside. What happens past them.Above 25 degrees C outside, a sunny car hits the limit
  13. 13How do you tell how much gas is left in a canister?Weigh it and subtract the empty weight: 98 to 103 g for 100 g cans, 144 to 160 g for 230 g, about 200 g for 450 g. Tables by brand, plus a float test.Gross weight minus the empty can, to the gram

Calculators for this topic

Stove fuel calculatorFuel is the one item you cannot borrow from a stranger halfway through a trip.Cooler ice calculatorHow much ice to buy, and how long it survives in your cooler, in your weather.Camp food weight calculatorTurns days, people and effort into calories, then into the grams that land in your pack.