Before anything else on this page: never light a stove inside a tent, a vestibule, a van or any other enclosed space. Cook in the open air and follow the instructions that come with the stove. Nothing below changes that.
With that settled, the buying decision is simpler than the marketing suggests, because the number printed largest is the one that tells you least.
The wattage problem
Every gas stove here publishes an output figure. The SOTO states 3,260 W. Elfmonkey states 2.2 kW with a gas consumption of approximately 160 g (5.6 oz) per hour. Campingaz states 2,200 W. Green Camp states 2.1 kW with approximately 155 g (5.5 oz) per hour. Z.M.C states two burners of 2.0 kW each, also at 155 g (5.5 oz) per hour. The WiKa alcohol burner states approximately 1,200 W.
Now the part that matters: not one of these listings publishes a boil time, and not one publishes the volume of water any boil time would refer to. Output is a rate of energy leaving the burner. Time to boil is what you actually experience, and it depends on the pot, the lid, the wind, the starting temperature of the water and the altitude, none of which appear on a product page.
Where a listing gives grams per hour alongside the watts, that pair is more useful than either alone: it tells you roughly how long a 227 g (8 oz) cartridge lasts at full output, which is a planning figure you can act on.
The fitting, which is the decision that lasts
Three incompatible systems appear on this shelf, and choosing between them is choosing where you can buy fuel.
Screw-on canisters to the Lindal valve standard. The SOTO takes these, and its listing names the standard. It also states butane, isobutane and propane mixes and states that it is not suitable for 100 per cent propane. This is the international backpacking fitting: light, widely stocked in outdoor shops, and the one to choose if the stove goes in a pack.
MSF-1a bayonet cartridges, in the 227 g size. Green Camp names the bayonet valve and states that the supplied cartridges meet EN 417. EVOCAMP names MSF-1a 227 g in its title and its bullets. Elfmonkey names MSF-1a and ES-01 together. Z.M.C names MSF-1a 227 g and holds two of them at once, one per burner. This is the supermarket and hardware-shop fitting across much of Europe, and it is why these stoves ship with cartridges by the boxful.
A proprietary cartridge. Campingaz states compatibility with its own CP250 cartridge. Its listing does not describe that fitting as an EN 417 screw thread or as an MSF-1a bayonet, so read it as its own system: excellent if that brand is already what your local shop stocks, awkward if it is not.
No cartridge at all. The WiKa is an alcohol burner. There is no fitting, no valve and no igniter; it burns ethanol, alcohol, spirit and alcohol-based liquids, and it needs a pot stand or a stove body you already own.
Weight, and who is actually carrying it
The SOTO states 81 g (2.9 oz) for the stove, with the canister not included and the supplied stuff sack not weighed separately. It also states a packed size of 3.9 x 3.9 x 7.2 cm (1.5 × 1.5 × 2.8 in) and a pot support 10.6 cm (4.2 in) across the outside of a four-arm folding stainless steel spider. That combination — a labeled weight, a packed size and a pot support width — is the fullest set of carrying figures on this shelf.
The WiKa is lighter still, and its listing is candid about being two different numbers: 23 g (0.8 oz) in the title and about 25 g (0.9 oz) in the maker’s own bullet, both for the burner alone, neither labeled trail or packed.
EVOCAMP states 1.5 kg without saying whether that covers the stove alone, the stove in its case, or the stove with a cartridge fitted. Elfmonkey publishes dimensions instead — 340 x 119 x 285 mm for the stove itself, with the carry case included and not dimensioned. Campingaz, Green Camp and Z.M.C publish no weight at all.
That is the honest division of this family. One stove is designed to be carried and publishes carrying figures. The rest are designed to be lifted from a boot to a table, and their listings behave accordingly.
Only two listings here answer the question people ask after the stove arrives.
The SOTO states 10.6 cm (4.2 in) across the pot support, which is a backpacking figure: it suits a narrow pot and it will not steady a wide frying pan. The Magnum stove elsewhere on this site states cookware up to 22 cm (8.7 in) in diameter, which is the other end of the same measurement.
If you already own a pan, this is the number to look for, and it is missing from most of the shelf.
Ignition and regulation
Piezo ignition is close to universal here — Campingaz, Elfmonkey, EVOCAMP, Green Camp and Z.M.C all state it, and the SOTO states a stealth piezo built into the burner shaft and worked by a push button. The WiKa states no igniter at all, which is normal for an alcohol burner.
Pressure regulation is rarer and it is worth having. EVOCAMP states an integrated pressure regulator described as keeping the stove running stably. Z.M.C states a pressure regulator alongside stepless flame adjustment. A regulator is what keeps output steady as a cartridge empties and cools, and only those two listings name one.
Which stove for which trip
The SOTO if the stove goes in a pack. Eighty-one grams, a known packed size, and the fitting that is stocked wherever walkers shop.
Green Camp if you want the cartridge standard spelled out and a season of fuel in the same box.
EVOCAMP for the pressure regulator and the named cartridge, in a case.
Elfmonkey if you want the stove dimensioned before it takes up space in a boot.
Campingaz if that brand’s cartridges are already what your shop sells.
Z.M.C for a fixed camp kitchen where two pans run at once.
The WiKa if you already own a pot stand and want the lightest possible burner to sit in it.
And whichever you choose: outside, always, with the instructions read.
