For years I cooked breakfast on one small burner and told myself that was enough. Then I turned 57, retired from dental hygiene, and started spending more weekends at state park campgrounds outside Fort Payne with my husband, Ray. Coffee and bacon cannot share one burner. One of them waits, and the waiting one is usually the coffee.
In the first week of March, I bought the Camp Chef Explorer 2-Burner. I have used it on every camping weekend since, March through October, standing on its own detachable steel legs beside our older Honda CR-V. It runs off a standard 20-pound propane tank through the included hose and regulator. Here are ten reasons it earns the space it takes up in the car.
Stop making coffee wait for the bacon
The Camp Chef Explorer 2-Burner gives you two 30,000 BTU burners, a three-sided windscreen, and legs that come off for the drive home. See today's price on Amazon.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →Coffee and bacon stop competing for the same flame
On my old single burner, I made coffee first because the coffee pot was small and the bacon could wait. That meant breakfast came in two shifts, and the first shift was always coffee. With the Camp Chef Explorer, the coffee pot sits on one burner and the cast iron skillet on the other. I can start the coffee, then lay bacon in the skillet without moving the pot. The first morning I did this, Ray came out of the tent and asked why breakfast was early. It was not early. It was finally on one timeline.
Two 30,000 BTU burners give a cast iron skillet real heat
Each burner on the Camp Chef Explorer is rated at 30,000 BTU, with 60,000 total. I am not going to tell you it heats like your kitchen range, because it is a propane stove outdoors and the wind has a say. What I will tell you is that a cast iron skillet gets hot enough to brown potatoes instead of steaming them. I put the skillet on the right burner, let it come up while I cut the potatoes, and the first batch went in with a sizzle. That is the difference between cooking and waiting.
Appliance-style knobs let me run two different heats at once
The knobs are not tiny brass valves you turn with a coin. They are appliance-style knobs, and that matters when both burners are going. I can set the coffee to a low, quiet simmer on the left and keep the skillet at a stronger heat on the right. I do not have to choose one heat for the whole stove. On a single burner, every adjustment is a negotiation with whatever is already in the pan. Here, the coffee can stay hot while the eggs finish.
The three-sided windscreen keeps a morning breeze out of the flame
Our usual campsite sits on a gravel loop road, and the morning air moves. The Camp Chef Explorer came with a three-sided windscreen, and I use it every time. I fold it into place before I light the burners. It does not make the stove immune to weather, and I do not cook under a tarp or inside the tent. What it does is stop a light breeze from pushing the flame around while I am trying to hold a low simmer. Small thing. It makes a difference in how often I have to fuss with the knobs.
Detachable steel legs make it a stand-alone cooking station
The legs come off, and the stove stands on its own beside the car. That is the reason I gave it space in the first place. I do not have to clear the picnic table and then guard it from every plate and elbow. I set the Camp Chef on level ground, attach the legs, and cook facing the car. The stove is 34 inches long and 14 inches wide, with a 29 inch height when it is set up. It is not tiny, but it is a work surface I can walk around.
A 20-pound tank and the included hose mean fewer small canisters
The stove runs on propane through the included 3 foot hose and regulator. I use a standard 20-pound tank, the same kind people use for a gas grill. I set the tank beside the stove and connect the hose. I do not miss the little canisters that run out halfway through a pot of coffee. I am not saying a 20-pound tank is lighter. It is not. I leave it in the car and carry it the short distance to the stove. For a weekend, it is one connection instead of a bag of disposables.
The 14 inch accessory compatibility gives it room to change
The Camp Chef Explorer is compatible with most 14 inch Camp Chef accessories. I have not bought every accessory, and I am not going to pretend I have. What I like is that the stove is not a dead end. If I want a different cooking surface later, the size is already there. That is worth something when you are deciding whether a piece of gear gets permanent space in the car. A single-purpose stove has to be very good at its one job. This one has a path to a second job.
It makes a two-pot supper as easy as breakfast
Breakfast is the show, but supper is where the second burner earns its keep. I have made chili in one pot while rice cooked in another. I have kept potatoes warm on the left while the eggs finished on the right. On a single burner, one of those dishes sits in a cooler and goes cold. With the Camp Chef, both pots stay on the heat until we are ready. That is not a fancy technique. It is just one fewer thing to time wrong at the end of a long day.
Setup and shutdown fit the way I actually camp
I am 57, and I do not want a stove that requires a ritual. The legs attach, the hose connects, the knobs turn, and the burners light. At the end of the weekend, I turn the knobs off, let the stove cool, disconnect the hose, and wipe the top. The legs come off and go in the car. I have done this on every camping weekend since March, and it has not become a chore I dread. The one year limited warranty is the backing if something goes wrong. The everyday test is that I still set it up without sighing.
It earned permanent space by being the stove I reach for
I gave my old single burner to a neighbor. I did not keep it as a backup. That is the honest measure of whether a piece of gear is worth the space. The Camp Chef Explorer has been my only stove for one season, March through October, on every camping weekend. It has cooked bacon, eggs, potatoes, chili, rice, and a lot of coffee. It is not a backpacking stove, and it is not small. It is the stove I reach for because it lets me cook a real breakfast without a relay race.
What I'd Skip
I would skip the idea that every camper needs two burners. If you only boil water for coffee and pour cereal, a small single burner is enough, and it takes up less room in the car. I would also skip any claim that this stove is allowed under every fire restriction. During a July weekend when the county had a burn ban, campfires were off. I asked the campground office before I lit the propane stove, and they said it was allowed that weekend. That is not a promise for your campground. Ask first. And I would skip using any camp stove in a tent or a closed shelter. This one stays outdoors, on its legs, beside the car.
Coffee on one burner, bacon and potatoes in the cast iron on the other, and breakfast is on the table before the first pot goes cold.
The space is worth it when breakfast stops waiting
The Camp Chef Explorer 2-Burner gives you two 30,000 BTU burners, appliance-style knobs, a three-sided windscreen, and detachable steel legs. It runs on propane through the included hose and regulator. Check today's price on Amazon.
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