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Camp Chef Mountain Series Review
By admin | October 21, 2009
Typically, I would say my place is behind a large stove and cooking for a group for the sheer impressiveness of the feast. However, when space is limited and the needed cooking quantity is smaller, I have found Camp Chef’s new Mountain Series stoves to be a perfect solution. While I enjoy the social gathering and cooking atmosphere, there are plenty of times when my wife and kids and I will take a short and quiet weekend trip up the canyon. I usually take along my Camp Chef Pro60 two burner for these excursions, but I decided to break with tradition and get a good feel for the new Mountain Series stoves. We were given some samples from Camp Chef and I took the Teton and Denali models for a test drive last weekend.
Most Camp Chef fans know by now that a typical Camp Chef stove can pack a punch full of heat with their classic 30,000 BTU output burners. The Mountain Series stoves, while scaled down, still deliver plenty of cooking heat from 8,000 to 12,000 BTU depending on the stove and type of burner. For reference, the average in-home range stove cooks at between 7,000 and 9,000 BTU (approx. 2,300 watts). When cooking outside a greater output is often needed to offset the weather conditions like cooler temperatures or wind. So, from pure numbers I would assume that the Mountain Series stoves, small though they may be, should cook at least as good as my home stove if not a bit better. Now it’s time for the real test. Let’s Cook!!
Teton Two Burner
The first morning I tried out the Teton stove with the 20″ Fry Griddle. Coming from the quantity cooking background, my two concerns were space and speed. At this point, I was already sold on the light weight of the stoves. Cooking for five was easier than expected and everybody’s taste needs were met in one shot. Twenty inches on the griddle was plenty of room to cook for the whole family. As for speed, my expectations were exceeded yet again. I was able to whip up a simple breakfast cooked just right within a few minutes. Hot spots also seemed to be a non-issue. The two burners seemed far apart and I expected the middle of the griddle to stay cooler than the rest. Heat distribution stayed even throughout the cooking. Three sided wind protection kept the soft morning breeze from causing any problems and nothing stuck to the seasoned steel on the griddle making for a very easy cleanup. For a small stove, I must say that the Mountain Series Teton was a pleasant surprise in providing ease and efficiency. I will definently be adding it to my regular cooking gear list.
Denali Two Burner with Grill Combo
Having already experienced the Teton, I went to cook on the Denali knowing what to expect. One item of business still to be handled was how efficient the Mountain Series stoves would be at boiling liquids. I used the left burner to cook some regular beans, the grill to cook some vegetable and meat kabobs, and the right burner to boil water for some promised after dinner hot chocolate. Of course, the kids opted for some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches rather than look at the vegetables; so my wife and I got to savor all of the good stuff. The water pot was boiling in an instant. I had the burner turned up on high and was impressed with the speed at which the Denali could heat up the water. I actually removed it and set it aside for heating up after everyone had finished eating. The beans, being thicker, heated a little slower than the water but quickly nonetheless.
We had 4 kabobs (since the kids didn’t want them) and had enough space on the grill to cook two at a time. This worked great since both me and my wife wanted seconds, we cooked the remaining two while we ate the first helping. The grill on the Denali is a lower output at about 5,000 BTU. This equates to approximately a medium-high setting on your in-home range. I had cooked breakfast on 12,000 BTU burners so I was expecting a faster cook on this grill. Depending on what is cooking, 5,000 BTU is plenty of heat, just be aware of it. The lower heat did allow me more control of how “done” the kabobs were and the length of the cook time was comfortable.
The Mountain Series Teton and Denali are excellent camping stoves. Emergency preparedness is another area in which I can see these stoves being extremely useful. At their low cost and efficient propane usage, an emergency causing long lasting power outages can be made much easier if there are cooking facilities like these stoves available. Camp Chef has chosen a great product to add to their lineup at a fair price compared to other manufacturers. Try out one of these stoves and let us know if you agree.
Topics: General Discussion | 2 Comments »
October 21st, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Great review!! Thanks for letting us know what to expect with these stoves. I love Camp Chef and am happy they are doing these light weight stoves.
June 21st, 2010 at 2:18 am
Good review. How would say these compare to Coleman camping stove series?