Head-to-head · Best Camping Stoves

Coleman Cascade Classic Camping Stove vs MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.1 vs 3.9). MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System is best for: Solo backpackers and four-season campers who cook in wind, cold, or at altitude and need a boil that never blows out. Read the strengths below before deciding.

Ranked #5 in Best Camping Stoves

Coleman Cascade Classic Camping Stove

3.9

3 sources$82.99as of Oct 18

The Coleman Cascade Classic earns its budget-benchmark spot on reliability and value. OutdoorGearLab scored it 66 of 100 and called it an affordable, portable, fuel-efficient two-burner; CleverHiker found it upholds Coleman's reputation and even out-simmered pricier stoves on a pot of rice. Boil times are slow and wind resistance is weak. For casual campers who want a dependable stove for a fraction of the price, that is hard to argue with.

Strengths

— Excellent value, a fraction of the price of the premium two-burners here
— Reliable and easy to use, upholding Coleman's decades-long reputation
— Good simmer control that cooked a solid pot of rice, outperforming pricier stoves in CleverHiker testing

Watch-outs

— Slow boil time, around 6 to 10 minutes per liter, the slowest here
— Modest 10,000-BTU burners lack power for fast, heavy cooking

$82.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Higher ratedRanked #3 in Best Camping Stoves

MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System

4.1

3 sources$199.95as of Nov 6

In bad weather the MSR WindBurner is the integrated system to beat. Its enclosed radiant burner has no exposed flame to blow out, and CleverHiker, which rated it 4.6 of 5, called it among the best-performing canister systems on the market after a month of flawless use in Patagonia. Boils come fast and efficiently, and it holds steady in cold and wind. Like its peers it simmers poorly, making it a windproof boiler rather than a true cooker.

Strengths

— Fast, fuel-efficient boils, around 3 minutes 30 seconds per liter in CleverHiker testing
— Locking pot-to-burner interface is secure and burn-protective
— Proven on extended expeditions, including a month in Patagonia without a hitch

Watch-outs

— Limited simmer control, like most integrated systems, so it is mainly a boiler

$199.95 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

How they stack up

Coleman Cascade Classic Camping Stove

Much cheaper than the Camp Chef Everest 2X, Jetboil Genesis Basecamp, MSR WindBurner, and Jetboil Flash, but slower to boil and less wind-resistant than the Everest and less powerful than every other stove here; the value pick rather than the performance pick.

MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System

Beats the Jetboil Flash on wind performance while matching its boil speed, but is heavier and pricier; like the Flash it cannot match the two-burner cooking range of the Camp Chef Everest 2X, Jetboil Genesis Basecamp, or Coleman Cascade Classic.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Coleman Cascade Classic Camping Stove	MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System
Burners	2	Enclosed radiant, pressure-regulated
Output	10,000 BTU per burner (20,000 total)	—
Boil Time	~6 min 39 sec per liter (tested)	~3 min 30 sec per liter (tested)
Ignition	Manual (match-light)	—
Fuel	Propane (1 lb canister)	Isobutane-propane canister
Windscreen	Fold-up side panels + lid	—
Simmer Control	Good	Limited
Material	Alloy Steel	Aluminum
Dimensions	13"L x 13"W x 3"H	4.5"L x 4.2"W x 7.1"H
Type	—	Integrated canister system
Capacity	—	1 L pot
Weight	—	15.3 oz
Wind Resistance	—	Excellent

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