www.vango.co.uk | £27.50
The standard Folding Gas Stove from camping equipment giant Vango has long been a favourite in the Adventure Travel offices. At a very reasonable price you got a solid, tough and extremely stable free-standing stove. We’ve now got the Folding Gas Stove with Piezo to try out which, as you might have guessed from the name, is essentially the same as the standard model, but with a Piezo ignition so that you can get it going without a match or lighter.
As with the standard model, the Folding Gas Stove with Piezo has a low centre of gravity and very large pot supports. This provides an incredibly stable base to cook from, even when using a large pot. The legs fold out to further stabilise the base and all of the moving parts feel well made and sturdy. The Piezo lighter is a great addition and works, more often than not, on the first click, saving you the hassle of having to root around in your bag for a lighter (it’s still best to bring one with you as backup in case a Piezo fails, no matter which stove you opt for).
The stove is fed via a 35cm fuel line which easily connects to a screw-top gas canister, and once lit there’s a nice level of heat adjustment to play with, allowing you to get a simmer or a roaring boil if need be. It took 3.5 minutes to boil half a litre of water, which is fairly respectable. The stove comes with a brilliant, plastic storage box that keeps it neatly together while protecting it from damage.
There’s no denying that, just like the standard Folding Gas Stove, this is an excellent buy for low-level camping. The Piezo model costs just £2.50 more than the standard model, so to me it’s definitely worth going for the Piezo version.
Vango Folding Gas Stove with Piezo Verdict
The Vango Folding Gas Stove with Piezo is steady as a rock, a great stove.