WHY I CHOSE IT
The job it needed to do
I wanted a practical outdoor stove that did not ask the Jackery to handle ordinary meal preparation. I like this stove, and having two independently adjustable burners is useful when I am cooking at camp.
HOW I USED IT
What it looked like at camp
I have used the Coleman for actual camping and outdoor cooking. Setup was easy, and I cleaned the stove after every use. Its built-in wind baffles were useful at camp.
The Coleman has a larger footprint than the small single-burner butane stove I used before. That compact stove could fit on the cupboard drop-down surface in my van, but this two-burner stove is too large for that particular space. That is a practical space consideration for a compact van, not a criticism of how the Coleman cooks. I still like the stove.
The Coleman Matchlight does not have self-ignition or piezo ignition. It requires a match or external lighter, which is an important detail to remember when packing for camp.
WHAT I NOTICED
The part a product box cannot tell you
I was very pleased with it. Cleanup was easy, and propane use seemed modest during this particular trip. After six days, the canister I had been using still contained plenty of fuel. That is my field observation, not a manufacturer efficiency claim or an exact consumption measurement.
Cooking with propane left the stored electrical power available for other needs. When weather or circumstances made outdoor cooking impractical, I could use my electric pot inside the van to heat water, and I found that it did not require much stored energy.
Product Specs
Verified Coleman product information supplied by Jo.
Product Specs
- Brand
- Coleman
- Product
- Matchlight 2-Burner Propane Stove
- Fuel
- Propane
- Type
- Outdoor two-burner camping stove
- Construction
- All-metal construction
- Burners
- Two adjustable burners
- Each burner rated at 10,000 BTU
- Total burner output: 20,000 BTU
- Controllable from simmer to full output
- Regulator
- High-pressure regulator helps provide constant flame/output regardless of weather conditions
- Wind protection
- Wind gates/baffles help shield the flame from wind
- Cooktop
- Aluminized or nickel-chrome cooktop
- Grate
- Removable nickel-chrome-plated grate for easier cleaning
- Runtime on high
- Approximately 1.1 hours from a single propane cylinder with both burners on high
- Runtime on low
- Up to approximately 4.5 hours when burners are kept on low
- Ignition
- No self-ignition or piezo ignition; a match or external lighter is required
WOULD I KEEP IT IN MY SYSTEM?
Yes.
I like the stove. It gave me a practical two-burner cooking option that preserved stored electrical power while leaving electricity available when outdoor cooking was inconvenient.