Compact camping stove for boiling water and cooking food. Essential for hot meals and water purification.
Hot food and drinks dramatically improve morale and core body temperature. A portable stove also lets you boil water for purification — the simplest and most reliable way to make water safe. In home emergencies during power cuts, a portable stove means you can still cook.
Gas canisters are easiest. Solid fuel tabs are lightest. Wood-burning stoves need no fuel to carry.
A good stove boils 1 litre in under 4 minutes.
Built-in windscreens dramatically improve performance in UK conditions.
Carbon monoxide risk. Always cook in well-ventilated areas.
Gas canisters don’t show fuel level easily. Carry a spare or weigh before trips.
A lightweight gas burner with piezo ignition for boiling water and cooking off-grid. A practical way to make hot food and drink when the power or gas is out.
A tiny, near-indestructible screw-on canister stove that boils a litre of water in around three and a half minutes and folds down smaller than a matchbox. A long-standing favourite for its reliability — few moving parts and nothing to go wrong when you need a hot drink or meal off-grid. Use outdoors only.
A minimalist folding stand from Trangia that turns a solid-fuel or spirit burner into a stable cooking platform, packing down almost flat. It weighs next to nothing and has no moving parts to break, which makes it a reliable backup for a grab bag or emergency kit. Bring your own burner and fuel — this is the frame, not the flame.
The Trangia 27-1 is the compact version of the classic Swedish storm cooker: two pots, a frying pan, a windshield and a meths burner that all nest into one bundle. The spirit burner has no jets or pipes to block and keeps cooking in wind that would blow out a gas stove — exactly what you want in a storm or a power cut. Heavier and slower than a gas canister stove, but close to unbreakable and happy on fuel you can store for years.
A stainless steel storm kettle that boils water fast using nothing but twigs, bark or dry grass — no gas canisters to run out of. The double-walled chimney design means it works in wind and rain where a small camping stove would struggle, which is exactly when you most want a hot drink or safe water. It's bulky for a rucksack but ideal for the car, caravan or a home power-cut kit, and the Scout bundle adds a cook set and cups.
A single-burner butane stove that runs on Campingaz CP250 cartridges, giving you a stable 2,200W ring for boiling water or cooking a hot meal when the power is off. It sits flat on a sturdy outdoor surface and packs into its own carry case, which makes it a practical backup for camping and longer winter outages.
The full-size Trangia 25 system: two pans, a kettle, a frypan and a windproof stand that packs into itself, here supplied with a gas burner. It's a proven off-grid cook kit for two people when the power or gas at home is out, or for hiking and camping.
The classic Swedish storm-proof cooker: a spirit burner that nests inside two pans and a kettle, with a windshield that doubles as the pot stand. It is the kit to reach for when the power is out and you need to boil water or cook a hot meal outdoors in wind that would defeat a gas stove. Fuel is cheap methylated spirit you can store safely for years.
A stainless-steel rocket stove that burns twigs, bark and other found wood, so you can boil water and cook without carrying gas or fuel. A useful off-grid backup for when the cartridges run out or you'd rather not store pressurised gas. It also takes a spirit burner if you want a quieter, smokeless option.
A compact pot-and-pan set with a heat-exchanger base that grips more of the flame's heat, so water boils faster and burns less gas. It nests down small and is a sensible upgrade over a bare mess tin if off-grid cooking is part of your plan. Good for a camping trip or for feeding the household on a stove during a longer outage.
Refined liquid fuel (white gas) for Coleman dual-fuel and liquid-fuel stoves and lanterns. It keeps burning in the cold when gas canisters lose pressure, which makes it a sensible backup for off-grid cooking through winter. One litre keeps a liquid-fuel stove running across plenty of meals.
A twin-burner gas stove that lets you cook a proper meal off-grid or during a power cut, running from standard Campingaz gas. The two 2000W burners take normal pans thanks to removable supports, and the frame folds flat for storage. It needs its own gas supply and good ventilation, so it is for the garden or a well-aired space, never indoor use.
An all-in-one stove and insulated cup that boils water fast and, unlike most canister stoves, simmers well enough to actually cook rather than just boil. The burner, pot and gas nest together so it lives happily in a grab bag or car kit. Jetboil is a well-established name and the push-button igniter means no fumbling for matches in the cold.
The classic Trangia storm cooker: two pans, a frying pan, a kettle and a meths burner that all pack into one windproof unit. It runs on cheap, widely available spirit fuel with no pressurised canister to fail, which makes it a dependable off-grid cooking choice. Bombproof and near-silent, it's a genuine buy-once bit of kit.
A resealable butane/propane valve cartridge that fits Campingaz Bistro and Festivo stoves and lamps. The valve design means you can safely disconnect it part-used and store it, which suits an emergency stove kept for winter power cuts. Check your stove takes the CP250 valve fitting rather than a screw-thread or pierceable cartridge before buying.
Eight Campingaz CP250 valve cartridges — the resealable, puncture-proof type used by Campingaz Bleuet stoves and lanterns. Worth stockpiling so an off-grid stove or lantern keeps running through a long power cut or a run of camping trips. Only fits appliances built for the CP250 valve fitting, not screw-thread EN417 burners.
A screw-fit butane/propane gas cartridge from a long-established outdoor cooking brand — compatible with most screw-fit camping stoves and reliable in cooler weather.
Standard butane gas canisters that fit the common bayonet-fit portable camping stoves, blowtorches and burners used for off-grid cooking. Worth keeping a few spares in the cupboard so a power cut or gas outage doesn't leave you unable to boil water or heat food. Check they match your stove's fitting before buying, as these use the push-in cartridge type rather than a screw thread.
Wax-coated wood wool firelighters that catch from a single match or spark and burn long enough to get damp kindling or a stove going. They're a cleaner, more reliable alternative to paraffin blocks and don't taint food the way some fuels can, which makes them handy for an emergency cook set as well as the wood burner. Keep a few sealed in your fire kit as wet-weather backup for a fire steel or matches.
An oversized ferrocerium rod that throws a shower of hot sparks to light tinder, a stove or a storm kettle when matches are damp or gone. The extra-large 152mm rod is easier to grip in cold hands and lasts for thousands of strikes, and unlike a lighter it still works soaking wet. It takes a little practice to get consistent sparks, so try it before you rely on it.
Ferrocerium rod that produces sparks over 3,000°C when struck. Works wet, lasts thousands of strikes.
A lightweight aluminium or titanium mess tin serves as cooking pot, eating vessel, water boiler, and storage container. The original multi-use survival item that has equipped soldiers and explorers for generations.
Long-shelf-life emergency food bars provide concentrated calories when normal food supplies are unavailable. Compact, calorie-dense, and requiring no preparation or water to consume.
How to build and maintain an emergency food supply using readily available UK supermarket products — covering shelf life, calorie planning, storage conditions, and rotation strategies.
A step-by-step guide to building a kit that will sustain you and your family for 72 hours during any emergency.
Practical, proven methods to keep yourself and your family warm when the heating fails during a British winter — from layering techniques to emergency heat sources.
