Alcohol stoves are simple, reliable, super-lightweight, and cheap. Alcohol stove fuel can be found in most small towns around the world. Because of the many brands out there, we tested the recommended alcohol stoves on the market today. Read on to see which alcohol stove is best for you and some buying advice to help you choose.
Bonus: Learn how to make your own, how to use an alcohol stove, the best fuel types and more.
Table of Contents
Best Alcohol Stoves
The best alcohol stoves are:
- Best Overall Alcohol Stove: WHITE BOX
- Best Budget Alcohol Stove: ZELPH'S STOVEWORKS FANCEE FEEST
- Lightest Alcohol Stove: ZELPH'S STOVEWORKS STARLYTE STOVE
- Most Versatile Stove: SOLO STOVE LITE
- Best for Cooking Over: TRANGIA SPIRIT BURNER
| Model | Weight | Material | Design | Burner Cup Capacity | Average Boil Time | PRICE | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. White Box | 1 oz | Aluminum | Side | 2 fl oz | 20 mins | $19.99 | 9/10 |
| 2. Zelph's Stoveworks Fancee Feest | 0.8 oz | Aluminum | Open | 2.5 fl oz | 6 mins | $17 | 9/10 |
| 3. Trangia Spirit Burner | 3.8 oz | Brass | Side | 3.4 fl oz | 8 mins | $21.92 | 9/10 |
| 4. Redcamp Mini Alcohol Stove | 5 oz | Brass and Aluminum | Open | 3 fl oz | 8-12 mins | $19.99 | 9/10 |
| 5. Vargo Titanium Decagon Stove | 1.2 oz | Titanium | Vertical | 2 fl oz | 20 mins | $34.95 | 9/10 |
| 6. Zelph's Stoveworks Starlyte Stove | 0.5 oz | Aluminum and stainless steel | Open | 1 fl oz | 4 mins | $18 | 8/10 |
| 7. TOAKS Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove | 0.7 oz | Titanium | Open | 2.7 fl oz | 5-6 mins | $39.95 | 8/10 |
| 8. Esbit Alcohol Burner | 3.2 oz | Brass | Open | 2.5 fl oz | 8 mins | $22.99 | 8/10 |
| 9. Vargo Triad | 1 oz | Titanium | Pressure Flame | 1.5 fl oz | 12-20 mins | $34.95 | 8/10 |
| 10. Trail Designs Caldera Cone | 0.6-2.75 oz | Aluminum | Open | 1.3 fl oz | 7-8 mins | $34.95 | 8/10 |
| 11. Evernew | 1.2 oz | Titanium | Side | 2.4 fl oz | 5 mins | $54.99 | 7/10 |
| 12. Solo Stove Lite | 9 oz | Brass | Side | 3 fl oz | 10 mins | $89.99 | 7/10 |
PROS:
✅ Inexpensive
✅ Lightweight
✅ Long boil time
CONS:
❌ Not stable without a separate pot stand
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 1 ounce (0.06 lbs)
- Material: Aluminum
- Design: Side
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 20+ minutes
The White Box Alcohol Stove is our best overall alcohol stove. It holds a lot of fuel and can work to cook for multiple people. This stove can be used without a pot stand, but during testing, we found it works best with one. Though you can set a pot directly onto this stove, it works best with wider pots, which don’t feel stable just resting on this stove. If you’re using a narrower pot we found that the flames licked around the edges a lot and made it hard to grab the pot handle. Bonus points, the White Box stove is made of recycled aluminum drink bottles.
PROS:
✅ Ultralight
✅ Inexpensive
CONS:
❌ Shorter boil time
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 0.8 ounces (0.05 lbs)
- Material: Aluminum
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2.5 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 6 minutes
The Zelph’s Stoveworks Fancee Feest stove is an improved version of the famous and simple cat food can stove. It comes with integrated pot support and wicking material that channels fuel outside of the pot support to heat water efficiently. During testing, we found this stove boils a cup of water in just under 5 minutes. This is about average for an alcohol stove, but we do love how simple this stove is. All you need is a windscreen since it has built-in pot support. We also liked how easy it was to light this stove via the wick on the outside of the stove.
PROS:
✅ Ultralight
✅ Integrated pot support
CONS:
❌ Shorter boil time
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 0.5 ounces (0.03 lbs)
- Material: Aluminum and stainless steel
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 1 fluid ounce
- Average Boil Time: 4 minutes
The Starlyte Stove is another stove from Zelph's Stoveworks. This stove is super light - only half an ounce. And, it has integrated pot support. We like how well the wicking material in this stove works. It made this stove relatively spill-proof and allowed the fuel to completely burn off during testing. This stove works best when only cooking for one since the fuel capacity is only an ounce. But, we found that this amount of fuel was sufficient to boil 2 cups of water at a time.
PROS:
✅ Versatile
✅ Large fuel capacity
CONS:
❌ Heavy
❌ Expensive
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 9 ounces (0.56 lbs)
- Material: Brass
- Design: Side
- Burner Cup Capacity: 3 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 10 minutes
The Solo Stove Lite is a cooking system designed to use wood as its primary fuel source. The Solo Stove alcohol burner is designed to be carried as a backup for when dry wood isn’t available. However, this little alcohol burner will hold its own against other alcohol stoves.
We found this stove works great with the Solo Stove functioning as a pot support and windscreen. It’s a bit heavy for ultralight backpacking, but carrying less fuel can make up for the weight. It also comes with a simmer ring when you want to do more than just boil water. Read our in-depth review on the Solo Stove Lite.
PROS:
✅ Durable
✅ Price
✅ Simmer ring allows for cooking
✅ Large capacity
CONS:
❌ Weight
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 3.8 ounces (0.24 lbs)
- Material: Brass
- Design: Side
- Burner Cup Capacity: 3.4 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 8 minutes
The Trangia Spirit Burner is a brass alcohol stove that is resealable and one of the only stoves to come with a simmer ring. Nice if you actually want to cook with this stove. Compared to other stoves we tested, it is on the heavier side. But this stove is reliable and more durable than many of the lightweight stoves out there. You’ll need a separate windscreen and pot support for this stove as well, which adds to the total weight of this setup.
The Other Noteworthy Models
PROS:
✅ Inexpensive
✅ Flame regulator gives simmer control
✅ Large fuel capacity
CONS:
❌ Heavy
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 5 ounces (0.31 lbs)
- Material: Brass and Aluminum
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 3 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 8-12 minutes
The Redcamp Mini Alcohol Stove is a brass open burner-style stove with pot support that can be used in multiple configurations. This allows you to position the flame closer or farther from your pot to control the heat as you cook or boil water. We liked this feature but didn’t end up using it much during testing. Since the stove also comes with a “flame regulator,” basically a simmer ring, we mostly just used that to control the temperature as we cooked. We loved how the flame regulator was easy to use while the stove was burning, unlike reconfiguring the pot support.
PROS:
✅ Durable
CONS:
❌ Difficult to use
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 1.2 ounces (0.075 (lbs)
- Material: Titanium
- Design: Vertical
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 20 minutes
The Vargo Titanium Decagon Stove is strong enough to stand on and doesn’t require pot support. Trust us, we tried to break this little stove and failed. Though this stove is extremely durable, we found it to be much less functional than many other alcohol stoves. This was the first alcohol stove one of our testers ever used, and he found it very finicky. It was slow to prime the jets on this stove. We came up with several hacks to heat it up faster - a small pile of alcohol-soaked twigs in the center being the main one - but don’t think manufactured stoves should require hacks to work as well as homemade stoves.
PROS:
✅ Ultralight
✅ Durable
✅ Larger fuel capacity
CONS:
❌ Requires additional pot support
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 0.7 ounces (0.04 lbs)
- Material: Titanium
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2.7 ounces
- Average Boil Time: 5-6 minutes
The TOAKS Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove is a simple open-design stove with vertical jets around the rim. We liked that we could start to boil water on this stove before the jets were primed. This allowed us to save fuel during testing and also decreased boil times. Once the stove was heated enough the jets started to work, but our water was halfway to boiling by that point too. This stove does require separate pot support and windscreen, but TOAKS’ pot frame is one of our favorite pot supports for all alcohol stoves.
PROS:
✅ Large fuel capacity
CONS:
❌ Heavy
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 3.2 ounces (0.2 lbs)
- Material: Brass
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2.5 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 8 minutes
The Esbit Alcohol Burner stove is another brass alcohol stove with a threaded lid and flame regulator. During testing, we found that some pot supports got in the way of the handle for the simmer ring. After some trial and error, we did find a pot support device that didn’t get in the way of the handle. We also noticed that this stove and a few others we tested seem to be very similar. We liked this one because it didn’t come with pot support, but didn’t like that it didn’t cost any less without pot support.
PROS:
✅ Durable
✅ Integrated pot stand arms
CONS:
❌ Longer time to boil
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 1 ounce (0.06 lbs)
- Material: Titanium
- Design: Pressure Flame
- Burner Cup Capacity: 1.5 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 12-20 minutes
The Vargo Triad is a compact, jetted stove that includes an integrated stand to hold a pot and legs to lift the stove up off the ground. It’s made of titanium, so it’s very strong. We found this stove to be slower to boil during testing than many of the other stoves. It took a long time (almost 5 minutes) for the stove to get hot enough for gas to shoot out the jets. There are hacks we discovered that involved a smaller vessel of alcohol or some small sticks to preheat the stove, but when compared to other stoves that don’t require this it’s a less appealing option.
PROS:
✅ Fuel efficient
CONS:
❌ Heavier
❌ Less fuel capacity
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 0.6 ounces (0.04 lbs) for the stove | 1-2.75 ounces (0.06-0.17 lbs) for windscreen/pot support (depending on the size of the pot)
- Material: Aluminum
- Design: Open
- Burner Cup Capacity: 1.3 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 7-8 minutes
The Trail Designs Caldera Cone is a fully integrated alcohol cook system. This stove is incredibly small and paired with the Caldera Cone it is incredibly fuel-efficient. We were consistently able to boil a cup of water with barely more than a half-ounce of alcohol. The secret to this efficiency is the Caldera Cone, which is sized specifically to your pot to support it under the pot lip. This allows for virtually no heat loss.
PROS:
✅ Quick to boil
✅ Lightweight
CONS:
❌ Fuel efficiency
KEY SPECS
- Weight: 1.2 ounces (0.075 lbs)
- Material: Titanium
- Design: Side
- Burner Cup Capacity: 2.4 fluid ounces
- Average Boil Time: 5 minutes
The Evernew alcohol stove is lightweight and compact with a dual jet system that creates a robust and stable flame. This stove burns very fast and hot. During testing, we found that it brings 2 cups of water to a boil in just over 5 minutes–that’s almost twice as fast as other stoves we tested. It uses over an ounce of fuel to boil 2 cups of water, though. This is much more than some alcohol stoves, so it isn’t the best for fuel conservation. But if you’re looking for a stove that burns hot and boils water quickly, this is a great option.
Key Factors To Consider When Choosing
Weight
The most common reason to carry an alcohol stove is to save weight. Many of these compact stoves weigh around an ounce or less. In fact, homemade cat can stoves can weigh as little as only 0.3 ounces! To save weight look for options that have fewer features.
The Lightest Alcohol Stoves:
- Zelph's Stoveworks Starlyte Stove
- TOAKS Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove
- Zelph's Stoveworks Fancee Feest
Price
Due to their simple design alcohol stoves are an inexpensive piece of gear. Most models are under $35. More premium options include more features such as windscreens and pot stands. They also are more versatile allowing you to burn other fuel sources such as wood or solid fuel like ESBIT tablets.
Alcohol Stoves that provide the greatest value:
Affordable Alcohol Stoves:
Premium Alcohol Stoves (most expensive):
Boil Time
The shorter time to achieve a boil, the more efficient your stove, meaning you need to carry less fuel. Alcohol stoves that hold a flame longer mean you can heat more water, great if cooking for multiple people. Adding a windscreen to your setup helps funnel more heat to the stove. Open flame stoves are the least efficient, side or vertical stoves are better, and pressure flame stoves are the most efficient.
Alcohol Stoves that burn the longest:
Alcohol Stoves that fastest boil:
Other Things to Consider
SURFACE AREA
The surface area can refer to the size of the flame that is available for cooking as well as the actual surface area to set your pot on. These both vary by model. Some stoves have a narrow design that makes it easy to cook in a smaller cup, while others have a wider design that works best with a larger pot.
STAND REQUIREMENTS
Almost all alcohol stoves need some type of stand that positions the pot above the flame. Some stoves, like the Vargo Triad and the Whitebox, are built, so the stand is integrated into the stove. Others like the Trangia Spirit burner require a separate stand.
SIMPLE DESIGN
When choosing an alcohol stove, look for a simple design that is easy to light and won't break in the field. The fewer parts, the better. Let's look at some of the most popular designs.
Versatility
All alcohol stoves can burn liquid fuels. Options like the Solo Stove Lite, also allow you to burn other fuels like wood or solid fuels like ESBIT tablets.
Capacity
Alcohol stoves that hold more fuel will allow for longer burn times. This can be handy if you’re boiling larger amounts of water, say cooking for 2. Smaller-capacity stoves are more compact and lighter.
How To Make An Alcohol Stove From a Soda Can
In a short amount of time, you can quickly turn an old soda can or two into an alcohol cooking stove. There are a ton of varieties ranging from the simple open can stove to a more complex burner with a simmer ring. In its most basic form, you can cut the bottom off a soda can, pour the fuel into the container, and light it up. For a more elegant design, you can use two cans to create a fuel chamber with a burner.
Just cut the bottom off one can, drill several burner holes in another can, and add some JB weld to glue the two together.
How to Use an Alcohol Stove?
1. Preparation
Find an area completely free of brush and other flammable materials. A flat, surface of dirt or rocks is best for this. If you can’t find an area free of flammable materials, find a large flat rock to use as a cooking surface.
Fill your stove with the amount of alcohol you’ll need to boil water, this will probably be about 1 ounce of fuel. We found that an alcohol fuel bottle with a squirt top works best for filling the stove without spilling.
Fill your pot with water and have everything else you need for cooking within reach. Be sure you have extra water ready to extinguish a fire if something goes wrong.
2. Lighting the stove
Use a lighter, match, or a burning wick like this one to light the alcohol on your stove. Be careful to not burn your hand. If your stove requires priming before you can put your pot in place for cooking, wait for flames to start coming out of the jets.
When the stove is lit, place your pot on the stove or pot support. If you have a simmer ring or flame adjuster, put that in place before placing your pot on the stove so you can adjust the flame to suit your needs.
Now, do not walk away from your stove the entire time it’s burning.
3. Putting out the flame
Once your water is boiling, remove the pot from the stove. Use the stove lid or another metal object to snuff out the flames if they’re still burning, the lid of your pot works great for this. Make sure the stove is completely out before you turn away from it by feeling the heat with your hand.
Now, mix that boiling water with your dinner ingredients and get eating!
Types of Fuel to Use for Alcohol Stove
The ability to burn multiple fuels is one of the best reasons to use an alcohol stove. You can find fuel almost anywhere. What is the best alcohol for a stove? As a general rule of thumb, the best alcohol for a stove is denatured alcohol.
HEET: HEET is sold as a gas line antifreeze, but it actually is methanol. It is inexpensive and readily found at Walmart and auto parts stores, especially in the winter. Methanol is ideal for the shoulder season as it has a lower boiling point and burns readily in colder temps. You have to be careful not to contaminate your cooking pot or utensils with this fuel because it is toxic.
DENATURED ALCOHOL: Denatured alcohol is ethanol with a small amount of methanol added to make it undrinkable. It is cheap and easy to find in the paint department of most hardware stores. It burns hotter than methanol but loses efficiency at colder temps.
EVERCLEAR OR GRAIN ALCOHOL: Everclear or grain alcohol has all the advantages of denatured alcohol without the toxic methanol additive. Because it is potable, Everclear tends to be more expensive than denatured alcohol. It also is harder to find in trail towns and is even banned in some states.
ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (91% or 99%): Isopropyl alcohol, also known as red-bottle Heet or drug store rubbing alcohol, can be burned in a pinch but it is not recommended as a primary fuel source. Isopropyl alcohol doesn't burn completely and will leave some unburned soot residue in your stove. It also is mixed with water which will decrease the flame strength and efficiency.
Alcohol Stove: Pros and Cons
PROS
Are alcohol stoves any good? Alcohol stoves are good if you’re looking to go ultralight, cheap, and simple. They are a durable and foolproof way to boil water.
Ultralight: Alcohol stoves are generally considered to be the lightest type of backpacking stove, which is why they are so popular with thru-hikers and ultralight backpackers.
Cheap: These stoves are extremely cheap and often cost about $20. The fuel is also cheap. It can be purchased from auto stores, hardware stores, Walmart, outdoor stores, etc. Also, as we will discuss below, DIY soda can stoves cost almost nothing to make.
Simple and reliable: Alcohol stoves are fool-proof. They are probably the least likely to fail or "break" because they don't have any moving parts. You just fill them, light them, and you're ready to boil some water.
Good for boiling water: Alcohol stoves may look puny, but they are no slouch when it comes to boiling water. Most stoves can boil water within 5-6 minutes, and some can sustain this boil for up to 20 minutes on a full reservoir of fuel. It's no Jetboil, but it does the job at a fraction of the cost and weight.
CONS
What are the disadvantages of alcohol stoves? The disadvantages of alcohol stoves are they can be messy, less safe, and only good at boiling water, not cooking.
Bad for "cooking": They may excel at boiling water, but alcohol stoves are not great at cooking because they have a fixed flame setting.
The stove is either on or off - therefore, slowly simmering your food is not easy to do. Only a few stoves have a simmering ring, which is a shield that can be adjusted to block the flame from reaching the pot. Also, the alcohol vaporizes. This can be helpful by allowing you to easily light the stove. However, it also means you can accidentally burn your entire fuel supply.
Messy: The actual fuel must be stored in a leakproof container. Traces of the alcohol can often still be found around the lid of the container making it smell in your pack. There is also some clean-up after cooking - usually, this means pouring any leftover fuel back into the bottle.
Less safe: Once set up, these stoves are not the most stable and require some careful handling as you try to balance the pot on the small cooking surface area. Because of this small surface area to cook on, most models require an additional stand to elevate and stabilize your pot.
Alcohol stoves can and will tip over, sometimes with tragic consequences. A spilled alcohol stove is thought to have started a forest fire in Colorado in 2012. Though they won't explode, they do need to be handled with care.
FAQs
What is an alcohol stove?
An alcohol stove is a stove for backpacking or camping that burns alcohol as its fuel.
How to make a windscreen for alcohol stove?
You can make a windscreen for an alcohol stove with aluminum foil. Cut a piece to the length you need to wrap around your pot and double the height. Fold it in half, then wrap it around the base of your pot to keep the wind from blowing out your alcohol stove.
📸 Some photos in this post were taken by Dana Felthauser (@danafelthauser)
650-Calorie Fuel
