Coleman II: The Next Generation

     Back in 1996, I purchased the classic Coleman 2 burner stove pictured on the left. Beefy, bulletproof, and made in the USA, it has obviously stood the test of time and undoubtedly will for another 25 years or more. But as we gear up for our big trip, we're contemplating how to make cooking nine weeks worth of meals as painless and easy as possible. This led us to consider our cookware, settling on a a few larger sized ceramic-coated pieces that would hopefully cover all of our needs and be easy-peasy to clean. This decision led to an issue.

    Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. A 6-quart pot next to a 12-inch frying pan wasn't happening, at least not with the windscreens up. Even with them fully tucked away, the cookware was hanging off the sides like the top of an oversized muffin. As we went back and forth over pot sizes and pan diameters, Anne had the bright idea to see if, like everything else in American culture, modern stoves had gotten bigger.

    Why, yes they had! The current version of my old stove had expanded both in width and depth, all while getting a slimmer profile. The burners put out the same BTUs, and still run off of handy propane canisters. The only downside is that these stoves are now, of course, made in China, so we'll be taking a chance on quality control. But check this out:

    That settles that. Still a tight squeeze, but doable. Let's hope this stove stands the test of time, or at the least, survives the summer.

This post is in no way sponsored by Coleman, though if they wanted to send me some free stuff, I wouldn't complain.