Are you tired of being seen at the campsite cooking on a standard camping stove, just like everybody else? I feel your pain, so I scoured the globe in search of something a bit out of the ordinary that is sure to make your camping kitchen the center of attention on your next family camping vacation.

These ten camping stoves cover all the bases when it comes to fuel sources, from conventional propane and charcoal, to the more esoteric hardwood cubes and even your own campfire. Most of these camping stoves are small enough to sit on top of the picnic table, but the two largest models might require an extra campsite just for your kitchen! You can be assured, though, that with the possible exception of the Cobb Portable Grill, which does enjoy a bit of a cult following, you won’t have to worry about some other camper stealing our thunder when it comes to camp kitchen style.

Safari Chef

The Cadac Safari Chef is a modular camping stove with five interchangeable cooking surfaces to handle everything from steaks to stir-fry.

• Fuel source: 1lb disposable LP cylinders
• BTU’s: 7,300
• Size: 20″ x 15″ x 17″

Woodflame Delecto

The Woodflame Delecto doesn’t use propane or charcoal briquettes, but instead uses wood cubes inside a central burning chamber. The 207 square-inch grilling surface is comparable to many of the camping stoves on the market.

• Fuel source: Any hardwood
• BTU’s: 62,500
• Size: 11.5″ x 24″ x 13″

Cobb Grill

The Cobb Portable Grill can be seen in a lot of the outdoor catalogs, here in the U.S., but it’s more popular in Europe. The Cobb is renowned for its unique convection cooking design and people either swear by it, or swear at it for its difficult cleaning.

• Fuel source: Charcoal
• BTU’s: 54,000
• Size: 12″ x 12″

MagiKitch’n

If 12-inches of grilling surface just isn’t your style, how about three feet of pure camping stove heaven? The MagiKitch’n 30” MagiCater might be stretching  the limits of a portable camping stove, but you’re sure to be the envy of the campground with this baby!

• Fuel source: 40lb propane
• BTU’s: 80,000
• Size: 36″ x 32″ x 24″

Freedom Grill

Another relative behemoth, the Freedom Grill FG-100 incorporates a unique hitch-mount system that makes camping with your backyard barbeque a viable option. The stainless steel construction is a real plus and it’s not the thin stuff that you’ll find on regular backyard grills – it’s designed to handle the extra abuse of being driven down the road.

• Fuel source: 20lb propane
• BTU’s: 60,000
• Size: 19″ x 27″ x 22″

Automatic Chef

The Automatic Chef is designed for cooking over your own campfire. An adjustable arm lets you center the cooking grate over the fire and a cable assembly allows for raising or lowering the grate. The grate is attached to a cylindrical motor assembly, which rotates the grate for even cooking. The arm also swivels around the pole, so you don’t have to lean over the fire to flip burgers or remove meat.

• Fuel source: Campfire
• BTU’s: variable
• Size: 22″ diameter grate

TEC Cherokee FR

Infrared is the latest craze in grilling and with the TEC Cherokee FR you can be the first person in your campground with an infrared camping stove. The beauty of infrared grilling is the ability to control the temperature, which is difficult with gas grills. If your idea of the perfect camping meal is ribs or thick cuts of meat, the Cherokee FR is the way to go.

• Fuel source: 1lb disposable LP
• BTU’s: 13,000
• Size: 11″ x 24″ x 16″

Sea-B-Que

Sometimes campers can find some great products in the boating industry and that’s where Dickinson Marine makes its name with a line of portable stainless steel barbeques. The Sea-B-Que has one feature that a lot of portable camping stoves lack, and that’s vertical clearance for taller foods, like chicken.

• Fuel source: 1lb disposable LP
• BTU’s: 7,000
• Size: 14″ x 18″ x 16″

Tool Box Grill

You don’t need a lot of stainless steel and whiz-bang technology to be cool. There’s a different kind of cool – a rugged, masculine cool and that’s just what the Tool Box Grill (charcoal) and Tool Box Grill Pro (propane) bring to the table. These camping stoves offer a lot of grilling space in a compact and rugged package that’s perfect for family camping.

• Fuel source: Charcoal or 1lb LP
• BTU’s: 10,000
• Size: 11″ x 20″ x 9″

m.iGrill

From rugged simplicity to space-age design in a wide range of bright colors, the m.iGrill (link is to Cooking.com – the manufacturer is in China) by Gastar is sure to draw attention from your campground neighbors. And if it doesn’t, you can always crank-up the MP3 player, because the m.iGrill is the only camping stove in this list to incorporate amplified speakers and an input jack. What more could you want?

• Fuel source: 1lb disposable LP
• BTU’s: 8,500
• Size: 24″ x 18″

And there you have it, ten uniquely different ways to tickle your camping stove fancy this summer and create a buzz throughout the campground cookerati. All that you need now is a set of really cool grilling tools, but that’s a story for another day.

See also…

• Propane Camping Stoves for Family Camping
• Coleman Liquid Fuel Camping Stoves
• Top 10 Foods for Family Camping