Can the well-priced Vango Folding Gas Stove with Windshield and Piezo perform on the hill? As part of her review of the best camping stoves, Judy Armstrong puts it to the test.
The Vango Folding Gas camping stove with Windshield and Piezo is a reasonable example of a remote canister stove and worth considering on a tight budget. It has a large pan support area, and a low off-the-ground height, which both aid cooking stability. Each of the support arms is 55mm long; adding in the wide burner gives a massive radius of 85mm – 170mm across full width – so can safely take large cookware.
The three legs fold out in two stages; I found the hinges between burner body and pan supports became very stiff after a couple of uses and had to be forced to fold back for stowing into the plastic case, although the hinges to the lower leg struts were ok. The piezo clicker is underneath the burner so became hot to touch. The flame control is at the far end of the fuel catheter, adjacent to the caniser connection (approx 35cm from burner). It adjusts by twisting a small knurled knob; this has less finesse than with the wire loops used on other stoves but simmer control was still good. As with most remote stoves using a fuel line, there is a lag of a few seconds between gas arriving at the burner, and stopping once it’s turned off.
The built-in windshield didn’t work; it’s barely 1cm above the burner head and had virtually no effect in breezy conditions. The stove was more efficient with the foil windshield from the Optimus stove. Boil times were notably slower once the gas levels dropped, although it is possible to tilt the canister onto its side to improve flow. The stove packs into a plastic case 110 x 95 x 60mm so is neat and protected in transit.
