How a Coleman Triton 2-Burner Stove Changed Our Weekend Trips

The old stove quit on a cold morning in May, two seasons ago. I was at the state campground on Keuka Lake, trying to get coffee going before the bass started biting, and the igniter on my single-burner butane stove just clicked and died. I had a lighter in my pocket, so we got the coffee anyway, but something about that morning stuck with me. I stood there on the gravel, watching Terri wait for her cup, and I thought about all the weekends I had spent nursing gear that should have been replaced years earlier.

I build framing for a living. I know what cheap tools cost you in the long run, and I know what good ones save you. That spring I finally got rid of the old butane stove and picked up a Coleman Triton 2-burner propane stove. It was a simple decision, and it has paid for itself about a hundred times over since.

The Triton runs on the little 1 lb green propane cylinders. It sets up in about a minute, lights with a twist of the knob, and gives you two real burners that put out enough heat to boil water fast. For a guy who camps most weekends from May through October, that is the whole difference between cooking and just eating. You stop planning meals around one burner and start planning them around what you actually want to eat.

Terri and I take the half-ton pickup with the bed cap, throw the stove in the back with the rest of the gear, and head out to the Finger Lakes. Most weekends it is just the two of us. Sometimes our son Kyle comes along for the fishing. The stove has been on every one of those trips for two seasons now, and it has never once let us down.

I am not going to tell you it is the fanciest camp stove you can buy. It is not. What it is, is dependable, fast, and easy to live with, and for working people who only get two days a week to actually enjoy themselves, that is what matters. You can spend more and get more knobs, but you cannot spend more and get more reliable.

The week after I bought it, I set it up in the driveway and ran it through a full breakfast just to be sure. Bacon, eggs, coffee, the whole thing. It lit on the first try and held a steady flame the whole time. That was two seasons ago, and nothing about that first test has changed since.

Two seasons of trips, rain and shine, and the Triton has never once let us down.

The first thing you notice is how fast a two-burner stove changes your whole routine. Breakfast used to be a one-pan operation, eggs first, then bacon, then toast on a griddle if there was time. By the time everything was done, the eggs were cold and half the crew at the next site was already on the water. Now Terri runs the coffee on one side while I work the skillet on the other. We eat at a normal hour and we are packed up and on the lake before the sun gets high.

The second thing is the wind. Campgrounds in the Finger Lakes get breezy, especially in the fall, and the Triton's wind guards make a real difference. A stove that blows out every time a gust comes off the water is not a stove, it is a frustration. This one holds a flame and keeps cooking. When the wind really picks up, I turn the stove so the guards face the breeze and it just keeps going.

Cleanup is simple too. The grates lift off, the drip tray slides out, and the whole thing wipes down with a rag. When we get home it goes back in the bed cap with the tackle box and the lantern, and it is ready for the next Friday afternoon when I get off the job site. I do not have to baby it, and I do not have to think about it. That is exactly what I want from gear.

I have run it on the tailgate at the reservoir, on the picnic table at the state park, and on the ground next to the jon boat at the lake shore. It has been rained on, bounced around in the back of the pickup, and packed wet more times than I can count. Two seasons in, the knobs still turn smooth and the burners still light on the first click. The only thing I replaced was the little rubber gasket on the propane fitting, and that is a normal wear item.

The propane cylinders themselves are easy to find at any hardware store or gas station, so I never worry about running out mid-trip. I keep two spares in the bed cap and that covers a long weekend easy. If we are out for the full week in the summer, I grab a few more on the way and we never think about it again.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you were sitting at my kitchen table, I would tell you this. You do not need a wall of gear to camp well. You need a few things that work every single time, and the Coleman Triton is one of them. Buy it once, take care of it, and it will carry your weekend breakfasts for years. I would also tell you to skip the fancy extras and spend the money on good propane and a decent pan. And when the coffee is on and the bacon is going, with the fog lifting off the lake, you will know exactly why I keep recommending it to every guy on the crew who asks.