Fire Maple stoves compared: which one for cooking in a power outage (2026)
Fire Maple makes backpacking stoves first, and its US store has more of them than most households need. We list eight that make sense for cooking when the power is out: small stoves for boiling water, bigger burners for a family's pots, and a flat-pack wood stove for when the gas runs out. This page compares them on fuel and output as listed on Fire Maple's US store, read between October 26 and 31, 2026. Every figure is Fire Maple's own: we haven't tested these stoves. Every one is for outdoor use only.
By Tom Calder · Updated November 1, 2026 · 8 products, all price-tracked
Our picks
Photo: Fire MapleFire Maple Saturn
High heat for group cooking, with an igniter
Photo: Fire MapleFire Maple Petrel G3 kit
A pot-and-stove set for one person's go-bag
All 8 compared
| Stove | Fuel | Burners | Output | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Isobutane-propane canister · 1 · 15,000 BTU High heat for group cooking, with an igniter | Isobutane-propane canister | 1 | 15,000 BTU | $84.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched The most powerful single burner here: 15,000 BTU/h upright on a standard screw-on canister, with a push-button igniter so you don't need matches. Folding supports hold larger pots, and a preheat tube lets experienced users run the canister inverted for more power in the cold. Fire Maple says to preheat properly first, so most people should simply use it upright. Outdoor use only. Best for High heat for group cooking, with an igniter Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you only need to boil water for one or two. | ||||
 Butane (bayonet canisters) · 1 · 7,500 BTU A small butane burner that folds flat | Butane (bayonet canisters) | 1 | 7,500 BTU | $39.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A single butane burner that folds to about the size of a paperback, so it stores easily for outages. It runs on the same nozzle-type butane canisters as most tabletop stoves, and Fire Maple says it boils a liter of water in about four minutes. There's no igniter, so keep a lighter with it. Like every gas stove, it's for outdoor use only. Best for A small butane burner that folds flat Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want to cook full meals for a family. | ||||
 Isobutane canister, or 1 lb propane with adapter · 1 · 11,942 BTU A low, stable burner for a skillet | Isobutane canister, or 1 lb propane with adapter | 1 | 11,942 BTU | $59.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A wide, low disc stove on a remote fuel line, so a skillet or a big pot sits steadily close to the ground. It takes screw-on isobutane canisters, or the green 1 lb propane cylinders sold everywhere if you add Fire Maple's Z1 adapter, which is sold separately. Output is a solid 11,942 BTU/h. There's no igniter. Outdoor use only. Best for A low, stable burner for a skillet Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you need two burners. | ||||
 Isobutane-propane canister (adapter for propane) · 1 · 20,500 BTU Big-pot cooking outdoors on a standing stove | Isobutane-propane canister (adapter for propane) | 1 | 20,500 BTU | $249.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A standing basecamp stove with one burner and two flame rings you can run alone or together, 20,500 BTU/h on a screw-on canister and a piezo igniter. It cooks for a crowd outdoors in an outage. Inverted running for more heat needs proper preheating, and Fire Maple's own manual warns of carbon monoxide: outdoors only. Load limits differ between the page (44 lb) and manual (12 kg, about 26 lb), so go by the lower. It lists no US gas-appliance listing. Best for Big-pot cooking outdoors on a standing stove Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you only need to boil water for one or two. | ||||
 Isobutane-propane canister · 1 · 11,942 BTU A wind-shielded canister stove for bigger pots | Isobutane-propane canister | 1 | 11,942 BTU | $108 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A low, wide canister stove with adjustable legs and two clip-on windshields, which help on a breezy driveway or in the yard, away from doors and windows. Fire Maple rates it at 11,942 BTU/h, between a backpacking stove and a two-burner, with a piezo igniter and a remote hose so a big pot doesn't sit on the canister. Like every stove here it's outdoors only: Fire Maple's page gives no indoor or carbon monoxide warning, so follow Ready.gov's. Best for A wind-shielded canister stove for bigger pots Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want two burners for full meals: pick a two-burner propane stove. | ||||
 Isobutane-propane canister · 1 · 8,530 BTU A tiny stove that copes better with cold canisters | Isobutane-propane canister | 1 | 8,530 BTU | $44.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A 2.7 oz screw-on stove with a pressure regulator, which Fire Maple says keeps the flame steadier as a canister gets cold or runs low, the usual weak spot of canister stoves in a winter outage. It's rated at 8,530 BTU/h, enough to boil water for freeze-dried meals or coffee, and small enough for any go-bag. There's no igniter, so pack a lighter. Outdoors only: Ready.gov says camp stoves should always be used outside, at least 20 feet from windows. Best for A tiny stove that copes better with cold canisters Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you're cooking full meals for a family: pick a two-burner propane stove. | ||||
Isobutane-propane canister · 1 · 9,554 BTU A pot-and-stove set for one person's go-bag | Isobutane-propane canister | 1 | 9,554 BTU | $52.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A stove that packs inside its own 600 ml heat-exchanger pot, with room for a small fuel canister: the same idea as a Jetboil, in a set that weighs 9.4 oz. Fire Maple rates the stove at 9,554 BTU/h. It suits one person boiling water for freeze-dried meals and hot drinks, and it's easy to keep in a car or go-bag. Outdoors only: Ready.gov says camp stoves should always be used outside, at least 20 feet from windows. Best for A pot-and-stove set for one person's go-bag Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you're cooking for several people: a two-burner stove and a real pot do more. | ||||
 Wood, twigs or charcoal · 1 Cooking when the gas canisters run out | Wood, twigs or charcoal | 1 | — | $43.95 at Fire Maple Checked Nov 1In stockCheck price → |
Our verdictOur verdictResearched A flat-pack steel firebox that burns twigs, wood or charcoal, so you can still boil water and cook when gas canisters run out. It packs flat and sets up without tools. It's slower and smokier than gas, with no output figure, and the grate doesn't lock, so pots can shift. Any fire makes carbon monoxide: use it outdoors only, away from doors and windows, and only where open fires are allowed. Best for Cooking when the gas canisters run out Good
Worth knowing
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want a stove you can cook on as easily as a gas range. | ||||
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Before you buy
Pick the fuel first.
Six of these take screw-on (EN417 threaded) isobutane-propane canisters. The Trident takes the nozzle-type butane canisters used by tabletop stoves instead, and butane can struggle near freezing. The Disc can also run a green 1 lb propane cylinder with Fire Maple's Z1 adapter, sold separately. The Maverick burns dry wood, twigs or charcoal, so it keeps working when the canisters run out.
Boiling water, or cooking for a household?
For hot water for freeze-dried meals, drinks and washing up, a small stove is enough: Fire Maple rates the 2.7 oz Polaris at 8,530 BTU/h, the Petrel G3 kit packs a 9,554 BTU/h stove inside its own 600 ml pot, and the 7,500 BTU/h Trident folds to about the size of a paperback. For a family's pots, the FMS-108 and the Disc give 11,942 BTU/h on a remote hose, the Saturn 15,000 BTU/h with a push-button igniter, and the standing Vulcan Dualblaze Pro 20,500 BTU/h.
Cold weather.
Canister stoves weaken as the canister gets cold or runs low. Fire Maple says the Polaris's pressure regulator gives steadier output from cold or part-used canisters, though not a constant 2.5 kW, and that its canister must not be inverted. The Saturn and Vulcan can run their canister upside down for more power after preheating; Fire Maple says to preheat properly first, so most people should simply run them upright.
Igniters.
The Saturn, Vulcan and FMS-108 have piezo igniters; the Trident, Disc and Polaris need a lighter or matches. Store a lighter with whichever stove you buy.
Where you cook.
Outdoors only, at least 20 feet from windows, on firm, level ground that won't burn, as Fire Maple advises for the FMS-108. The Vulcan's manual gives a 12 kg (about 26 lb) load limit against 44 lb on its page, so go by the lower. Fire Maple says to burn wood only where local rules allow open fires, and never painted or treated lumber, plastic or trash.
We verify every product's specifications against at least two independent sources, re-check its US price and stock on a schedule where we can track it automatically, and cross-check safety-relevant claims against official guidance. Every review is labeled Researched or Used and reviewed by us: where we've bought a product, or been sent it free, and used it ourselves, its review says which; where we haven't, our verdict is a considered spec-and-evidence comparison, not a hands-on test. When two products are close, commission can decide which one we pick. A clearly better product always wins. Read our full methodology →
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Common questions
Which Fire Maple stove is best for a power outage?
To cook for a household, the Saturn: 15,000 BTU/h on a screw-on canister by Fire Maple's figure, with a push-button igniter, at 2.2 lb. To boil water for one or two, the Petrel G3 kit, or the Polaris if you'll be cooking in the cold. The Maverick wood stove is a backup if the gas might run out. Use any of them outdoors only.
Can I use a Fire Maple stove indoors?
No. The Vulcan's manual says 'FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY / CARBON MONOXIDE HAZARD', and Ready.gov says camp stoves should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet from windows, never in a garage.
Polaris or Petrel G3 kit?
Both boil water for one or two. The Polaris is the stove alone, 2.7 oz, with a pressure regulator that Fire Maple says copes better with cold or part-used canisters. The Petrel G3 kit adds a 600 ml heat-exchanger pot, with the stove and a small canister packed inside it, 9.4 oz in all. For a go-bag, the kit saves packing a pot; for winter, the Polaris.
Do Fire Maple stoves take propane?
The Disc takes a green 1 lb propane cylinder with Fire Maple's Z1 adapter, sold separately, and Fire Maple says the Vulcan needs an adapter for a propane tank. The others take screw-on isobutane-propane canisters, except the Trident (butane) and the Maverick (wood or charcoal).
What if I run out of gas?
The Maverick burns dry wood, twigs or charcoal and packs flat. It's slower and smokier than gas, Fire Maple gives no output figure, and the grate doesn't lock, so pots can shift. Only use it where open fires are allowed.