Customer Reviews

Coleman 2-Burner Fold 'N Go InstaStart Stove

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've never been a fan of propane stoves. They always seemed flimsy, made for those toy-sized backpacking pots and pans and potentially dangerous - until now. After two weeks of RV-ing, the Fold 'N Go has become a welcome addition to our set up.

It is very sturdy and seems extremely well made. The wide separation of the two burners and heavy-duty pot supports allow for two large, heavy fry pans and/or stock pots at one time. Few stoves of any kind can handle simultaneous large pots. And it seems very stable when set on a table.

And because it folds in half and becomes its own carry-case, even though it handles such large tasks, it's easy to carry and takes up very little storage space. It also has an instant start feature - you just turn the nob and then press a button and that's it. You're ready to cook.

And after you're done, clean up is a snap. Unlike other stoves where you have to take them all apart to try and get at that nasty, spattered grease, this one is pretty much all sealed - just take the pot supports off, wipe off underneath, flip the pot supports over to store inside and then Fold 'N Go!

It's great to get cooking moved outside the RV - especially for things like frying bacon or cooking anything that gives off a lot of steam. And because our meals seem to entail usually one or the other, we plan on getting an extension hose off our main propane tank to run this frequently in the future.

This replaced an old 2-burner fold-up box grill. If you value portability this is definitely worth getting.
PROS:
- Very compact when folded, easy to carry, assemble, store.
- Cooks food quickly, even in mild winds.
- Instant ignition works well.
- Wider grates allow for bigger pans (though due to having no wind screens)
CONS:
- A wind screen would be nice, but you can always put something nearby instead.
- Dials are mostly 'full-on', so it's hard to turn down to a simmer without extinguishing the flame.. but it is do-able.

This very simple stove simply provides two real-sized burners in a folding, very portable package. I have only used this thus far through one campout, but was very pleased with it in all aspects. The burner grates were beefy enough to hold the heaviest cast iron cookware, and the full-size burners gave plenty of room to work with. And when you are done, the whole thing folds up like a waffle iron (though, as with any propane stove, you're still carrying a tank/tanks of fuel). The instant ignition is great, but I've heard that it's not very durable, so we'll see how it's working a year from now.

I really wanted to like this thing. It's pretty, and the design is clever. Bought it because I wanted something more compact than my old, finicky 2-burner white gas stove. I liked the folding design, easy ignition, simplicity of propane fuel, claim of consistent performance even when fuel is low.

Day one of a 3-day trip, fuel bottle 80% full, stove roared to life easily, cooked hot. Valve very touchy, couldn't open it more than 1/6 of a turn w/o overheating. By day 3, bottle 25% full, opened the valve 2 complete revolutions and still the flame wasn't hot enough to cook a pancake. My daughter, who usually likes my pancakes, was unimpressed to say the least.

Reasons: 1) lack of windscreen. With even a light breeze, the heat just blows sideways. 2) very high pot support. Distance from burner to pot more than double that of other stoves. Exacerbates problem #1. 3) poor regulator.

I took the stove back to the store and swapped for a less expensive Century model. Using the same depleted fuel bottle that didn't have enough pressure remaining to brown a pancake on the Coleman, I cooked a whole batch of pancakes with the Century--AFTER boiling water for rice. Saved enough $$ on the exchange to buy a large refillable propane tank. Now I'm a happy camper.

BTW, before you buy any stove that uses disposable fuel bottles, think about how you will get rid of them. Especially if it's a product like this, which renders the last 25% of your fuel virtually useless.

Bought one of these a few weeks ago. I tested it by making coffee in a percolator, cooking a roast and vegetables in a pressure cooker, then cooking pinto beans in the pressure cooker and turning them into refried beans in a frying pan. All these required fairly precise temperature control; high to get it hot as quickly as possible then low to do the cooking. I could easily control the temp to let the pressure cooker gently rock the weight so that I could do the cooking as efficiently as possible. It was mildly windy that day so I had to fashion a windscreen out of a lawn chair to keep the temp consistent. I had no issues with the potholders for any pan size. The burners do have a slight tip toward the center but not enough to cause any problems. I did all this cooking with one 16-oz propane bottle which had some left over when I was done.

Its now over a year later. This thing has been on my patio the whole time connected to a 20 # propane tank (except when I take it camping). I make coffee and other stuff at least twice a week. The only problem I've had is a symptom of low gas pressure after the stove has been lit for a few minutes. This has only happened two or three times and the fix is always to disconnect the LP hose and blow out the connections. I suspect there's occasionally some contamination in the fuel causing this. Other than this the stove still works like new.

Have used this stove several times and am in love with it! Love the way that you can fold it up when it is not in use. Lots of firepower, too. I would reccomend this stove to anyone.

this is absolutely wonderful. it is light weight, super easy to use, and very effective. it does not simmer too terribly well, but other than that it is fantastic. This is an excellent car camping stove. we even took it backpacking. a little bulky for backpacking. easy for my daughter's scout troup to use.

I am not a camper but was asked to go to girls' camp. I bought the Fold 'N Go InstaStart Stove because fires were not allowed, thank goodness, I hate to smell like smoke. I was so impressed with it! It is very compact when closed and when opened, has two burners that will accommodate two large pans. It takes only seconds to turn on---turn the knob, press the igniter button and it's on! It is cute and not clunky like the old green type camp stoves. It was a smart purchase. You will love it, too.

This stove is worth every penny. It has a lot of burning power and is relatively efficient with the gas. It cleans easily and packs away nicely. My only complaint is that the burner guards could be better secured.

A bit heavy, imo, for the backpack, but perfect for the tailgate, or for living quarters. Neatly folds up into a self-contained package. May be attached either to 16.4 oz propane cannisters or 5 gallon or larger tanks. The grill tops are huge - larger in circumference than standard stove-top coils, copious. The burners are powerful and can be smoothly adjusted through a continuous range of medium to low flame. The unit is solidly constructed and the design is the current state of the art for large portable stoves.