Camp Chef EX60LW Explorer Camping Stove Review

Bottom Line

The Camp Chef EX60LW is a dream setup for river trips, tailgating, or being a trail angel because it has the power and capacity to cook massive amounts of food.

It is one of the more powerful stoves in our lineup with a wicked flame that can cook a hell of a burger just as well as it can cook a pot of rice. It’s definitely the stove you want when feeding a big crowd. However, out of all of our favorite camp stoves, this one is the heaviest and most difficult to pack.

This stove’s large frame is easy to clean, but it doesn’t fold or compact. The legs are removable (and adjustable), and the windscreen detaches, but the stove still takes up a lot of space in a car. On top of that, you’ll have to make room for a propane tank. This might not be a problem for someone with a truck, but doesn’t work well for a Subaru driver who is also packing other camp supplies.

Despite this, we believe this stove is a great value for someone who will use it in other settings, like at home as a grill or tailgating (Camp Chef has tons of attachments that fit this stove). It is also the stove we would recommend for week—to two-week-long camping trips.

How We Tested

We tested this stove in several different ways. The first was packing it into our car and taking it to camp. At camp, we tested its cooking ability by making a pot of rice and burgers. Finally, in a controlled environment, we timed how long it took to boil a liter of water and measured how much fuel it took to boil this water.

Power

It took this stove 6 minutes and 59 seconds to boil one liter of water, placing it as the second-fastest boil time of all the camp stoves we tested.

We were very impressed with the quick boil time of this stove. After having cooked a full meal on this stove and seeing how intense the flames were, we were not that surprised. With our pot of water on the stove to boil on medium heat, the flames surrounded the pot, licking up higher than the bottom of the pot consistently.

This stove will work great to boil large pots of water or to cook meals for big groups.

Efficiency

This stove is powerful. It has the highest BTUs of any stove in our list of favorites –– 30,000. With great power comes the need for greater fuel. This stove took 3.2 ounces of propane to boil one liter of water. This is the highest fuel usage compared to any of the stoves in our camp stove gear guide.

While we were testing both the boil time and cookability, we noticed how intense the flames were on this stove. It was probably overkill for our 10” pot and certainly for 1 liter of water. For the amount of fuel used to power this stove, we think it would be best used for cooking large quantities of things –– think chili for ten –– instead of a small pot of water.

Cooking Ability

The Camp Chef has an intense flame that yields both a great, even cook and a delicious pot of rice. The flame is fierce and even on the lowest setting we can still see a sporadic flame jump up to meet the side of the pan. The massive flame paired with the large cooking surface (448 square inches) makes this stove perfect for cooking large portions for many people.

With our standard-sized pans and pots, we were worried that the intense flame would mean the stove would have a low simmer ability. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our rice came out soft and fluffy. The boxed mix that we used also had dried red beans—these weren’t cooked through like the rice (other stoves on our gear guide did this better).

We wanted to test how evenly the burners cooked, so we threw two burger patties (in a pan) on the stove. The large flame probably helped, as it surrounded the pan. Both burgers cooked very well with an even sear.

Portability

The Camp Chef is not designed to be highly portable. This stove is cumbersome from the massive burners to the 20-pound propane tank that powers it.

The Camp Chef has removable legs and a removable windscreen. The legs come in a bag to help transport easier, as well. We did like that the fuel attachment stays on the stove so that we didn’t have to worry about losing that piece. These few features make this stove easier to transport, but overall not a top pick for portability.

Quite frankly, we found this stove a pain to pack and get from the car to camp. We use a Subaru to get around to our favorite campsites. Usually, we pack our car to the brim so having a stove that can fold down is important. The Camp Chef doesn’t fold, so we were stuck trying to fit the entire 34-inch length in the back around our other gear. On top of that, the propane tank took up precious space.

When we got to camp, it took three trips to get the stove and all of its accessories (legs, windscreen, and fuel) out of the car. Packing up was even worse. We forgot to make room for the propane, so we had to unpack and repack the car to Tetris everything in.

Ease of Use

This stove was a mixed bag in its ease of use. Though it required some assembling, we broke no sweat putting it together. The fuel was easy to attach to the stove

When we got to camp, we pulled out the stove and set out to put the legs on the stove. They slid right on, which was nice. We felt it was easier assembling this with two people, though. The windshield also slid easily onto the stove.

The fuel line stays connected to the stove and was easy to attach to the propane tank. There is no self-ignition switch on this stove, so you must bring a lighter. Though not the end of the world, we didn’t want to have to carry more things to operate this stove (especially after lugging a propane tank into camp).

Another thing that didn’t feel easy was the intensity. flame. Sure, it was fun to watch and it cooked the hell out of our food, but we felt like we couldn’t turn our back on this stove. On other stoves, we feel relatively safe setting up our tent, playing fetch with the dog, or even reading a book while cooking. On this stove, flame lapped at the sides of our pans and pots even when it was on low.

We did appreciate the stand-alone aspect of this stove – it meant we could keep our camp table clear for cooking prep. Its open design also makes it a breeze to clean, though it leaves nowhere to set our spatula when cooking.

Should You Buy the Camp Chef EX60 LW Camp Stove?

This stove is a great option for a very specific type of camper or stove user. It is marketed for tailgating and this party mindset is exactly where this stove shines. It’s quick and powerful, with the stove space and capacity to cook for large groups. It is great for those who want to set up camp for a week or more at a time, especially with a full propane tank.

This stove is not for the solo camper, small groups, or those who want to pack light. If you have tight space in your car, you may want to consider a more compact cooking set up. If you only cook one-pot meals when camping, this stove will be too much – but for large groups or meals with multiple sides, the Explorer 2 Burner will serve you well.

What Other Camp Stoves Should You Consider?

We chose nine camp stoves that we think can enhance your camp kitchen. We’ve made three more recommendations below, but head over to our full camp stoves gear guide for the full list.

Coleman Cascade 3-in-1 Camp Stove Review: This one also has the ability for a flat top grill, but gives you a slatted grill and a burner, making this a more versatile stove for those wanting to pull out all the camp cooking stops.

Blackstone Original 17″ Tabletop Griddle with Hood Review: This stove speaks to the inner chef in us, plus it can cook a lot of food on its large griddle-top surface.

Jetboil Genesis Basecamp System Review: This stove has, perhaps, the best portability of any of the double-burners we’ve reviewed. The powerful stove and quick cooking make it a true competitor, as well.