Is Cook Partner the best? Money vs. Quality

[xcmountain80]

Those Partners sure look nice but they would be totally wasted on me. I do two things with my stove - heat water and cook eggs and bacon. More often than not I use a small butane restaurant burner which is dandy for my needs, inexpensive, and reliable (so far). I also have a Coleman 2 burner propane job but have almost never used it as it takes up too much room.

Agreed

 

[Fireman78]

Just a little chime in from the peanut gallery.. I replaced my perfectly good but vey old Coleman with a bright new shiny Brunton last year. I guess I needed something to spend my REI Dividened on. Anyways, I wish I had never done it. The Brunton fell apart after three of four camping trips. I will never buy another stove from that company again. Literally, both clamps, three of the four rubber feet, all GONE. I am lookig at a Partner Stove for my next one. Still missing my ol' Coleman..

 

[IZZYDUSIT]

Just a little chime in from the peanut gallery.. I replaced my perfectly good but vey old Coleman with a bright new shiny Brunton last year. I guess I needed something to spend my REI Dividened on. Anyways, I wish I had never done it. The Brunton fell apart after three of four camping trips. I will never buy another stove from that company again. Literally, both clamps, three of the four rubber feet, all GONE. I am lookig at a Partner Stove for my next one. Still missing my ol' Coleman..

I have a different experience with Brenton- bought their Wind River stove, and had nothing but great results with their customer service and the performance of the stove- You must compare apples to apples- the stuff sold at REI is the same quality as the Colman, century etc.. designed for the occasional camping purpose. When comparing to Cook Partners stove, there are very few to compare , but the Brunton Wind River is my choice!
Yes, costly at first, but for myself, I've learned that cheap sometimes is expensive.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

My problem with all these stoves is the little round burners. I use a griddle alot and I really like / want a proper burner for a griddle. I have three little Coleman exponent 550B for small stuff. I got that idea off another guy on here.

And I use a nice stainless grill I got at Lowes when I returned a bunch of leftover stuff from a room remodel. Here it is: http://www.comparebarbequegrills.com/portable_grills/bbq_grillware_grill.php

It has a big "U" shaped burner. The griddle loves that. And I use this on top of it for the griddle: http://www.midwesthuntersoutlet.com/item.aspx?PID=142684&w=PQ+JDyOLrQE=

Plus I can use it for a BBQ grill where I can't use firewood.

We use the setup at the beach every weekend too.

Still, I'd really like more of an all in one unit.

I've been looking for a nice gas grill for my trailer, and that one looks perfect! Thanks. Available at Lowes in the US for $100?

 

[Ash]

New Model Cook Partner: 12 x 22 inches 2 Burner

Essentially the regular 2 burner with a space in between to allow larger pots/pans (12 inch vs 9 inch). Brilliant. I ordered one of these and mentioned the 'gap' concern to him - they are going to weld on more 'slats' for free.

This model is not yet listed on their website.

Ash

 

[Ash]

My new stove arrived very promptly and I have just gotten around to taking a few photos. As everyone knows, the Cook Partner stoves are extremely well put together and basic so I wont comment on that, but here are a few photos showing the new model I bought (as outlined above).

Cook Partner 2 burner 22" x 12" with screen:

Extra slats in the grill to ensure smaller items remain balanced (I asked for these - not standard AFAIK) with a Le Creuset for scale. The extra width of this unit really really makes a difference. I highly recommend it over the standard 18" model.

The beginnings of my kitchen set-up - CP Stove, Ragasco LPG bottle, Contico Storage Box

CP stove (buried) Lodge skillet, dutch oven etc etc inside Contico - my complete field kitchen box (Great value at $35!).

Ash

 

[Corey]

Very nice.
Where did you pick up the Ragasco bottle?
That is the 11 lb one?

 

[Ash]

It's coming along - and mostly due to the good product reviews of this and other websites

Ragasco Thread: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47102

Ash

 

[cnynrat]

My problem with all these stoves is the little round burners. I use a griddle alot and I really like / want a proper burner for a griddle.

/snip/

Still, I'd really like more of an all in one unit.

We often put a large griddle a across both burners of our Cook Partner stove for things like pancakes, and have found that it works quite well.

 

[Ash]

We often put a large griddle a across both burners of our Cook Partner stove for things like pancakes, and have found that it works quite well.

Which griddle did you get? Partner steel make non-reversable ones, but I grabed a cheap cast iron reversable griddle. It's not the ideal size (it could be slightly bigger) but it does the trick.

Ash

 

[Corey]

Ash, not sure if the one I bought awhile back will fit your new stove, but it fits my Denali perfectly, plus it is a Lodge pre seasoned one, and reversible.
20" x 10-7/16"

https://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/product1_new.asp?menu=logic&idProduct=3943

 

[swb88in]

why isn't the partner steel stove made out of stainless steel?
wouldn't that be better?
I am just wondering, . .

 

[Laps]

why isn't the partner steel stove made out of stainless steel?
wouldn't that be better?
I am just wondering, . .

I think that because it is a heavy gauge aluminum, it is structurally rigid, and for it to be a thick stainless steel it would be prohibitively expensive and heavy.

 

[Roger M.]

There is simply no advantage to solid stainless steel in a portable cook stove.
Posit what stainless might do over aluminum in such an application, and you will quickly see that it will offer absolutely nothing beyond what aluminum offers.

Aluminum is also lighter, and far less expensive ... so stainless comes out as a very poor choice overall for a camping cook stove.

 

[swb88in]

OK, I understand.
I thought Stainless steel was stronger, more scratch resistant and easier to clean so that is why I asked.
I understand about the weight, didn't know about the different qualities of aluminum.

Must be hard to clean an aluminum stove like the PS on the other hand?