For the longest time, I never had my own real camp stove. I’d cook things over my little Snow Peak Litemax, praying that the wind wouldn’t blow the stove over. When Primus introduced the Tupike stove at Outdoor Retailer several years ago, I wanted one. Stoves could be aesthetic, and functional? I couldn’t believe it. After lugging the Primus Tupike Stove around for the last few years, here’s how it’s been faring.
True to Primus’ design ethos, the Tupike Stove is both beautiful and functional. With a stainless steel body and thin strips of oak running across the top, this stove elevates any camp kit.
The bottom of the stove has two metal legs, if you want to raise it up to be more ergonomic, or if space is a premium.
A handle locks the lid shut at 180° (in line with the stove) or at 75ish° (pushed back against the stove body). At 90°, the handle unlocks so the stove opens. This allows for easy carry.
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The gas line tucks nicely under the stove and is locked in via the two metal legs pictured above. I don’t trust the legs on the Primus Tupike Stove. It’s stable enough on its stilts, but not stable enough for me. I usually fold the legs back in after taking out the gas line, and sit it on whatever flat surface is available, usually a cooler, back of the car, or picnic table.
The Tupike Stove primarily runs off of propane. Got a bunch of fuel cans lying around from backpacking trips? The Tupike Stove has an attachment to run off of those. (I’ve lost mine though, I think.) I typically always have propane in my camp kit, so this isn’t very useful.
This Primus Stove has two burners, each equipped piezo ignition. (If you’re unfamiliar, it’s the click-y fire starter thing.) Each burner is independently adjustable for cooking your noms at the right temperature.
The drip tray and the cooking grid are removable for easy cleaning. (Gross, but I finally cleaned my stove for the first time ever this year, after having it for 3 years.)
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The Tupike Stove weighs 9.1 pounds with dimensions of 18.7″ x 11.6 x 3.2″. This is smaller than the standard Coleman 2-burner propane stove by about 6 cubic inches.
Wind flaps, one on each side of the stove, deploy to help keep debris from flying into your food when it’s windy out. They tuck flush into the lid. The wind flaps don’t snap into place, or stay in one spot (like the generic Colemans). If it’s windy, these are flapping all over the place. I don’t really use them.
The Tupike Stove can fit up to a 12″ diameter pan on either burner. (Above is an 11″ pan.) Having two simultaneously is a tight squeeze, but do-able. I generally don’t do this because I only have one pan (and a small pot) in my camp kit.
The Tupike Stove comes with a griddle plate, but I’ve since lost that because it’s not super useful to me.
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This stove is quite temperamental in cold weather. I’ve had this stove malfunction on me while climbing in Bishop in the winter. The gas just shuts off while cooking, or won’t flow through the line at all. This is pretty problematic when I’m the road because I’m on a budget, hungry, cold, and I just want to go to bed. In the winter, I usually end up using a Coleman stove, which is bigger, clunkier, less beautiful, but reliable.
This past summer, the stove has become more finicky. I can only adjust the flame on the left burner. The right one remains a steady, low flame, no matter how much gas I let in.
Would I buy the Tupike Stove?
Probably not. I have it because it was sent to me for review. It’s beautiful and looks nice in photos. For $250, I expect this stove to work without a hitch 100% of the time, not just in warm weather. I spend a lot of time freezing in the desert in the winter.
I take this out with me because it’s the only stove I have now. If it continues to malfunction (a girl gets hangry), it will most likely be banished to the back of my gear closet, in favor of a no-frills, but reliable Coleman stove. If you’re asking me if you should buy it, don’t do it and spend your extra change on more climbing gear.
Buy the Primus Tupike Stove from REI, CampSaver, or Amazon for $249.95.
The Primus Tupike Stove was sent to me for review. This post contains affiliate links.
