Petromax Stove Cup review: just add some natural fuel to get cooking

Petromax Stove Cup: first impressions

A German brand that has been making both innovative and traditional camping kit for over a century, Petromax equipment is typically classy and functional, so I was looking forward to testing out the Petromax Stove Cup.

This is a multipurpose product, in that it can be used like a standard camping mug (albeit a bloody big one, but no complaints from me in that department) or as a flame-fired kettle for boiling water.

Really, though, it’s both of those things and more – it’s a fully fledged camping stove, and it can be used for heating or cooking food from scratch, using easily sourced natural fuel.

Petromax Stove Cup: design and materials

The primary product here is the generously proportioned 750ml mug, made from stainless steel, with a smart brushed finish. The Stove Cup has measurements (in milliliters and fluid ounces) down the side, and a split handle, also made from metal, which splays and sits snug to the side of the mug during storage and when you’re carrying it in your hiking backpack. There is a stainless steel lid (with a wonderfully Teutonic-looking insignia engraved on top), the main purpose of which is to speed up boiling and cooking times when the system is being used as a stove, and to keep the contents warm once they’ve been heated.

The product comes with a steel stove section, sized so it can be tucked away inside the massive mug during storage and transportation. It’s a simple biomass-burning stove, designed to funnel heat towards the bottom of the mug, which sits neatly on top of this hob unit.

The two-part system comes with a neat carry sack which keeps everything contained, and protects the rest of your camping kit from getting soot and fire odors all over it.

Meet the reviewer

Pat Kinsella

Pat has hiked all over the world, his adventures taking him to Mont Blanc, the roof of Western Europe; the Norwegian Alps; the highest peaks in Australia; and New Zealand’s Great Walks – among others. He’s an experienced tester of hiking gear and gives kit a thorough thrashing before reviewing.

Petromax Stove Cup: on the trails

I’ve been using the Petromax Stove Cup while camping, hiking and road tripping for the last few months. Sometimes I simply use the cup as a big tea mug, perfect for a large brew first thing in the morning, having boiled the water via some other quick-and-easy method. However, if you have the time and inclination (which I usually do while camping, when other distractions have been left behind) using the stove is a fun and satisfying way to brew-up or even to cook a meal.

The beauty of this system is that you are almost always surrounded by the fuel required to get it cranking: leaves and dry grass for tinder, then twigs, bits of bark, small sticks, pine cones and so on. Unlike with gas stoves, it’s virtually impossible to run out of fuel. The process is easy: you simply set a small fire and contain it in the hob unit, which funnels the heat towards the bottom of the cup. There are various vents in the stove, for optimum airflow (a prerequisite of a good cooking fire) and there’s a wider hole for adding fuel.

The stove takes a little while to get going properly – as all biomass-burning hobs do – and you do, of course, need to keep feeding the flames, which burn through fuel at a surprisingly fast rate once the system is properly raring. Boil times and heat output obviously vary according to a range of factors, and this style of stove can never compete with a gas-fuelled product when it comes to getting a brew made quickly, but it’s a far more immersive experience.

Realistically, you’re looking at between 10 and 15 minutes to boil around 500ml of water from cold, but that’s once the stove has already got a base of embers. A tin of soup can be well heated within 7 or 8 minutes.

When it comes to cooking on the Stove Cup, the food (and even hot drinks made with water boiled above the flames) tends to take on a smokey taste and aroma, which I actually really enjoy (it’s pleasant, and it makes me feel like I’m properly camping).

It’s quite a large setup to pack and carry around in a hiking backpack, but it’s extremely light (no need to lug heavy liquid propane gas canisters around), and there’s plenty of space inside to stash other items – such as teabags and coffee (it’s best to stick to cooking and food items rather than clothes when you’re maximizing this storage space, unless you enjoy smelling like a bonfire).

The downsides to this system are quite self-evident: although you’re typically surrounded by natural fuel, it can be wet and soggy and almost impossible to get lit. The answer to this is to use the Petromax Stove Cup when conditions are dry, but we can all get caught out by the weather sometimes. If you’re completely reliant on this system for hot sustenance, you’re either going to have to ride your luck, or carry some firelighters and collect dry fuel when you see it.

The other slight annoyance is that, once it has been used as a stove, both the hob element and the bottom of the mug will be mucky and sooty. This is where the carry bag comes in super handy, but I have been very impressed how easy the mug is to clean, inside and out (the quality of the stainless steel seems excellent).

You need to be careful not to burn your lips if you’re drinking directly from the main mug if you’ve just been using it to heat up a drink, but the metal cools down relatively quickly.

Caution is also required when disposing of the hot embers left over after you’ve finished brewing up or cooking. Always ensure you deal with them responsibly, and factor in the possibility that you might not be able to use this stove at all in some places and in certain conditions (in times of extreme heat and wind). It should go without saying (but I’ll write it regardless) that you should never use this open-flame cooking system too close to your tent, and it’s absolutely not a stove for cooking in a vestibule.

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