June 23, 2008
Bringing Back the Coleman Stove
Coleman 2-Burner Compact Gas Stove
It's as All-American as a hot dog - The Coleman Stove. My family had one when I was a kid and I recall using it on my first "on my own/without family" camping trip as a college student to Martha's Vineyard and the rugged coast of Maine. Then, somewhere along the way, it disappeared. I am not sure if another sibling absconded with it or if it just got lost/tossed in subsequent moves to other homes. Regardless, I never fully appreciated it back then.
As I have started to become Minnesota, I moved on to purchasing a smaller, lightweight portable single-burner stove. The kind that can be carried in a backpack. But every now and then, there is a need for a larger, more durable stove that can safely carry the weight of a big pot of water or handle two pots at one time. Our recent camping trip to Afton State Park confirmed the utility of the two-burner Coleman stove on car camping trips.
Fast forward to this weekend on a trip to Williston, North Dakota to visit HW's extended family. This town now has the catchy phrase - Rockin' the Bakken - to entice folks to move there to work in the oil industry. Despite such marketing, it will always be a small town in a remote corner of North Dakota.
And such small towns means (or equals) great deals at yard sales. Driving around the downtown area, we stopped at a yard sale. My eye had caught a Coleman stove for sale. I immediately walked up to it, assessed its condition (like brand-new!), and paid for it with a crisp $10 bill. Ten dollars! What a steal. Perhaps only in Williston.
Can't wait to use it on our next car camping trip....
UPDATE: A helpful YouTube video on how to use the 425E version. By the way, the purchased stove was made 30 years ago in October of 1978. Sweet.