Advantages: Small, portable, high heat (but controllable), reliable
Disadvantages: Price of fuel

...I purchased a Coleman Peak 1 camping stove about 12 years ago, when I embarked on an expedition to walk the Penine Way. The stove is lightweight, portable, and best of all - reliable. It gives a good heat, boiling 2 pints of water in less than 5 minutes (try doing that with your standard Calor Gaz stove!). Although the power output is high, it is also very controllable. There is a small lever to adjust the flame, and it can be lowered to a simmer if that is all that you need. Safety has also been taken into consideration such that, even though the stove is fuelled with petrol, it can be tilted, turned, and even inverted without flaring up in your face. The fuel made by Coleman is rather expensive (around 9 pounds for a 1 litre tin), although the newer models can now use standard unleaded fuel of the type you put in your car... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, cheap to run, fuel widely available - globally
Disadvantages: haven't found any yet - except not really lightweight

...I have used a range of different camping stoves over the years, having been involved in outdoor activities with young people I have had an ongoing debate around the safety/efficiency issues. I have personally used a coleman stove for 15 yrs - the special delight is when you are camping with Trangia fans. I like to set-up the stove and kettle, in the time it takes to boil I can get my tent pitched and then go round with mugs of tea whilst my friends kettles are just getting up to a simmer - smug doesn't even enter into it. So why else am I convinced? You can control the stove from a gentle simmer to a full rolling boil, the fuel - unleaded petrol - is widely available, a tank full is plenty to cook a meal for two, with extra brews as well. The stove has a fairly wide base an is stable in most conditions, it is easy to light and soon... Read review

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Advantages: A great inexpensive day out away from the crowds
Disadvantages: May not be very accessible without a car

...tradition we had our normal debate about where we were going to go, as usual nobody would make a decision, so we flicked through the Island Pocket Guide that we'd picked up on the car ferry and went flicked through the various attractions and places to visit. Finally we came across Colemans Farm, we first visited Colemans Farm last year whilst on holiday on the Island and we'd all very much enjoyed our day there so we decided to go back again. Colemans Farm is situated in Porchfield which is near Newport. It is located in the middle of the countryside so is probably not very accessible if you don't have a car, although there is quite a good bus service on the Island and you may be able to catch a bus to a nearby village and walk to Porchfield. I don't know if this is possible but I'm sure one of the many Tourist Information Centres... Read review

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Advantages: Great in extreme weather
Disadvantages: Can be fiddly

...the Coleman Peak One Stove on a flat surface. Undo the filler cap and fill with fuel (more on fuel variations later in this review), it makes life so much easier to either use a small funnel or special filler caps that are available for fuel containers. It is important to not overfill the stove as the fuel also needs to mix with air. Turn the pump anti clockwise and then give it 25 pumps (making sure the fuel lever is still off). Lock the pump again. Now light a match and place next to the edge of the burner Turn the fuel lever to HIGH/LIGHT, as soon as the burner lights, unlock the pump once more and pump the stove for a further 30 seconds. Finally close the pump once more. Now cook, the flame can be adjusted using the fuel lever, it is a very responsive stove and that is another thing that has always impressed me. The only thing... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to erect
Disadvantages: Can be dark inside

...The Coleman Savannah is a 6 person frame tent. It has an iside height of200cm high which is ample height for the average family! The tent is a kind of octagonal shape with the bedroom area taking 1 half & living area the other. We found the tent very easy to erect with colour coded steel poles which feed through from the outside of the tent, then legs attatched to lift the flysheet & place the tent in positon ready to be pegged down. There is then a groundsheet for the living area. The inner bedroom tents have an integral groundsheet & the whole thing is hung inside with colour coded hooks. What we particularly like as well is that there is a separate 'storage' area like a zipped up compartment where the cool box & bags ect can be stored. The bedroom has a removeable divider across the width which is a good idea if like us, you... Read review

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Advantages: Can stand up in it! Quite Big, pegs!
Disadvantages: Problems with condensation, groundsheet

...Coleman Bi-Space 300 This tent is ideal for two people - for three it might be a bit pushed for space! It features a tall living space - which comes with a groundsheet and a lower smaller sleeping area. The tent is fairly easy to put up! we have even done it in the dark, the poles and loops are colour coded so you know where to thread each rod. The rods fit together nicely and have no trouble getting them through or taking them out - remember to push the rod and not pull otherwise the connections with come loose! Once all the rods are in place you can see the shape of the tent - pegging it down is very time consuming, there are lots of peg loops and a skirt which runs right around the tent...this can be folded up in the day to let air in, we tend not to use it because of all the pegs, but its comforting knowing your... Read review

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Advantages: Friendly Staff, Good Range of Fuels
Disadvantages: Jet Wash Doesn't Work, Isnt Very Good

...Shell Fuel Garage - Burton on Trent What is Shell…? They are a large fuel producing company which includes oil, gas, petrol and diesel, this company has many filling stations across the country and also in other countries too. They are well known for producing the 99octane V-Power and also V-Power diesel which is advertised as Ferrari fuel for the roads. This is probably because Shell sponsors Ferrari so they often help give Ferrari advertising. Shell are one of the leading companies in fuel supplying and I definitely trust them to do provide the best fuels for my cars and also to help improve the environment with improving their fuels to be more environmentally friendly. Shell also have a really useful website with lots of information about what they provide and other things they are part of including environment... Read review

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Advantages: Widely available. Excellent value for money. Kinder to the environment.
Disadvantages: Looks expensive, not all garages stock Ultimate diesel.

...With apologies to the expert who wrote superbly on "true" alternative fuels in this category, I'd like to recall my experiences using BP Ultimate fuel over the last 15 months. You may offer an argument that petrol and diesel, however brewed don't qualify as "alternative fuels" and yes I'd agree with you. However we are in the real world here, most of us who drive have to fill our cars with petrol, diesel or, in the case of an increasingly large minority, LPG (Liquid Petrolium Gas). Like the government energy adverts say what difference does one person make? From my own experiences using initially BP's Ultimate Unleaded petrol, latterly Ultimate Diesel I can tell you that we would all be capable now of making a difference - most importantly at no cost financially to ourselves. For me with two very diverse cars, this fuel has... Read review

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Advantages: Robust and light
Disadvantages: Availability and the screw lid can become stiff

...In times gone by, I used to work in a shop that sold a lot of camping equipment. It was only a matter of time before the camping bug bit me. Having the advantage of reports of equipment used by customers gave me the opportunity to make sure I had the best kit for what I needed. Often I would cycle, so that would mean space and weight would play a major part in making sure that my camping experiences could be as pleasurable as possible. Part of the camping experience is cooking food outdoors, apart from having an open fire (something that most campsites do not like or allow), you will need something to cook food on. Now that leaves three main choices Solid Fuel - Normally either a fuel block that you light or a gel in a can. Bottled Gas - This is usually Butane gas stored in a pressurised container. Liquid Fuels - Normally... Read review

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Advantages: Clean, no polution, renewable fuel and ecological.
Disadvantages: Big business and oil rich nations.

...The fossil fuel based engines are more dangerous than just speed; they are destroying everything we hold most dear. There is an alternative, but not everyone likes it. What would you say if I told you an engine could run on a renewable source and only emit what it uses? Not as far fetched as it first sounds. Examples are springing up in major car manufacturers and Universities all over the world. The drivers have come from the major countries such as Germany and Japan that have no oil reserves of their own. Companies like BMW, Nissan, Mazda with their own Hydrogen Wankel engine, and even Ford with its H2ICE engine have taken this seriously enough to produce demonstration models as feasibility studies. Admittedly at this stage they are only a concept, but a concept that has got far enough to be a viably concern to those who have... Read review

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