camping gear, sporting goodsAlthough the stove pictured here has been designed for backpackers, I have found that it's handy for us when we are car camping, too. It throws off an amazing amount of heat (11,000 BTUs) and it takes up no space in our camping gear. Over the last few years, we have added three of these to our camping gear so we don't have to take along our bulky propane stove when we go camping or on a picnic. These are primary in my thinking right now because we are planning a big camping trip next weekend and are even taking two days off from work so we have three nights and four days to enjoy the gorgeous weather and scenery in the Sonoran desert. Our winters are pretty short relative to how long our summers are, so we like to take every opportunity we can to enjoy the cooler temperatures of winter.

We like to choose our camping gear for high quality and reliability, as well as versatility. We sometimes even break out these stoves when we are at home, too, making big family dinners. These Brunton Foldable Canister Backpack Stove with Piezo Ignition are capable of heating any size pan and on hot days in the summer, we often take them out of the camping gear and use them on the patio so we don't heat the house up, particularly if the air conditioner is working overtime. The fuel canisters are easy to order online or in an emergency, we can buy them locally at many stores in town.

We prefer ordering the canisters online because they cost less and we don't have to make the effort to go get them from a store. We buy them by the case so we have plenty of fuel all the time. They are ground shipped in bulk so we keep an eye on our stock and order in plenty of time so we are always prepared for impromptu camping trips, seriously hot days, or power outages. I found the Brunton Canister Backpack Stove at KE Active Lifestyle at http://kayserenterprises.ispeedway.com/, a great site for all kinds of camping gear and outdoor activities. We live to be outdoors so we take advantage of finding first class camping gear online or for our sporting goods.

We take the money and time that we save by shopping online and put it toward adding more camping gear and we "bank" the time on a sheet of paper we keep on the refrigerator. I have a lot of experience shopping in the local stores and know that going shopping for even one simple item takes at least an hour, so when we have banked about 24 hours by shopping online, we give ourselves a three day camping trip as a reward for smart shopping and fun family times.