We are a family of seven, which is a polite way of saying that feeding all of us is a small catering operation. For the last twelve summers we have loaded a Ford Expedition, strapped the rooftop box on top, and headed for state parks and national forest campgrounds in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. The one piece of gear that has made the biggest difference is the two-burner Camp Chef Explorer. It is not the fanciest stove we have owned. It is the one that actually gets dinner on the table before the kids collapse.
Five kids, ages four to fifteen, do not wait patiently for food. The Camp Chef Explorer has two burners that put out 60,000 total BTUs, which is enough heat to boil a big pot of water and brown a skillet full of meat at the same time. I have used it for breakfast, lunch and dinner on every trip we have taken, and it has never let us down. I have tested plenty of stoves over the years, and most of them live in the garage. This one earns its spot in the Expedition every single trip.
One stove, seven plates, no waiting
If you are tired of eating cold sandwiches while the kids hang off the picnic table, the two-burner Camp Chef Explorer is the fix. It heats fast, cooks two things at once, and folds down to fit in the back of the Expedition.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →I have broken down the reasons into ten things that matter most when you are feeding a big family from a folding table. Some are obvious, some surprised me, but all of them come from real weekends, not from a spec sheet.
Two burners mean the main dish and sides cook at once
With one burner you are always choosing: meat or potatoes, eggs or toast. With the Camp Chef Explorer we put a cast iron skillet of burgers on one side and a pot of baked beans on the other. Dinner is done at the same time, and the kids are not staring at us from the picnic table while the food catches up. Nobody hangs around a stove that cannot keep up.
The big cook surface handles the skillets we already own
The Camp Chef Explorer has a wide grate, so a 12-inch skillet sits flat and a griddle covers both burners without wobbling. We do not carry special pots. We use the same cast iron and stainless from home, and the stove holds them steady even when a 4-year-old bumps the table. That is not true of every stove we have tried.
60,000 BTUs boil water fast when everyone is hungry
A pot of water for pasta goes from cold to rolling in a few minutes on the Camp Chef Explorer. When we pull into camp after a long drive, that speed matters. The kids have already asked 'when is dinner' eleven times before we set up the tent. On the last trip, the water was boiling before the tent poles were out of the bag.
The wind guards keep the flames alive at gusty sites
State park campgrounds in Wyoming are windy. The Camp Chef Explorer has a lid that flips down into a wind guard, and it has saved more than one dinner. The flame stays steady, the pot keeps cooking, and we stop standing around blocking the breeze with our jackets. The wind guard is the difference between a hot meal and a cold one at places like Flaming Gorge.
Coffee and breakfast finish at the same time
One burner runs the percolator while the other cooks eggs and sausage. That might sound small, but for a dad who needs coffee before conversation, it is the difference between a calm morning and a chaotic one. The Camp Chef Explorer makes both happen without juggling. We pour the coffee first, and the morning gets a lot friendlier.
The controls go low enough to simmer and high enough to sear
The Camp Chef Explorer has a real range of heat. We simmer a pot of chili for an hour without scorching the bottom, then crank the same burner to sear steaks. That range means we cook actual meals, not just hot dogs. It turns a camp stove into a real kitchen.
It runs on the same propane tanks we already use
We carry one spare 16.4-ounce propane cylinder and it threads right into the Camp Chef Explorer. No special adapters, no extra fuel canisters to remember. When the tank runs low, we swap it in under a minute, and the stove lights again on the first try. That matters when the nearest store is forty minutes away.
The drip tray makes cleanup easier than it should be
Grease and spilled sauce end up in a removable tray instead of baked onto the stove. At the end of the trip I pull it out, wipe it down, and the Camp Chef Explorer is ready for the next weekend. With five kids, easy cleanup is not a luxury, it is survival. It also means less scrubbing at the end of the weekend.
Cooking together keeps the kids at the table longer
The stove sits on the picnic table between us, so the teenagers and the little ones can see what is happening. They set out plates, they stir a pot, they stay close. The Camp Chef Explorer does not just feed us, it keeps the family in one place long enough to talk. The teenagers actually helped without being asked, which I am still not sure how to explain.
Twelve summers in, it still starts on the first try
The Camp Chef Explorer has been to more campgrounds than I can count, bounced around in the back of the Expedition with the rest of the gear, and cooked for seven people more times than I can remember. It has never needed more than a quick clean and a new tank. That is the reason I keep recommending it. It is the reason our summer road trip still includes a full dinner at camp instead of fast food.
What I'd Skip
If you are backpacking, this is not the stove for you. It is heavy, it is wide, and it needs a real table. If you mostly stay in RVs with a full kitchen, you do not need it either. But for drive-up camping in state parks and national forests, where the car is ten feet from the picnic table, the size is a feature, not a problem. The one honest complaint I have is that it takes up real trunk space in the Ford Expedition, so we pack it last and strap the rooftop box tight.
We have fed seven people off this stove for twelve summers. The only cold dinner we had was the one weekend we left it in the garage.
Twelve years of family camping have taught me that the right gear is not about impressing anyone. It is about getting dinner done, getting the kids fed, and getting back to the fire. The Camp Chef Explorer does that, trip after trip.
Ready to feed the whole crew this summer?
The two-burner Camp Chef Explorer is the stove we reach for every single trip. If you want hot meals and happy kids, it is worth a look.
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