Eureka Ignite Plus Review
Cons: Struggles with the wind, not super powerful, on the heavy side
Manufacturer: Eureka
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Ignite Plus is a straightforward stove with a few perks. It's nice and wide for campers with larger cookware, it comes with rubber feet so that you can get level on uneven ground, and it has a reliable auto-ignition system. It's a good stove at a fair price.
Performance Comparison
Time to Boil
With 10,000 BTUs per burner, this stove isn't quite as powerful as some of the other models in our review. But the compact design helps it stay protected from the wind and relatively efficient. Boiling a quart of water on a non-windy day took 4:45, nowhere near the fastest in our fleet but respectable nonetheless.
Wind Resistance
The Ignite is pretty middle of the road in this department, as well. With mild natural wind, it fares well, but on truly blustery days, it struggles. We noticed it took much longer to heat up food, and the burners weren't able to keep a large pan evenly heated. When given our box fan test where we placed a running fan to the side of the stove while boiling a quart of water, it clocked in at 6:15, a minute and a half longer than without wind. This is better than quite a few models in our review, but nowhere near the best.
Simmering Ability
Simmering on the Ignite is enjoyable; the knobs have clear markings and a large range, making it easy to find your perfect setting. That being said, the combination of delicate cooking with some wind is a slippery slope for this stove. We attempted to make some finicky pancakes in a large cast-iron on a windy fall morning (a difficult test indeed!), and it was just too many things at once for this otherwise adequate stove. Dialing in the right temperature was difficult, as was getting the full width of the cast-iron hot enough. Our food cooked slowly and unevenly, though the job did get done. In subsequent cooking sessions, performance was just fine, just be aware that the Ignite can only take so many variables.
Ease of Set Up
Easy peasy! Setting this stove up is just like any other compact tabletop model with the addition of non-slip rubber feet. These get screwed on the base before your first use and then, moving forward, only have to be adjusted if you need to level the stove on an uneven surface.
Ease of Care
Also a no brainer: lift out the grate, wipe away the grime, replace the grate, close the lid. Done!
Portability
The Ignite is wider than most of the other similar models in our review. This means you can use larger pots and pans, but it also means you'll need to sacrifice a bit more space and carry a little extra weight. At 23 x 12.8 x 4 inches and 11.96 pounds, this is on the large size for a compact two-burner, but the extra size and weight is marginal and will likely go unnoticed in a car packed full of all kinds of camping gear.
Value
Value is subjective, but numbers also don't lie. With no competition, the price of this stove is reasonable for what you get. However, when you consider that we received equally good performance from cheaper stoves and superior performance from only slightly-more-expensive stoves, then this one is hard to get excited about. We mean no disrespect, and if you end up with this stove, we think you'll be quite satisfied, but if you have the luxury of picking any stove on the market, then there are better ones to choose from.
Conclusion
The Eureka Ignite Plus provides a nice cooking area and some useful extra features like rubber feet for leveling, well-marked burner dials, and generous windscreens. It didn't blow us away in any category and struggled with the wind a bit, but all in all, it's a decent stove for a fair price. And, if you have any of the other Eureka models with the Jetlink accessory port, you can add this one to the family and run them all off the same fuel source.
— Penney Garrett