Eureka SPRK+ Butane Review

The Eureka SPRK+ is a lightweight, single-burner butane stove that is easy to set up and easy to use. With a removable drip pan, it is also easy to maintain. It boasts a trim profile that takes up very little space in your kitchen kit and is a great single burner option if you're on a budget.

Performance Comparison

The Eureka SPRK+ is a compact and lightweight single-burner butane stove that is portable and easy to use - what's not to love?

Credit: Jared Ross

Time to Boil

To test the power and efficiency of our stoves, we boil one liter of water in our garage "lab" at 5,000 feet in elevation in Fort Collins, CO. In our water boiling test, the SPRK+ took 4 minutes 36 seconds to boil one liter of water in a wind-free environment. Our reviewers were pleasantly surprised as this stove had a more impressive performance than some of our high octane stoves with more BTUs, ranking it in the middle of the pack. To boil one liter of water, it burned through 5.17% of the fuel in a butane fuel canister. Despite the lower performance in this metric, the SPRK+ produces enough power to boil water or prepare one-pot meals — especially if you aren't trying to win any speed cooking contests. At 11,500 BTUs, this stove doesn't have the highest power output, but it does get the job done and will do it without burning your pots and pans.

In a field of high octane propane stoves, the SPRK+ was one of the lower performers, but it still produces enough heat to boil water or cook a single pot meal.

Credit: Mary Witlacil

Wind Resistance

To evaluate each stove's wind resistance, we conduct a wind test in our "lab" and also evaluate the stove's real-world performance. In the lab, we use a box fan to generate 2-4 mph of "wind" as measured by a pocket anemometer and then record how long it takes to bring one liter of water to boil. In this test, the SPRK+ took 13 minutes and 10 seconds to boil water and burned 13.83% of the fuel in a butane canister. This is the second slowest windy boil time of the stoves in our review fleet.

Part of the reason for the low performance in this category is that the SPRK+ has very little built-in wind protection. This doesn't have to be a deal-breaker, as you could make an inexpensive windscreen out of a disposable aluminum baking dish or even an aluminum to-go container — just make sure that your windscreen allows for air flow to prevent your canister from overheating. With a little more wind protection, this stove is sure to meet your car camping culinary needs.

The SPRK+ provides minimal wind protection, but on low wind evenings the burner works just fine.

Credit: Mary Witlacil

Simmering Ability

Given the low power output of the SPRK+ and its dedicated simmer function, this stove simmers like a champion. The only concern when simmering is that you have to get the heat low enough that the flame can be inconsistent or even flicker out in the presence of wind.

The Eureka SPRK+ is able to simmer quite well, and could even maintain a low enough heat to make a perfect egg scramble.

Credit: Jared Ross

Ease of Set Up

This is one of the metrics where the SPRK+ truly shines. Like other butane stoves, it is incredibly easy to get this stove ready to start cooking. After you take the stove out of its plastic carrying case, open the fuel compartment, properly align and seat the butane, lock it in place, and you're ready to fire it up! If the stove is off-level, you can adjust it by rotating the feet on the bottom of the stove.

Getting the SPRK+ ready for cooking is quite simple, all you have to do is align the arrow on your butane canister with the aluminum tab, and flick the fuel lock on the front of the stove.

Credit: Mary Witlacil

Ease of Care

We were impressed with how easy it was to care for the SPRK+. To clean it, just remove the drip pan that is integrated with the pot stabilizers. This makes scrubbing your cook surface super easy and means you can more easily clean the burner and clean underneath the drip pan.

With a simple wipe with a scrubby, it is easy to keep the SPRK+ clean. You can also lift up the drip pan to clean underneath as well.

Credit: Jared Ross

Portability

With its low weight and slim profile, the SPRK+ is highly portable. It comes with a plastic carrying case with an easy-to-use handle. Over time, we have found that the plastic carrying case is not the most durable, so you will want to be careful with how you pack this in your rig or kitchen bin. With the carrying case, the SPRK+ weighs 4.94 pounds, while the stove alone weighs 3.49 pounds. Beyond the ease of carrying the stove, it is also very compact (15.3" x 13" x 3.6"), commanding little space in your camp kitchen kit.

The SPRK+ is among the lightest and most portable stoves in our review, and it even comes with a handy plastic carrying case.

Credit: Mary Witlacil

Value

Given the low price and quality construction of the SPRK+, we think this stove is a good value. Even though it is an average performer in our boil tests, it packs enough power to deliver a tasty meal quickly enough to satisfy a couple of hungry campers. If you're looking for a two-burner stove or for a stove with higher power output, you'll usually have to pay nearly double the price as you do for this one. It is easy to set up, easy to clean, lightweight, and very portable. Getting all of this at a reasonable price is hard to beat.

Conclusion

The Eureka SPRK+ is an affordable single-burner butane stove that is easy to clean, set up, and transport. If you're looking for an inexpensive but durable car camping option for cooking one-pot meals, this might just be the perfect model for you.

The SPRK+ is among the lightest and most compact stoves in our review.

Credit: Jared Ross