The Genesis Basecamp is a folding two-burner that is surprisingly lightweight and compact. The compact design is sure to please anyone needing to be savvy with their space, whether that means the back of a car, stowed into an expedition duffle, or for use in your van. Add to that its ability to cook high or low like a pro, and it's no wonder this stove nabbed one of our prestigious Top Pick Awards.
Performance Comparison
The Basecamp is a stellar way to cook like a pro while optimizing space and keeping weight to a minimum.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Time to Boil
The Basecamp lands just about in the middle of the pack for this category — adequate, but not the best.
With a time of 4.5 minutes in our main boil test, this stove falls right in line with all the other stoves of the same BTUs — a 10,000 BTU burner can only do so much. For those that require boiled water super fast, it's never a bad idea to have a supplemental backpacking stove like a Jetboil along for the ride anyway. And with the presence of a Jetlink port on this stove, you can run it all off one canister of fuel (though you will have to buy additional accessories to do so).
While the Basecamp isn't the fastest boiler, it gets the job done as well as any model with similar BTUs.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Wind Resistance
This is the only metric where we find the Basecamp to be mildly mediocre — though not by much. Cooking isn't impeded; it just doesn't measure up to the more wind resistant models in our review.
The windscreen for this stove is a flexible clear plastic shield that fits into four slots on the underside of the burners. It's relatively easy to set up, though not as quick as opening a lid and unfolding the windscreen wings on the sides like a more traditional design. It also doesn't come up as high in the back as the lid-turned-windscreen of a more standard model, so it isn't able to provide quite as much protection.
Here you can see one of the tabs of the Basecamp's windscreen slotted into the base of the stove. Also notice the Jetlink port which will allow you to run another stove or a Jetboil off the same fuel source, if you have the supplemental equipment to do so.
Photo: Penney Garrett
The Basecamp clocked a time of 7.5 minutes in our box fan test where we boiled water while a fan blew continuous air on the burner. Not horrible, but also nothing to write home about. However, when we cooked meals in breezy weather, it did just fine — much better than many others in this review. While the box fan test is telling, what's most important is how the stove performs in real-life scenarios.
The barely visible plastic windscreen on this stove is sufficient enough for breezy cooking days, though with strong, direct wind (as in our box fan test), it struggles a bit.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Simmering Ability
Here's a metric where the Basecamp truly shines, scoring at the top of the pack. This stove is great for those that appreciate a good simmer.
The Basecamp does well on low — it is easy to get a consistently low flame and cook with finesse. Even though it isn't the most windproof model, we were never concerned about wind extinguishing the low flame due to a sudden breeze. Additionally, the dial for each burner has a wide range, so you don't have to worry about accidentally turning the burner off.
The Basecamp helped us make some delicious slow-cooked veggie curry and become camp kitchen heroes.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Ease of Set Up
The foldable design of the Basecamp makes it relatively easy, albeit slightly different to set-up than other stoves in our review. If you don't need the windscreen, just release the rubber closure straps and unfold the stove. The hinges between the burners offer more flexibility with setting it up on an uneven surface than you would get with your standard tabletop design. From there, connect the fuel line, turn the burner dials, hit the easily-depressed auto-ignition levers, and off you go!
The only challenging part of setting up the Basecamp is affixing the windscreen. The flexible plastic screen has four tabs that slot into notches on the underside of the burners. You either have to know precisely where those notches are or peek underneath to locate them. If the stove is already hot and running, it's easy to burn yourself. This can be a problem if you start cooking in the absence of wind, and then a breeze picks mid-meal. It's better to attach the windscreen before cooking unless you're sure you won't need it.
Unlike many stoves that have the threads for the fuel adaptor sunken into a recess, the Basecamp has them fully visible. This makes for a much easier time getting everything attached, especially if you have cold fingers!
Photo: Penney Garrett
Ease of Care
As simple as it gets for a camp stove — remove the grates, and wipe everything down.
The Basecamp is simple and straightforward to clean. The grates remove from the stove body by squeezing two prongs on the side to release them from their housing. There are no odd or inaccessible recesses, as there are with some other models, so it's easy to clean almost every nook and cranny. The carrying bag also helps keep everything organized and tidy.
Just squeeze the side of the cooking grate to remove it from the stove so you can scrub away.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Portability
Out of our entire review suite, this stove is our favorite for portability, even beating out the compact single burner options.
The Genesis Basecamp is the most compact and lightweight stove of all the two-burners in our review, even rivaling the single burners. Altogether, the stove, fuel adaptor, windscreen, and carrying bag only weigh 7.4 pounds and measure a mere 11 inches across and 6 inches high. The stove by itself weighs 6.4 pounds and measures just 9.75 x 4.5 inches with a convenient collapsible handle on both sides for carrying it around. Despite these small dimensions, when unfolded, there is still a generous 10.5 inches between burners, so accommodating two large pans is no problem. We also like that the carrying bag has a pocket for the fuel adaptor, so it doesn't rattle and slide around during transport. This is also a great place to stash a cleaning rag or sponge. If you want to stay low profile without sacrificing anything other than a few BTUs, this is a stellar option.
Convenient handles on the stove body paired with a well-conceived carrying bag make this stove a top scorer for portability.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Value
Unfortunately, this is not a section where we can sing the praises of the — admittedly cool — Basecamp. The price tag is quite high, far above stoves with twice the BTUs. So, why would you fork over the cash for this stove? Well, if you have a little extra holiday money from Grandma and love to have the trendiest gear OR you need to shave off five pounds and reduce packed size, then this might make perfect sense. Otherwise, maybe not so much.
Small car, small table? No problem with the Basecamp.
Photo: Penney Garrett
Conclusion
This is a neat stove. It boils decently, fends off the wind adequately, simmers like a dream, and packs away the smallest and lightest of all the two-burners we reviewed. It doesn't have the most impressive BTUs, and it's pricey as heck, but for someone that values compactness over everything else, it very well might be a camp stove dream come true.
Basecamp feast!
Photo: Penney Garrett
