Camp Chef Everest 2X review: fast boiling and full meals on the porch when the electric range is out

This is a research-based review, based on manufacturer specs and published data. We do not test products. Specs come from Camp Chef's Everest 2X product page (SKU MSHPX), checked November 1, 2026. Recall details come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and carbon monoxide guidance from the CDC.

When the grid goes down in a home with an electric range, cooking moves outside. For most people that means a propane camp stove on the porch or patio. The Camp Chef Everest 2X sits at the top of the tabletop class for heat: two burners rated at 20,000 BTU each, where the familiar Coleman Classic is rated at 20,000 BTU across both burners combined.

More heat matters most for one outage job: boiling water. The CDC's surest method for making doubtful water safe is a rolling boil, and a family can need several gallons a day for drinking, cooking and washing. A high-output burner gets a big pot there faster. The tradeoff is fuel. Higher output burns propane faster, so the Everest 2X makes the most sense for households that plan their fuel supply around a refillable tank, not a handful of small cylinders.

Who should buy it

• Families who expect to boil water for drinking during a boil-water notice or after a storm, and want big pots to come to a boil quickly.
• Homes with electric ranges that plan to cook full meals outdoors for several days, not just heat water.
• Anyone who wants matchless ignition on a two-burner, so a spark is a knob turn away even with cold, wet hands.

Who should skip it

• Anyone without outdoor space where open-flame cooking is allowed. This stove must never be used indoors, and a garage counts as indoors.
• Households with only a few 1 lb cylinders and no plan to add more. At full output, high-BTU burners use fuel fastest.
• Buyers who mainly want to boil water for one or two people. A small canister system like the Jetboil Flash is far more fuel-efficient for that job.
• Anyone shopping used: an older Everest 2X model was recalled for a regulator leak, so check the model number and regulator date code first (see below).

Strengths

• Highest output in its class. Two burners at 20,000 BTU each, per Camp Chef, so both sides can run hard at once.
• Matchless ignition. Camp Chef lists built-in ignition. Keep a long lighter as backup regardless.
• Room for two real pans. 215 sq. in. of cook space handles a stockpot of water on one side and a skillet on the other.
• Common fuel. It runs on propane, the camp stove fuel sold almost everywhere, and the fuel most outage plans already stock.

Drawbacks

• Fuel use at full output. Twice the rated heat of a 20,000 BTU two-burner also means up to twice the propane per hour with both burners wide open.
• Outdoor only. Like every propane camp stove, it produces carbon monoxide. The CDC says never use a portable gas camp stove indoors.
• Recall history on the earlier model. CPSC recall 21-053 (December 2020) covered the earlier Everest 2X, model MSHP, with certain regulator date codes. The current model is MSHPX; check the label on any stove you buy secondhand.
• Thin spec sheet. Camp Chef's page lists output, ignition and cook space but not a burn time, so fuel math below is our estimate.

How it compares

Three common outage stoves, from the maker pages. All are outdoor-use appliances. Burn times are the maker's where stated.

Using it in a long outage

Set it up outdoors, away from the house

1. 01Put the stove on a sturdy, level, noncombustible surface outdoors, away from doors, windows and vents so exhaust cannot drift inside.
2. 02Keep it clear of anything that burns overhead: no low eaves, umbrellas or awnings.
3. 03Leak-check the cylinder connection with soapy water, outdoors, never with a flame. Bubbles mean a leak.
4. 04Light it with the burner knob and ignition before placing a pot, and keep children and pets back.
5. 05Close the valve and disconnect the cylinder when you finish. Store cylinders outside the living space.

Fuel math for a long outage

Camp Chef does not publish a burn time for the Everest 2X, so here is our arithmetic. The EIA lists propane at 91,452 Btu per gallon. At roughly 4.2 lb per gallon, that is about 21,700 Btu per pound, so a 16.4 oz cylinder holds roughly 22,000 Btu. One burner at its full 20,000 BTU rating would empty it in a little over an hour; both burners wide open, in about half an hour. Real use is lower, because you rarely run both burners flat out. For anything longer than a weekend, plan on a refillable bulk tank and an adapter hose rated for the stove, and keep it outdoors.

To stretch fuel, use the high setting only to reach a boil, then turn down. Cover every pot. Boil the day's drinking water in one batch and keep it in clean, covered containers. Our how to cook without power guide has more fuel-saving habits, and the best camping stove for a power outage roundup compares fuel use across stoves.

Boiling water to make it safe

The CDC's rule is a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet. Boiling kills germs including viruses and Cryptosporidium. It does not remove chemicals, so water that may contain fuel or flood runoff is not made safe by boiling. Settle or filter cloudy water first, then boil.