How to Boil Water While Camping – 11 Ways to Boil Water

We can’t live without water and its scarcity which is something that can make our life difficult. Camping cannot change the fact that water is an essential good for everyday life, which doesn’t change when camping.

We need water for every basic activity, like cleaning, cooking, washing, etc. While camping, knowing how to boil water while camping can come in handy if you don’t have any water purifier.

There can be many different conditions where you may need to boil water while camping. The situations can vary as per the camper’s need. He/she may need to boil water for coffee or tea.

Another situation can be when the camper needs to purify water for drinking and other things. It would be great if you could get a warm cup of coffee or tea in the morning to refresh yourself. You can rehydrate your meals easily.

Although boiling water seems quite simple when it comes to camping, it is not that simple. When you boil water at home, you are equipped with all the tools and comforts.

But when you are camping, you might not have those tools and comforts. On a camping trip, knowing how to boil water while camping is quite useful.

When camping, boiling water is an event for which you must know how to boil water and keep safety in mind, and it requires convenience.

If you know the reasons for boiling water and how to boil water while camping, you can help you a lot on your camping trip and make your trip more enjoyable.

Why do you need to boil water?

Knowing how to boil water while doing camping helps you make tea or coffee and has other benefits. If you know how to boil water, then you can get clean drinking water, and it can work as a water purifier in case you forgot a water purifier. You can also use this when you are lost or broke.

Boiled water can also be used for rehydrating freeze food and other nutritious items. However, you can also have nice decent meals if you know how to boil water. In case you don’t know how to cook, then you can use boiled water to rehydrate freeze foods.

Below given are some of the best ways to boil water while camping. Take a look at them and learn how to boil water while camping.

Best ways to boil water while Camping

Same of the best ways to boil water while camping are listed below: –

1. Portable Stove
2. Solar water heater Bag
3. Bucket Heater
4. Camp Fire
5. 12V Car kettle
6. Kelly Kettles
7. Traditional Canister Stoves
8. Internal Flame Kettles
9. Campfire
10. Jet Boiler
11. Heat-Stick by Heat-gear

Now let us talk about each way to boil water while camping in detail.

1) Portable Stove

The portable stove is the best way to boil water while camping as you can carry it anywhere with you. It is not that big. Many of the campers love to use this product while going camping.

Things that you need to prepare before boiling water on a portable stove are:

• Mini stove
• Lighter
• Water

You need the above-mentioned three things to boil water in a portable way. It is the best way to boil water, and it is affordable and easy to use while going camping.

2) Solar Water Heating Bags

If you are a nature lover and want to do things more naturally, then you can use solar water heating bags to boil water. It is yet another way to boil water while camping. Solar water heating bags are available in various sizes, and you can choose according to your needs. You do not need to carry any fuel or lighter to boil water in these heating bags.

Steps to boil water in solar water heating bags are:

• Pour water into the solar water heating bag.
• Place it somewhere with a lot of sunlight.
• The bag will start boiling water automatically with the help of solar energy.
• The water will boil, most probably in one minute.

The rate of boiling water also depends on the surrounding environment. If the surroundings are hot, it will take less time to boil the water, but it may take a longer time to boil water if the surroundings are cold.

3) Bucket Style

If you have a bucket heater with you, then you can boil water more easily. It is one of the best ways to boil water.

Steps to boil water in a bucket heater are:

• Pour water into the bucket heater and then plug it in the electric switch. You can use a portable generator for the electric supply. Generally, it is seen that each camper carries a portable generator. What you have to do is just plug in the electricity supply with the bucket heater. Using a bucket heater can vary from situation to situation.
• After plugging in the electric supply, you can easily boil water. You can also monitor the temperature of the water with the help of a thermometer.

Note: Don’t put your hand inside the bucket heater while boiling water, as it may give you an electric shock.

Significant characteristics of Bucket Heater: –

• The bucket heater is made up of stainless steel and works very well. Thus, it is good to invest money in a bucket heater. It is comfortable to use.
• It helps in boiling water and prevents plastic containers from burning.
• It boils water in a short period of 5 to 10 minutes only.

4) Open Fire

This method is a very old one. When technology was not so developed, campers used this method to boil water. Things around the camp were used to generate heat to boil water.

The Campfire method is also used by campers nowadays.

Things that you need to boil water on an open fire are firewood, matches, and water to boil. You just need to ensure that you have a pot or cup which you can place over the coal so that the water can boil naturally.

While using this method to boil water, you need to keep in mind that you use the correct quantity of firewood. You should select small-sized sticks to create firewood as they will heat easily. You can also use the long-sized sticks to control the flow of heat.

Many campers also use rocks to make a boundary around firewood. You can also place your pot or cup over it. Placing the pot or cup over the rocks allows you to move freely, and you don’t need to hold the pot or cup yourself. It will take 10-15 minutes to boil water using this method.

Remember to hold the pot or cup with a towel or a piece of cloth as it will be hot enough to burn your skin if you pick the pot or cup with your bare hands.

5) 12V Car kettle

12V Car kettle is one of the best ways to boil water. It is a popular product among car campers. This product can be easily used inside your car. You can plugin this kettle where you plug your cigarette lighter. You can boil water easily in your car only.

One of the best products of 12V Car Kettle is Uniox car kettle. It has many important characteristics. You can select the temperature you need for the water yourself. The kettle has a capacity of 350ml and can boil water in almost10 minutes.

You can make noodles, tea, or coffee in a car kettle easily. When on a camping trip, it can help you to boil water faster than any other method. You can also use this kettle while traveling on the road to make soup, tea, and coffee.

You don’t need any fuel, fire, or coal to make this kettle boil water. You just need to plug it in your car cigarette lighter, and it will automatically boil water for you. If you need to boil water in small quantities, then this car kettle is one of the best ways to boil water.

6) Kelly Kettle

Kelly Kettle is one of the highest recommended products. This product has many characteristics. Some of the Characteristics which make Kelly Kettle  one of the highest recommended product is given below:

1) It can boil water faster than other methods.

2) Other than boiling water, you can also use it for cooking food.

3) The materials used to make Kelly Kettle is of very high quality.

4) It is a very beneficial product for camping and any other outdoor activities.

5) It is very lightweight.

7) Traditional Canister Stoves

Canister stoves are easy to use. They light up easily and are easy to boil water. They can boil water quickly. However, to boil water on a canister stove, you will need fuel. This will add to your weight in your backpack.

Traditional canister stoves can be used to boil water as well as to cook food. Some of the canister stoves have smooth ignition systems, which make boiling water easy as they can be lit easily.

They are available at various prices. You can pick up any stove according to your needs. It boils water very quickly and easily. You must be careful while using Traditional Canister stoves during windy weather as they can catch fire and can burn your whole tent.

8) Internal Flame Kettles

You can also try using internal flame kettles like Ghillie or Kelly kettle to boil water quickly. They have an internal chamber that keeps your fire intact even in windy weather, and you don’t need to carry a battery and fuel with you.

The internal Flame kettle boils faster and easily. There is very little heat loss between flames and the water as compared to traditional stoves. It also has a handle which makes it easier to carry and pour your morning tea and coffee.

In the internal flames kettle, the heat is contained properly, and you can use these kettles easily, even in windy weather. These kettles are made up of lightweight aluminum, which makes them easier to carry.

9) Campfire

You can light a campfire using the sticks available nearby. You need to pay extra attention to the place where you will set up your campfire, and you also need to control the fire properly.

For new campers, a campfire is not easy to light up. Nowadays, campers generally use other methods rather than a campfire. But some new campers use campfires for experience and fun.

10) Jet Boiler

Jet Boiler is yet another type of kettle that can boil water easily and quickly. If the kettle is made up of Nylon and Silicon sleeves, it does not properly heat the Jet Boiler. It uses a special canister fuel along with Propane and Isobutane gases. The use of these two gases together can produce sizzling heat.

11) Heat-Stick by Heat-Gear

Heat-Stick is one of the best cleaning systems. To boil water with a heat stick’s help, you don’t need any fuel or fire. You can boil water on flames within a few minutes. It has a cylindrical tool and is small in size. It weighs around half kg. It is not suitable for cooking. You can only boil water in it in small quantities.

Safety Considerations

You need to take some points under consideration while boiling water on a camping trip.

• When you use water from a natural resource, you need to filter the water using a water purifier. Water may contain some chemical toxins, so you need to purify them popularly. Only boiling water may not remove the toxins. To remove the toxins properly, you need a water purifier. If you forgot your water purifier at home, you need to carefully choose the water source from where you will be getting your water.
• You can prefer fast-flowing water rather than stagnant still water as flowing water is more clear than stagnant water.
• Your water may contain dirt and other things. You can use a t-shirt or a piece of cloth to filter the water and then boil it.
• You can boil water in a container to ensure that there are no harmful microorganisms or bacteria in it.

Things to Keep in Mind

If you don’t have enough water available with you, then you must boil the water in a container with a lid to minimize evaporation. Using a container with a lid can minimize the time it will take to boil water. Some canister stoves come with a lid that boils water quickly and efficiently.

As mentioned earlier, you need to pay extra heed while using naked flames like a campfire, etc. You must also pay heed to warnings regarding rainy or hot weather. You need to pay heed to the use of open fire where rain is scarce.

You need to pay attention to wind directions while boiling water. In case of windy weather, even a small gust of wind can set your tent on fire. You need to pay special emphasis on your safety also.

You must have a first aid kit with yourself in case you got injured by anything. You must ensure that your first aid kit must have burn ointment and other burn creams.

Along with learning how to boil water while camping, you must also ensure that you are safe.

Final Words

I hope that this article was helpful enough and you can learn different ways on how to boil water while camping. In my view, you must choose portable stoves to boil water while camping as portable stoves are lightweight and easy to handle. Moreover, it can boil water very quickly.

Boiling water is one of the most important aspects of camping. You need water for many reasons, like making tea, coffee, and breakfast. Many campers think that it is an easy task to boil water in the wilderness, but when they face this situation, in reality, they face many difficulties.

You need to prepare in advance for these dire situations and problems you may face during boiling water on a camping trip. Also, learn how to boil water and other basic things before going on a camping trip.

Lastly, as anything can happen on a camping trip you must be ready for any situation so you must learn everything before going on a camping trip.