Hornet BRS-3000T £18

With a cult online fanbase of bargain-hunting wild campers, we first heard about the Hornet BRS-3000T in a Facebook group – and were immediately intrigued to put this miniscule and stupidly cheap Chinese-manufactured stove to the test. Surely a 26g canister-top stove for £18 would be too good to be true?

Well, not really. Available on Amazon with next-day Prime delivery (and over 2000 ratings at 4.6 out of 5 stars), we ordered it on Monday, it arrived on Tuesday, and we were firing it up on Wednesday – and it worked absolutely fine. Performance wasn’t spectacular (second slowest in our tests), but who cares at this price and weight?

The toy-sized stove screwed easily atop the canister, the serrated support arms held our pot in place, and a twist of the control valve (and strike of a match) set our water off boiling with more than adequate power and speed. The conclusion?

This is a stone cold bargain and weight-saving revelation.

IF WE’RE BEING FUSSY Long-term durability is unverified. Performance is poor in wind, and without adequate shelter the flame will blow out. The tiny 1.7cm-wide burner creates a localised hot spot that will cremate food if you’re not careful, while pot stability isn’t the best. The manufacturer stated boil time is wildly inaccurate too.

BURNER DIAMETER 1.7cm PAN SUPPORT DIAMETER 8.5cm

ASSEMBLED HEIGHT 12cm (inc 100g gas canister)

PACKED SIZE (LxWxH) 7x4.5x3.5cm

WEIGHT 28g (inc carry case) MANUFACTURER STATED BOIL TIME 2 mins 58 secs for 1L

TRAIL TEST BOIL TIME 7 mins 55 secs for 500ml

OUTPUT 1940W / 6615 BTU/hr

Verdict

An incredibly light canister-top stove at a bargain basement price – but it’s very basic.

“A stone cold bargain & weight-saving revelation”