Review: Coleman All-In-One Cooking System (Model No. 2000003609)

This post is the second in a series of posts from Richard Anderson, father of a 10-month-old girl, tech geek, and camping enthusiast.  His blogs include The StorageSavvy Blog and Sailing Sleipnir.

Last week, I posted about the Magma Nestable Non-Stick Stainless Steel Cookware, which was the perfect cookware set for this year's make-ahead camping trip. We purchased the set for our boat, so we were generally familiar with it before bringing it camping. Another kitchen item was purchased new this year, however, and so we had no idea what we might be getting ourselves into. But, when my wife saw the "slow cooker" feature of this camp stove, she simply had to have it. Unfortunately, the slow cooker feature was a bit of a disappointment, but the other features of this little stove worked great.


Coleman All-In-One Cooking System (Model No. 2000003609)

While picking up our tent at Costco, we noticed the Coleman All-in-One Cooking System and decided to buy it. It’s a stove that can also be made into a grill or griddle, and it comes with a stock pot that acts like a slow cooker. It’s actually a pretty nice setup, and at $99.99, Costco’s price can’t be beat. The list price on Coleman's website is $149.99. The complete set is only available at Costco ($99.99), Sam's Club, Camping World ($132.99), and Coleman.com ($149.99), and so to purchase the set anywhere else you'd have to buy both the Coleman All-In-One Cooking Stove (to which Coleman inexplicably assigns the same model no. 2000003609, and which retails for $125.11 at Amazon.com or at Cabelas.com for $99.99), with the Coleman Signature Series Slow Cooker Add-On (model no. IK-519682/9935-A50, $54.99 at Cabelas.com). So, if you can get your hands on the full set, it's worth it.

The slow cooker add-on is generally
sold separately, but is included at
Costco and Sam's Club.

We used all the modes, and it worked quite well with one exception. The slow cooker was a tad too hot even when the burner was on low, so our Make-Ahead Slow-Cooker Chili continued to boil, even though we wanted it to just stay warm. Other than that, it's a pretty sweet kit. If you're considering buying this kit, be forewarned that the grill isn't huge; we were cooking for four people, and had to cook most grill meals in two batches.   The grill will fit two large steaks comfortably, or possibly three burger patties, but not much more. It doesn't have built-in wind protection (like some camp stoves do), so you may need some other windscreen on blustery days. However, the non-stick stock pot, griddle, and pan were all easy to clean, and the grill - while it didn't scrub easily after our Jack Daniels Glazed Ribs - was simple to cook clean.

My only other gripe with this kit is that the propane attachment is rigid, and sticks out too far. Although the set itself is compact - probably not more than 18" wide - the rigid propane pipe attachment made it too wide to fit on our camp kitchen table. However, the whole set when in use did fit on the end of a standard picnic table, and so we rearranged our kitchen to fit it there.

Despite the drawbacks, including that the slow-cooker feature didn't work for us as advertised, in all, it's still a useful and handy portable system to have.

Did you find this review helpful?  If so, please leave a comment and let us know!  Also, if you end up purchasing this product, please support our blog by purchasing through one of the links above.  Thank you!

Other posts in this series:
Magma Nestable Non-Stick Stainless Steel Cookware (10-Piece Set) (A10-365L)
REI Camp Kitchen (Item No. 765279)

Great Make-Ahead Meals for Camping:
Lemon Pepper Cod
Grandma Peterson's Flank Steak Marinade
Sweet and Sour Pork with Coconut Rice
See more....